Esker Lakes Provincial Park

Esker Lakes Provincial Park is an adventure and campground destination located north of the community of Kirkland Lake and south of the community of Iroquois Falls, Ontario, Canada. The park is one of the many located in the Wilderness Region of Northern Ontario.

The 3,237 hectare park (7,999 acres) is situated on the cusp of the great continental divide between the Arctic and the Atlantic watersheds. This is called the "Height of Land". It is a point in Canada where the rivers begin to flow north (instead of south) and empty into James Bay and Hudson Bay.

Because the provincial park is largely a byproduct of receding glaciers during the last Ice Age the landscape includes eskers, 29 lakes, bogs, sand dunes, sandy beaches and a boreal forest consisting of jack pine, black spruce, white birch and tamarack trees.

The Munroe Esker in the park is the largest recorded esker in Ontario. The esker measures 250+ kilometres long and consists of a snake-like ridge of sand and rolling hills which were left behind by the glaciers.

The resulting landscape has created a park which caters to popular activities like canoeing, kayaking, swimming, hiking, picnicking, camping, birdwatching, wildlife sightings and fishing for northern pike, speckled and lake trout. However... please note that only electric motors are permitted on the lakes.

There are 3 hiking trails in the Esker Lakes Provincial Park :

(1) Lonesome Bog Trail (1.5 km loop) - An easy-going walk along an interpretive trail exploring a bog and plant life while connecting to Sausage Lake.

(2) Recreational Trail (1.2 km loop) - An easy going trail which explores the boreal forest in the park. Trail is also mountain bike friendly.

(3) Trappers Trail - A challenging trail system with three loop routes measuring 9, 14 and 20 kilometres. The trails follow in the footsteps of an old trapper's line which once traveled crossed the Munro Esker. The shortest loop trail can be done in a day. A combination of loop trails can take up to 2-3 days. Visit bogs, lakes, forest and an old trapper's cabin.

When camping or out exploring always keep your eyes open for wildlife. There are recorded sightings in the park of moose, fox, bear, lynx, beaver, wolf and many species of birds including loons, great blue herons, owls, songbirds and other waterfowl.

The provincial park includes a day use picnic area and 3 campgrounds (Sunny Point, Hilltop and Lakeside). The campgrounds provide serviced and non serviced campsites... and also some group camping areas.

Other services in the park include fishing equipment rentals, canoe rentals, store, museum, firewood, laundromat, washrooms, showers, boat launch and a playground.

Explore Esker Lakes Provincial Park, Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada, Wilderness Region