Pickle Lake
The Last Town On The Highway System In North Western Ontario, A Former Gold Mining Community At The End Of Highway 599 And A Gateway To Fly In Fishing, Remote First Nations And The Winter Roads. A Final Fuel Up Before The Northern Bush · Pickle Lake, Ontario
Pickle Lake is a small town of roughly 350 to 450 people at the northern end of Highway 599 in north-western Ontario, about 380 to 420 km north of Dryden by road (confirm). It is the last community reached by the provincial highway system in this part of the province, and beyond it lie fly-in First Nations communities, wide boreal forest and the winter roads that open each year over frozen muskeg and lakes. The Ojibwe and Oji-Cree peoples have lived, hunted and travelled across this country for thousands of years. The town itself began in the late 1920s after gold was found, and the Pickle Crow mine and the camp at Central Patricia brought miners, prospectors and bush pilots north. The mines have since closed, and the town now serves as a supply and air-service centre for fishing and hunting lodges and for northern communities. A small museum records the mining and bush-flying past, and the long approach drive through spruce, jack pine and lakes is part of the visit.
Pickle Lake, a small town of about 400 people at the northern end of Highway 599 in north-western Ontario, roughly 400 km north of Dryden by road, the start of the winter roads to the far north; coordinates approximate, Pickle Lake, Ontario, Canada
The town is open all year, and the lakeshore, the sign at the end of the highway and the roadside lookouts cost nothing at any hour. The local museum keeps seasonal hours, often a few days a week or daily in July and August, and may open by appointment in winter (confirm by phone). Fuel, the grocery store, the hotel and the restaurant keep ordinary small-town hours and may close early on Sundays. Summer light lasts past 10 pm in June, while winter days are short and very cold. The winter roads open only when ice and snow allow, usually for a few weeks between January and March (confirm), and are not meant for casual visitors.