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Coastal Trail

Gargantua Bay Lookout

TRAIL SPECS:

Trail distance: 6km roundtrip

Total trail time: 45mins - 1.5hours

Trail Rating: INTERMEDIATE

       We followed highway 17N until we reached Lake Superior Provincial Park.  The turnoff for Gargantua Road was about halfway through the park, and was about a 30-40 minute drive in.    

       The road in was bumpy with a lot of potholes, but we made it quite easily with a fully loaded Jetta.  Beautiful back-country camp sites were available both North and South of the parking area, with toilets available for each. If you want to have a sandy beach, head North.

       The lookout is down the North section of the Coastal Trail. The majority of the way seemed to be an old road so it made for easy hiking. We passed by three campsites and two beach access points. Along the way was a two second trail allowing a great photo-op of the bay and what appeared to be an old boat house. Shortly after we reached a sign marking a turn off for Warp Bay.

       We continued past the sign and almost immediately stumbled upon a beaver dam. Your choice of crossing is up to you, but the trail and more campsites await on the other side.  I recommend taking the beach route (on Chalfant Cove) past the log house frame and then cut through the last campsite to get back on the trail, as the regular trail was swampy.  

       Shortly after rejoining the trail, a sign marked the path up to the lookout. This is where the climbing began.  We had to clear a fallen tree on our way up, but otherwise the trail was fairly easy with its beautiful, mossy rock stairs.  Not a single hand hold was required.

       At the top were some breathtaking photo-ops of Gargantua Islands and a bit of the bay. All told, the round trip was about 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on how many stops for photos are made.

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Gargantua Road - found on highway 17N in the Lake Superior Provincial Park.

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The journey north along the coastal trail; an easy hike heading towards Gargantua Bay.

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The view from the short trail leading off at the end of Gargantua Bay for some scenic photo-ops. The campsites are along the far side of this beach.

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The view of Gargantua Bay looking South.

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The trail you could take that continues on to Warp Bay and also Chalfant Cove.  To get to Gargantua Bay lookout, just keep going past this turnoff.

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The beaver dam and swamp area that has been washed out. We hopped across the beaver dams to get back to the beach area,and walked around the campsites to get back on the trail.

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This is where the trail to the lookout begins. The signs were not easily found since they have been falling over.

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The beautiful mossy ground cover along much of the trail heading towards the lookout.

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The view of the lookout from the top of the mountain. The islands are called Gargantua Islands. According to our map, there is a sunken ship called 'The Columbus' in the bay here somewhere, but we could not find it.

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The Beaches along Gargantua Bay. This is the North side of the bay, which has three campsites.

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One of the campsites on the southern side of Gargantua Bay.  All campsites are accessed by the coastal trail.  The hikes to the campsites very easy and are about 5-10 minutes long.  There are three sites on either side of the bay.  These back-country campsites can be used by hikers who have purchased back-country camping permits through Lake Superior Provincial Park.

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