Canada Guide
Ontario
Manitoulin Island
The Ojibwa believed that when Gitchi Manitou (the Great Spirit) created the world he reserved the best bits for himself and created Manitoulin (God's Island) – the world's largest freshwater island (at over 2700 square km) – as his home. A continuation of the limestone Niagara Escarpment, Manitoulin is strikingly different from the harsh grey rocks of the Canadian Shield, its white cliffs, wide lakes, gentle woodland and stretches of open, prairie-like farmland presenting an altogether more welcoming aspect. This rural idyll has long attracted hundreds of summer sailors, who ply the lakes that punctuate the island, and has proved increasingly popular with motorized city folk, who arrive here in numbers on the car ferry from Tobermory in southwest Ontario. Nevertheless, it's easy enough to escape the crowds, either by driving along the north shore, the prettiest part of the island, or by hunkering down in one of Manitoulin's secluded resorts.
Manitoulin can be reached from the north by road (and bridge) from Hwy 17 or by car ferry from Tobermory to the south (May to mid-Oct 2–4 daily; $15 one-way, cars $31; 2hr; 
1-800/265-3163, 
www.ontarioferries.com ). Ferries arrive on the island's south coast at South Baymouth; there are no bus or train services to or around the island.