Kenora to Thunder Bay routes ?

[Cariboo Canoe]

I'm piecing together my route for a cross Canada paddle in 2020, and was wondering about getting from Kenora to Thunder Bay without taking the route along the border. I've been looking at google earth and it seems easy enough to get from Rainy Lake to Atikokan along the Seine River, but is there a way to get to Thunder Bay from Atikokan.
Also, there is the Path of the Paddle route from Kenora down to Atikokan. Is anyone familiar with this route ? How difficult it is ?

Thanks, Andrew.

 

[wjmc]

After 1803, the main fur trade route west from Thunder Bay avoided the border lakes. It went via the Kaministikwa, Dog, and Savanne rivers to Lac des MIlle Lacs, then via the Pickerel River to Pickerel Lake, and into Sturgeon Lake and down the Maligne River to Lac la Croix. This information is from Eric Morse's book, "Fur Trade Routes of Canada / Then and Now". He notes that the Seine, "though more direct, was too rough for canoe-freighting."

He also notes that the North West Company paid voyageurs on this route a bonus, as the Savanne /Dog divide involved three long, hilly, boggy portages totaling five miles.

Whether this route is viable today I am not sure.

-wjmc

 

[Iskweo]

have a look at another site....Manitoba Canoeists... they may have some route info

 

[Bothwell Voyageur]

We have paddled the western end of the section, from Kenora to vermilion bay. It's a pretty paddle and if you have the energy it is possible to find parallel lakes that are often quieter than the main route. There are lots of sandy beaches on the big lakes and for manitoba paddlers the big thing we notice are the red pine trees compared to our spruce and Jack pine. There are also some good pictographs sites just south of the route.

 

[Cariboo Canoe]

Thanks for your responses folks. I did some research on the 1803 fur trade route and it looks to be what I was searching for. What I think would be really great would be to do the Path of the Paddle route to Atikokan, then east on the highway to connect to the 1803 route at Windigoostigwan Lake.

 

[Cariboo Canoe]

Bothwell, that all sounds awesome. There does not seem to much info out there on this route. There are a few trip reports out there though.