Canada's All-Access ATV Nirvana

The call of a loon woke me to the smell of coffee brewing in the cabin. I rolled out of bed, stumbled into the living room and took in the view of the pine and granite shores of Dunlop Lake.

"You coming with?" my longtime friend Sam Wheeler Jr. asked. "Nope," I said with a yawn and a smile, "I'm going to stay here and soak in the morning." "Right," Sam Jr. said skeptically. "See you at breakfast."

He was headed out fishing with my father and his father, the other Sam Wheeler. The four of us were in Elliot Lake, Ontario, to check out the town's much-touted trail system. Before we hit the trails, dad and the two Wheelers got up at 5 a.m., determined to land one of the region's lake trout. Their quest for trout was thwarted, but our mission to explore the region was successful. After plowing into a mountain of bacon and eggs, we dressed and, along with guide Howard Hennessey, fired up the ATVs waiting for us at the Dunlop Lodge and headed out. Finding the trailhead was simple enough--it was about 40 feet from the front door of our cabin! The Elliot Lake area boasts 200 miles of well-marked ATV trails linking local lodges, restaurants, gas stations, hotels, the local mining museum, the bait shop and great fishing lakes. The GPS coordinates for trail intersections are marked on posts and on the trail map available from ATV Ontario.

The system not only opens the entire community to ATVs but also includes shared-use trails frequented by hikers, bikers, equestrians and skiers. Parts are off-limits to various activities, ensuring that off-roaders of each type have a place to call their own. The cooperation with which this system was built is almost unthinkable in a world where meetings between silent-sport enthusiasts and off-roaders typically end up in shouting matches. The reason for this cooperation was simple: For Elliot Lake, it was a matter of survival.

Slightly more than 10 years ago, Elliot Lake nearly became just another northern ghost town. The once-thriving economy was built on a uranium mining operation. In 1989, the mine owners succumbed to competition from lower-cost producers of the ore and shut down the operation. Elliot Lake faced massive unemployment and a collapsing economy. The town turned to tourism, as the area has a fantastic expanse of pristine wilderness and more than 4000 lakes known as the James Bay Frontier. Thanks to the efforts of community leaders, the area surrounding Elliot Lake became a destination for adventure racers, hikers, canoers and ATV enthusiasts.

In 1999, the local riding club began building ATV trails in earnest. With support from ATV Ontario, they constructed bridges, cleared trails and mapped looping routes from town centers. The club boasts nearly 70 members and, along with the trail system, is growing steadily. The result of all that hard work is a trail system that is a model for other towns seeking to become a mecca for off-road enthusiasts. Riders can come into town, drop their machines at the hotel or lodge and ride to get gas, grab a meal, go fishing or canoeing ... anything they want to do can be done on an ATV.

We found that the system was enjoyable and provided a lot of trails to explore. We spent two days riding and barely scratched the surface. Visitors could spend four days riding the area and see a new section each day. Happily, the trails were a blast. The system was built from logging roads and old trails winding among the area's lakes. With plenty of elevation changes and hundreds of miles of wilderness to explore, the trails offer an unforgettable experience. Bridges have been built over the largest rivers and streams, but there are still plenty of creek crossings to ford. In the spring, mud is also an obstacle. Sections of the trail are nearly impassable, to the delight of ATVers. The trails we rode provided a constant challenge. There were lots of rocks, hills, turns and a steady supply of mud holes. The tougher sections have bypass routes so riders don't have to get muddy.

At one of these bypasses, Hennessey stopped Sam Jr. "Sit tight for a minute while I check out the trail to the left," he said. "I don't think we can make that trail to the right." He motored off, and Sam Sr. drove up next to Sam Jr. "Don't go down there," the younger Wheeler said, pointing to the right. Big Sam either didn't hear or wasn't listening to what his son had said. But he did see an arm pointing right, so he took off down the trail while Sammy yelled, "Stop, dad, stop!" to no avail.

The trail Sam Sr. set out on began with 600 feet of rutted muck, a mix of deep black mud and a deep bowl of wet clay, followed by a 300-foot-long stretch of open water. Thankfully, Sam didn't make it to the open water, which looked ominously bottomless. He hit the clay sinkhole and buried his quad dead center in the muck. As luck would have it, he was on the heaviest machine of the group--a Bombardier Traxter Max. The slop was nasty stuff and would suck in your feet if you stepped in it; at one point, we had to drag Sam out of the mud! It took our other Bombardier, a winch-equipped Outlander, and the four of us a good 45 minutes to get the Max out of the snot. Lesson one: Be wary of the mud. Lesson two: The elder Wheeler doesn't respond well to verbal inputs.

In addition to exploring the local trails, we had come to Elliot Lake with the hopes of hooking a fish or two. On our second day, we loaded the ATVs with fishing rods, reels, waders and an assortment of bait in the attempt to land an elusive "speckles" brook trout. We also packed sandwiches--just in case we were unable to shake the skunk (for the nonfishermen, when you don't catch any fish, you have been "skunked").

