Hey, I am curious to know if anyone has extensive experience canoeing Crown Land in northern Ontario, Manitoba, or Saskatchewan? I’m beginning to explore doing an “off-the-beaten-path” kind of trip in the next few years, but information is hard to come by online. The only specific places I am scoping out right now are areas east and west of Reindeer Lake, but I’m interested in people’s experience canoeing Crown Land lakes/rivers in general. If you’ve been how challenging were logistics? Costs?

I've paddled from Wollaston Lake (NW of Reindeer Lake) to Hudson Bay, and the Dubawnt/Thelon Rivers. You can drive to Wollaston Lake and Stony Rapids. You can get a lot of information from the Canadian Canoe Routes website Canadian Canoe Routes

Ontario requires purchase of Crown Land camping permits by each person (non-Canadian residents). My recall is that they cost about $10.00/day (USD) per person. A buddy and I will be flying into Cliff Lake in NW Ontario this June for base camping on this significant pictograph lake. We buy our camping permits from the outfitter who will fly us in/out.

In July we will be going on a 2 week trip in Manitoba which does not have Crown Land camping fees, a significant cost savings.

As the previous poster noted, go to myccr.com for current advice on areas/routes that interest you. Lots advice there, we have used it many times. Regarding costs, if you can avoid flying costs will be reasonable assuming you’re using your own gear.

This is great info!

I’d really love to do a big river trip to HB but I don’t have much whitewater experience so I’ll stick to mostly flat water until I can build up my skillset.

I have tripping experience in the Canadian parks, but what really appeals to me about a crown land trip is the freedom and flexibility it affords. The only real constraint I have is the cost of a floatplane or flying my gear on a commercial aircraft. Doing a trip down a tributary of the Churchill, ending in Churchill, seems most appealing since I can save some cost by taking the train back.

I’ve done some crown land camping. If you look at the area west of Wabakimi you will see an unmanaged provincial park called St. Raphael Provincial Park. It does not use a permit quota system and requires only a crown land permit.

I was hoping to get really off the beaten path. After all, I’ve never heard of anyone going there.

What I learned was crown land is not necessarily managed land like Quetico. This is not always as good think since most activities that we try to get away from are legal on crown land. Logging, motor boats of any size. Established campsites with fish cleaning tables, pots and pans, junk, trash and so on.

My trip to St.Raphael was a beautiful trip and I saw no other canoes. But I did see motor boats, float planes, trappers, and outposts. Oh, and I parked next to an aboriginal grave yard ( only parking lot at the entry point) and my tire was slashed upon my return. I had to drive 50 miles to Pickle Lake, ONT on my donut to get a new tire so there’s that.

Like they say, if nothing bad happens on a trip then it becomes a forgettable experience.

Tom