Wabakimi Provincial Park

10/28/2026

Important update for our visitors who are planning next year's trips 📅🛶🌉

Access to the park on Tamarack Lake is currently unavailable via Trail Lake Road. During the forest fires that affected the area in July 2026, the bridge, which lies outside of the park boundary, was burned and destroyed. Upon learning this in mid-September, we let the MNR know and recommend that people contact the MNR if they have questions about the status of the bridge. We do not currently have a set date for reopening this access point.

For the 2027 paddling season, an alternate drive-to access point is the Little Caribou Lake Access Point, where we have ample parking about 350m up the road from the put in, thanks to our collaboration with the Friends of Wabakimi. It differs from the Tamarack Access as this route does require crossing larger bodies of water to enter the park.

We will be hard at work for the next several seasons to re-establish portages and campsites in areas affected by fires. Check back to this page for updates or give us a call (807-475-1634) with any route planning questions! We can do our best to help.

Take care, paddlers! 💕🛶✨

10/23/2026

Wabakimi 2026 Season Recap 🌲🛶🌞

What a season! It had its ups and downs, and our small but mighty team was hard at work in Wabakimi and the surrounding area. Read below for the season recap.
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CANOE ROUTE CLEARING 🌲🪚🌊

Flindt River to Wabakimi Lake: Our first portage clearing trip happened during the second week of June and had lots of downed trees from the 2023 fire. Once we got into the burned area, the days were long and filled with the sounds of our chainsaw clearing the way for paddlers.

Redhead Lake to Little Caribou Lake: Our canoe techs spent some long days clearing some old and seldom used portage. This included the park's longest portage which is 1778m between Dagger Lake and Otterbluff Lake. During this trip, several moose and caribou were seen, and they also changed batteries and SD cards on our trail cameras around Elf Lake.

Albany River P.P.: Our operations tech and staff from the Northwest Zone Office joined with students of Lakehead University's Outdoor Recreation program for a two week paddle down a section of the Albany River. They landed on Miminiska Lake and paddled over 200km just before the park boundary ends. Several portages were cleared, good times were had by all, and it will help update our recreation inventory of the park.

Tamarack Loop: This fall we had our staff start to work on some of the areas affected by this year's forest fires. Upon trying to get into Tamarack Lake via Trail Lake Road, we discovered the bridge to this access point had been burned and it is currently unavailable for use. After a quick pivot, we got our staff in, and they cleared several small loops in the south of the park in the Spring Lake - Granite Lake area. More info to come on this access for 2027.

Smoothrock to Kenoji via Whitewater: This area was more affected by this year's burn than the Tamarack Lake trip done the week before. Our crew re-established portages and some campsites that were burned in preparation for next season. The winter winds will continue to knock trees down, so navigation through burned areas will continue to pose challenges. Remember to look for cut logs and blazes!
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SCIENCE AND RESEARCH 📸🔬🦇

Bat research: Tagging along with some partnered organizations, our operations technician Jake helped with the second year of data collection on little brown bats living on Whitewater Lake. Several dozen bats were caught, measured, and safely released this season, with lab tests sent off to detect the presence of white-nose syndrome.

Song meter deployment: Our annual deployment of song meters was on Brennan Lake and Jeep Lake. We set up 25 of these devices every year, which automatically record during early morning and evening to capture bird songs. We use these recordings to get a better understanding of the bird species that are living and nesting in the park! We can also use this data to detect shifts in species over time. The boreal forest is a vital nesting ground for songbird populations, with billions of birds calling it their home across the country.

Caribou collar retrievals: Our staff assisted with picking up GPS collars from the Boreal Caribou Monitoring Program in and around Wabakimi Provincial Park. The collars in this program help estimate the annual adult survival rates of caribou and movement patterns throughout their ranges. We retrieved 9 collars from caribou that had been predated or otherwise died and collected some of the remains for testing.
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While the 2026 season posed many challenges, our amazing team of five staff still got out to maintain the park and contribute to loads of research. We hope everyone has an amazing winter and we'll catch you in the 2027 paddling season!
✨🛶✨

08/20/2026

Park Update.

The following park entry points are open as of August 21st, 2026:

•Flindt River / Vista Rd
•Sassenach Lake
•Smye Lake
•Allanwater Bridge

The following park reservation zones are open as of August 21st, 2026:
•Flindt
•Allanwater
•Wabakimi
Note: Only Wabakimi Lake and Lower Wabakimi Lake are open in this reservation zone.

Due to the impacts from nearby forest fires, all other entry points and reservation zones will remain closed until October 31st, 2026.

To ensure your planned route is not impacted by these closures, please refer to the re-opening maps below, which can also be found on the Wabakimi maps page at www.ontarioparks.ca/park/wabakimi/maps

Please call our reservation call centre at 1-888-668-7275 for more information on Backcountry Registration Permits.

07/30/2026

Due to the ongoing forest fire situation and local area evacuation orders, all canoe routes in Wabakimi remain closed until August 21, 2026.

Date is subject to change based on local conditions.

07/22/2026

🛶❤️🌲
While Wabakimi remains closed because forest fire activity, those with a keen desire for backcountry paddling might want to check out one of Northwestern Ontario’s other great wilderness parks, Woodland Caribou Provincial Park!

Our hearts are with everyone affected by the forest fires across Northern Ontario this summer. While wildfire is a natural and essential part of the boreal forest ecosystem, its impacts on communities, families, and travel plans are significant.

At Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, we welcome anyone who may be changing their trip plans because of the fires in Quetico and Wabakimi Provincial Parks. If you're considering a visit, please check out our trip planning blog for the latest updates and resources:

https://blog.ontarioparks.ca/woodland-caribou-planner/

If you have specific questions or need help planning your trip, our office is happy to assist—just give us a call - 807-727-1329

07/21/2026

Due to the ongoing forest fire situation and local area evacuation orders, all canoe routes and camping will continue to be closed in Wabakimi P.P. until August 7th, 2026. This date is subject to change based on local conditions.

As always, stay up to date by visiting ontarioparks.ca/alerts for closures, fire bans, and other park notices.

Stay safe and we hope to have you back soon!

View alerts and notices for provincial parks throughout the province.

07/20/2026

We've closed the canoe routes in the following parks to align with the most recent Evacuation Order issued for the Armstrong area:
- Kopka River PP
- Gull River PP
- Obonga-Ottertooth PP
- Whitesand PP
- Windigo Bay PP

To keep up to date on Wabakimi's and other park closures, visit OntarioParks.ca/alerts

Take care and stay safe out there!

07/14/2026

Due to the extreme forest fire conditions in and around Wabakimi Provincial Park and the evacuation orders for our surrounding communities, we are closing the entire park until July 27th 2026. We will continue to assess the situation as it develops. Please stay safe!

07/14/2026

UPDATE: Up-to-date information will be posted at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DDD2fNBzh/
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MISE À JOUR : D’autres mises à jour seront publiées dans l’article accessible via le lien suivant : https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DDD2fNBzh/

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EVACUATION UPDATE (July 14, 5:30 a.m. EDT): NWR OPP continues to advise the public of mandatory evacuation orders in the following areas due to ongoing forest fires:
🔴 Armstrong
🔴 Collins First Nation
🔴 Cushing Lake
🔴 Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation and nearby communities
🔴 Whitesand First Nation
If you are in these communities and need assistance evacuation, please call 9-1-1.

Residents in the following areas are encouraged to prepare for a possible evacuation due to the evolving wildfire situation:
🟡 Ignace
🟡 Crystal Lake
🟡 Highway 633 area
No evacuation order is currently in place for these areas, however, residents in some locations may have been directly advised by emergency personnel to evacuate as a precaution. Please continue to monitor for any updates.

In addition, the following road closures remain in place:
⛔ Highway 11 - all lanes closed between Highway 633 and Highway 623 (east of Atikokan)
⛔ Highway 599 - southbound closed between Highway 516 and Mishkeegogamang First Nation

NWR OPP is urging the public to say informed and plan ahead.
➡️ Stay up to date on current fire conditions in your area: https://www.ontario.ca/page/forest-fires
➡️ If you are evacuating, remember to pack essential items, such as medications, identification, passports, and important documents
➡️ Follow all evacuation orders, road closures, and instructions from emergency officials
➡️ Keep a safe distance from emergency crews and aircrafts so they can carry out their work effectively
➡️ In an emergency, call 9-1-1. For non-emergent police matters, please call 1-888-310-1122. ^pia

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MISE À JOUR SUR LES ÉVACUATIONS (14 juillet, 5 h 30 HAE) : La Police provinciale de l’Ontario de la région du Nord-Ouest (NWR OPP) continue d’informer la population des ordonnances d’évacuation obligatoires en vigueur dans les régions suivantes en raison des feux de forêt en cours :
🔴 Armstrong
🔴 Première Nation de Collins
🔴 Lac Cushing
🔴 Première Nation du Lac des Mille Lacs et collectivités avoisinantes
🔴 Première Nation de Whitesand
Si vous vous trouvez dans l’une de ces collectivités et avez besoin d’aide pour évacuer, veuillez composer le 9-1-1.

Les résidents des régions suivantes sont invités à se préparer à une éventuelle évacuation en raison de l’évolution de la situation liée aux feux de forêt :
🟡 Ignace
🟡 Crystal Lake
🟡 Région de l’autoroute 633
Aucun arrêté d’évacuation n’est actuellement en vigueur pour ces régions; toutefois, les résidents de certaines localités ont peut-être reçu directement des services d’urgence la consigne d’évacuer par mesure de précaution. Veuillez continuer à suivre les mises à jour.

De plus, les fermetures de routes suivantes sont toujours en vigueur :
⛔ Route 11 – toutes les voies sont fermées entre la route 633 et la route 623 (à l’est d’Atikokan)
⛔ Route 599 – direction sud fermée entre la route 516 et la Première Nation de Mishkeegogamang

La Police provinciale de l’Ontario (Police provinciale) de la région NWR exhorte la population à se tenir informée et à planifier à l’avance.
➡️ Tenez-vous au courant de la situation actuelle des feux dans votre région : https://www.ontario.ca/page/forest-fires
➡️ Si vous devez évacuer, n’oubliez pas d’emporter les articles essentiels, tels que les médicaments, vos pièces d’identité, vos passeports et vos documents importants
➡️ Respectez tous les ordres d’évacuation, les fermetures de route et les directives des responsables des urgences
➡️ Gardez une distance de sécurité par rapport aux équipes d’intervention et aux aéronefs afin qu’ils puissent mener à bien leur travail
➡️ En cas d’urgence, composez le 9-1-1. Pour les questions policières non urgentes, veuillez composer le 1-888-310-1122. ^pia

07/08/2026

Canoe rangers Jake and Graham recently completed backcountry maintenance and inventory work in the Redhead to Little Caribou area of Wabakimi. Water levels were reported to be at an 'average' level for this time of year and the insects were noted to be 'above average'...

The rangers will be on the Kopka River in the upcoming week doing scheduled route maintenance from Sparkling Lake to Kopka Lake.

Happy Paddles!