We rode about an hour and a half out of town, crossing streams and more of those rugged, entertaining trails on the May Lake Loop. We found more heavy-duty mud, thigh-deep stream crossings and a steady mix of logs and rock beds to navigate. Our destination was Flying Goose Lake, a little trout lake blessed with a rocky shoreline and cold, clear bronze-colored water. When we arrived Allison Byles, the local tourism representative and an avid ATVer, shook her head. "We're a little late in the day for speckles," she said to me quietly as we unloaded. I chose to keep her doubts to myself, as the rest of the crew excitedly assembled fishing gear and donned chest waders.

Despite our best efforts, Byles' assertion proved to be correct. We didn't land as much as a strike. "If we had been here earlier," she said afterward, "I'm pretty sure we would have done just fine." After a late-afternoon meal of sandwiches and chips, we headed back into town and up the Fire Tower Lookout trail--a steep, serpentine path scattered with head-sized rocks, off-camber turns and a good dose of Canadian mud. At the top, we were rewarded with a spectacular view of Elliot Lake and the town nestled around its clear blue waters. We also visited the Elliot Lake ATV Club headquarters, where members regaled us with tales of ATV riding, hunting and fishing. They are a good bunch, and I'd highly recommend dropping them a line if you plan on visiting the region. The fantastic trail system, crystal clear lakes and great local people will draw us back to Elliot Lake. That and a score we have to settle with one tenacious skunk.

INFORMATION
Place Visited: Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada
Designated OHV Areas: 200-mile looped trail system surrounding town; unlimited riding to the north (guide highly recommended for backcountry tours)
Trail Maps and ATV Info: 800/661-6192; www.atvontario.com
Local Guide:
R&S Northern Tours, 888/744-7544; www.northerntours.com
Riding Season: May-September
Required: Visitor Trail Pass ($25 3-day, $65 7-day, $105 season)
Recommended: Mud tires, winch
Where to Stay: Dunlop Lodge, 877/578-3595; Fireside Inn, 800/461-3711; Inn on the Lake, 800/567-5646; Denison House, 800/461-4600; Algo Inn, 800/461-4600
Local Information: 800/661-6192; www.cityofelliotlake.com/tourism
Local Club: Elliot Lake ATV Club, www.elatv.com; elatv@yahoo.com
Critters: Moose, bears, eagles, loons
Other Activities: Canoeing, hiking, fishing, hunting
Best Local Beer: Carling Black Label, a reliable pilsner that is classic Canadian fare
Road Trip CD: Neil Young, "Long May You Run"

The bush country surrounding Elliot Lake, an area known as the James Bay Frontier, is peppered with more than 4000 lakes. These lakes host walleye, pike, bass, lake trout and brook trout. While fishing for the first three is popular, it is the brook trout (which locals call "speckles") that bring in the serious anglers. "Guys go crazy for the specks. You wouldn't believe what they do to catch them," said Red Briffett, owner of the town source for fishing bait and information, Red's Little Hooker Bait and Tackle Shop. Good fishing is available all over the area, and plenty of the lakes are accessible by four-wheel-drive truck or ATV. Finding remote lakes can be tricky, as the maintained road ends just a few miles north of Elliot Lake and maps of the area are limited to topographics. Locals recommend taking a guide to remote lakes, as the bush roads are a maze that can easily confuse visitors.

Another way to fish some of these lakes is to get flown in to one of the fishing camps on the lakes. Laurentian Mountain Outfitters flies into camps on nearly 20 lakes in the area. The camps are rustic cabins equipped with propane stoves, lights and refrigerators, wood or propane heat, cooking utensils and boats and motors. We had the unique pleasure of spending the night at one of these camps, and were the first people to visit Nigloo Lake that year. The lake is about 50 miles north of Elliot Lake and is ringed with slabs of granite and filled with rock shelves and ridges. We were able to find walleye and bass in just one evening of fishing.

Thanks to a mix-up at the landing, we ended up fishing with four poles and only two reels. Despite this, we caught about a dozen walleyes, including one that measured 29 inches. Plenty for a great fish fry in our little cabin, which easily ranks as one of the best meals of the year. The cabins we saw are decidedly rustic, perfect for a vacation subsisting on fresh fish, clean air and whatever amenities you can fit into a cooler (use your imagination). The lakes are gorgeous and you will most likely have an entire lake to yourself. Laurentian Mountain Outfitters flies in once or so to check on its clients and can bring supplies on occasion. Four-day fishing trips run $375 to $525 per person, depending on the number of people. LMO will fly you in on one of its three float planes--a Cessna 180, a Beaver and a Piper Cub. We flew on the Beaver with Larry, a great pilot who told us that the legendary float plane could stop on a dime if necessary and "actually ran on stove gas diesel for about a week." If hunting is your passion, LMO offers moose and bear hunts in the fall months.

Laurentian Mountain Outfitters: 247 W. Cedar Ave., Gladwin, MI 48624; 989/246-2291; www.fly-north.com.