How many hikes directly inspired the most famous painters in Canadian History? Aside from staying in a hotel in Victoria, which was 100 percent haunted where Emily Carr died, this hike is the closest I've come to Canadiana Group of Seven greatness. Chutes Provincial Park and the majestic views inspired the Group of Seven and their exploration of the Northern Channel.
We went to this park to break up our drive from Manitoulin Island to Sudbury and stretch our legs. Unfortunately, because of the time of day we arrived and the surge, in temperature this moderate hike felt particularly daunting and hot, although beautiful. We normally set out at around 8 or 9 in the morning and we didn't even start this hike until lunch time.
The reason this hike is called Twin Bridges is because of the two bridges that make up some of the viewing platforms where you can enjoy the rapids.
The paths are well marked and there is the option to take a shortcut which cuts off several KMs and gives you most of the views you'll want for the chutes if you want to cut your time. You book in hourly blocks per car for this park and we bought a two hour pass.
Since we still had a few hours to kill before we could check in to our hotel in Sudbury we figured we might was well experience everything Chutes had to offer.
While we ran into many people on the shortened portion of the trail, we only ran into one group of four hikers on the remainder of our travels. The trail was very well marked.
With many tranquil little lookouts to stop and enjoy, I can see the inspiration for painting. This park would be especially stunning in the fall when the leaves change colour.
Swimming and boating is only allowed in specific areas of this park because of the strong currents and abundance of rocks.
Even I must admit that this view looks like it could be a post card. This entire Provincial Park looks like it was designed by Bob Ross himself.
With some detours our hike worked out to be 6.5KM total. The last two KM were hard to take, particularly since our car was packed up so much that I was unable to locate one of our water bottles. In all fairness this was my fault though, not the hikes.
The forested trail was lovely, particularly since we had it all to ourselves. One tough aspect is that some of the rockier, biggest incline, most challenging portions of the hike are in the last 2km when you're already feeling tired.
This was a beautiful hike, but I would strongly recommend it for families with experienced hikers and kids over 6 to 8 years old. If I could have a do over I would have tackled the hike earlier in the day when it was cooler and with more drinks and snacks on hand. I would try this hike again in the fall so I could enjoy the colours a crisp October day brings. It took us two hours total to complete this hike including numerous stops. If you're in the area and up for a challenging hike, give it a go.
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