First of all, we want to thank the Friends of Wabakimi for help in making this map. Without their help and hard work, this map would not exist. Most of the data on this map was obtained from the Friends of Wabakimi maps, which have been painstakingly compiled over decades.
Wabakimi is a real wilderness area and has the challenges that wilderness brings. Portages and campsites are not as well-maintained as in other canoeing areas such as the Boundary Waters. A route may not have been traveled for years, so portages and campsites may be overgrown, hard to find, and/or may not exist anymore.
Campsites - All campsite locations were obtained from the Friends of Wabakimi maps. Locations are rough estimates. In other words, these are not GPS coordinates. Actual locations can be very different from what is shown here. As mentioned, marked campsites may not exist any more because they are not maintained regularly.
Portages - Portage locations are even more approximated than campsite locations. Portage data was obtained from the Friends of Wabakimi, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and the official park map. In some instances, there were discrepancies between the sources. We have done our best to figure it out, but portages can be misplaced, not exist, or could exist and not be shown on our map. Portage locations and paths are approximated. Also, since we calculate the portage distances from our path data, and the path data is approximated, the portage distances shown can be very different from the actual length. As with the campsites, most portages shown on this map are not maintained, so they may be overgrown or may not exist any more. Within the actual park, portages on official routes are maintained on a rotating basis, but this does not happen outside of the official park routes.
Access Points - Unlike other paddling areas, Wabakimi has no official access points. You access the park however you can. The official park map shows some potential/common access points, and these are the ones shown on this map. The Friends of Wabakimi has chosen to not show access points on their maps.
Park Boundaries - To reduce clutter on this map, we have chosen to only show the Wabakimi Provincial Park boundaries. There are many other provincial parks and crown lands surrounding Wabakimi. In fact, access to Wabakimi Provincial Park is typically obtained through these surrounding parks and lands. The Friends of Wabakimi has maps for these surrouding areas.
Route Builder - The Route Builder time estimates could be significantly off for a few reasons, especially on this map. In general, the Route Builder assumes a constant paddling and portaging speed. Weather conditions can impact paddling speed, and portage conditions can significantly impact walking speed. In Wabakimi, portages may not be maintained or may not exist, so travel can be difficult and time-consuming. The default Route Builder settings may not be realistic for a "real" wilderness area such as Wabakimi. The settings can be changed. The most likely change would be reducing the portage and paddling speed to account for difficult areas.
Trip Reports - A good source of information on a route is the Friends of Wabakimi trip reports. The reports are very detailed and give great explanations about routes and difficulties you may encounter. We suggest using these reports when planning a trip. We are planning on cataloging these trip reports and including links to them on this map.
How Can I Help? - Accurate data is the best thing you can contribute. GPS tracks are especially helpful, but any information is welcome. Please send us a message if you have any data or corrections to the map. Submitting trip reports and data to the Friends of Wabakimi will also help future paddlers plan their trips to this beautiful area.
