Pukaskwa Coastal Hike

My husband Grant and I finally got around to hiking this trail after starting planning in 2007. The extra 12 years of long distance hiking came in handy for this trail since it is a challenge in every way.

The trail starts at Pukaskwa (pronounced PUCK-a-saw) National Park which is just south of Marathon Ontario. It follows the coastline down along the edge of Lake Superior for approx 60 km of rocky shorelines, river and creek crossings, cliff climbing, marshlands and beaches.

Either you take a boat shuttle to the south end or you hike down and back which is the option we chose. We were out 11 days and made it almost to the south end but time required us to turn around one campsite short of the total distance.

As one of the top 5 challenging hikes in Canada, it was exciting to finally do it and yes, I would rate it very highly.

As an outdoor retail employee, we had great gear with us, namely our Black Diamond Z trekking poles – used daily to get over enormous rocks and roots, our nice and light Osprey Atmos/Aura packs and our Arcteryx Gamma LT pants – the best hiking pants in the industry.

One hike at a time, one adventure at a time and collecting memories as we go. Hopefully this inspires you to continue seeking/planning and hopefully doing amazing Canadian adventures!

Heather