The Northern Ontario Resource Trail is a mainly gravel road in the Canadian province of Ontario, which travels north from Pickle Lake to the northern shore of Windigo Lake. It links several winter roads and ice roads that serve communities in extreme Northern Ontario to Highway 599.

The first 60 kilometres of the route, from Pickle Lake to the Otoskwin River, also held the tertiary highway designation of Highway 808 within Ontario's provincial highway system from 1966 to 1983, before it was decommissioned.

History

The Trail first started out as an extension of Highway 599, north of Pickle Lake. It was extended to the Otoskwin River in 1966, and was 60 km in length (excluding southern parts of Highway 599).

On December 6, 1966, the northernmost 60 km portion of Highway 599 from Pickle Lake to the Otoskwin River was re-designated as Highway 808. This designation lasted until 1983, when it was decommissioned as an official Provincial Highway. The southernmost 3 kilometres (2 miles) of the trail is paved, while the remaining length is gravel. The road is maintained year-round, due to its importance as a connection to ice/winter roads connecting to remote First Nations communities in the Kenora District.

Route description

Although this road is well-maintained year-round, motorists should stock up on supplies in Pickle Lake, and be prepared for remote bush travel. There are no gas stations or any other services on the Northern Ontario Resource Trail north of Pickle Lake. Caution must be used as well, as there are some steep grades on the route. The speed limit is 80 km/h (50 mph) although there are many sections where such speed cannot be maintained.

This road is extremely lightly travelled, and is in a very remote section of Ontario. It is advised that one fills up with gasoline and supplies, and checks weather conditions before travelling down this road. A spare tire is also a good idea, as it may be several hours (at least) for assistance to arrive. Cellular phones are useless in this area since there are no nearby cell phone relay towers in the wilderness.

Communities served

The Northern Ontario Resource Trail serves several communities via ice/winter roads that branch from it:

• Neskantaga (Lansdowne House, Ontario)
• Eabametoong (Fort Hope)
• Summer Beaver
• Webequie
• Cat Lake
• Weagamow Lake
• Keewaywin
• Koocheching
• Muskrat Dam
• Sachigo Lake
• Bearskin Lake
• Wunnummin Lake
• Kingfisher Lake
• Big Trout Lake
• Wapekeka
• Wawakepewin
• Kasabonika

External links

• Highway 599 on The Kings Highway
• Highway 808 on The Kings Highway