Red Lake
A Remote Gold Mining District Town With The Red Lake Museum, Large Lakes, Fishing Lodges, A Gold Rush History That Began In 1925, And A Rugged Boreal Setting. A Long Drive Off The Main Highway, With Floatplane Access Beyond · Red Lake, Ontario
Red Lake is a gold-mining town of roughly 4,000 people in north-western Ontario at the end of Highway 105, about 120 to 160 km north of Vermilion Bay on the Trans-Canada Highway (confirm). The Ojibwe people have fished and travelled these lakes for thousands of years, and the district changed forever in 1925, when a gold discovery near Howey Bay set off a rush that brought prospectors by canoe, dog team and early aircraft (confirm the details). Mines such as Campbell, Dickenson and Madsen grew up around the lakes, and the communities of Balmertown, Cochenour and Madsen formed beside them. Red Lake remains a working mining centre, with a museum on the main street that tells the gold rush story. Large lakes ring the town, fishing lodges cater to anglers from across the continent, and floatplanes link the road end to remote camps and northern communities. The long drive in through rock and boreal forest makes the arrival feel earned.
Red Lake, a gold-mining town of about 4,000 people in north-western Ontario at the end of Highway 105, roughly 140 km north of Vermilion Bay on the Trans-Canada Highway; coordinates approximate, Red Lake, Ontario, Canada
The town and its lake viewpoints are open all year, and the lakeshore, the roadside signs and the public parks cost nothing at any hour. The Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre keeps seasonal hours, often daily or on most days from about late May to early September and fewer days in winter (confirm by phone). Shops, restaurants, fuel stations and the airport keep ordinary town hours. Summer light lasts past 10 pm in June, and winter days are short and very cold. Mine sites are working industrial areas with restricted access, and lodges and outfitters take bookings by phone.