Trip Report, Planning, and Logistics: How to Reach Ishpatina Ridge from the South (Hike and Bike)
Ishpatina Ridge is Ontario’s highest point, and it's challenging to reach. This is a trip that I'd been eyeing for a few years. Getting there takes time, planning, and some backcountry skill. But reaching the peak is rewarding and beautiful. Plus, you get to say that you were the highest person in the province. On August 24, 2025 I was up higher than anyone else in Ontario.
If you've reached this page, you're probably looking for advice on how to plan your own trip. Here's what I did, and some practical tips for you to plan your own trip including maps, GPS coordinates, route notes, camping tips, and some insider advice.
You’ll also find links below to purchase a wild Ishpatina Dehydrated Sourdough Starter that I started in the forest in the region near to the peak. I think having your own bread that was started near Ontario's highest point is a cool thing to have, and a way of sharing the experience of being there, so I made some to share.
Logistics
I reached the peak through the southern approach - it's an overland approach, you drive along a lot of logging roads, and then I biked and hiked in. There's also a northern approach that involves a few days of canoeing. I've never done this, so this information is only about the southern hiking/biking approach.
Trailhead
It's important to separate what are really two different trailheads: the first is Gervais Landing also known as the Sturgeon River Launch. This is at the end of a pretty rough logging road, just outside of Capreol (which itself is outside of Sudbury). This is where you can park your car, cross the river, and start your bike ride (or hike) in. It's even on Google Maps here:
And on OpenStreetMaps here:
Reaching Gervais Landing / Sturgeon River Launch
You're in for a long drive.
Reaching Gervais Landing involves driving about 65km along logging roads off of Moose Mountain Mine Rd. (Highway 84). The turnoff is for Portelance Road, which develops a few different names along the way. A few kilometres in, you'll start to see distance markers - they're yellow signs on the side of the road. Gervais Landing / Sturgeon River was about 65km in from where these markers started when I was visited.
I drove from Ottawa and arrived at the trailhead around 11PM. The road was navigable, but I would strongly recommend a high-clearance vehicle. The road is narrow, remote, and may be muddy or washed out in places. Presumably there are also logging trucks that may be on the road at the same time (I didn't see any). Download your maps ahead of time and bring a spare tire. You need to be careful on this road and drive cautiously.
I spent a lot of time reviewing Google Maps, satellite images, topographical maps of the area, and other people's trip reports before I set out. You should do the same - these are active logging roads and there are many side roads and turnoffs. When I drove it (August 2025), it was simple enough to stay on the main road and that got me where I wanted to go; but you'll find other trip reports online with outdated route suggestions that in some cases don't exist anymore. Do your own research, know where you're going, have the GPS coordinates in your device, and be prepared. I had actually used Google Maps to get me part of the way there. At the time of writing, Google Maps has directions to KM marker about 43, which still leaves around 20km of navigating for you to do. It goes without saying that you should not rely on Google Maps (or my experience!) to get you through this maze of logging roads, in an area that has no cell service.
The roads themselves are at times very well-maintained (these seem to be active logging roads) and at other times are a real mess. Parts are washed out. There are big potholes to navigate. Large rocks are in the middle of the road. Some parts are covered with river rock. Be prepared for this trip.
Once you reach Sturgeon River, you're in for a real nice treat. I was the only person there, the sky was clear and full of stars. The river is beautiful and peaceful. This is a great place to rest up and get ready for the trip ahead.
GPS Coordinates & Navigation
- Gervais Landing / Sturgeon River Launch: 47.225319, –80.827809
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Ishpatina Ridge Trailhead:
- Summit (Fire Tower): 47.316792, –80.827775 (approx.)
Topographic Maps
I spent a lot of time looking over the topographical maps of the area, so that I was familiar with the terrain and the landmarks along the trail. The Ishpatina Ridge Trail follows the perimeter of several lakes fairly nicely, which made it helpful for me to orient myself. I was glad to have spent the time reviewing these, and I kept them with me on my hike.
The relevant topographical maps covering the area from Gervais Landing/Sturgeon River Launch to Ishpatina Ridge are:
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41P8 – Lady Evelyn Lake
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41P9 – Smoothwater Lake
Mountain Bike In from Gervais Landing/Sturgeon River Launch
The Ishpatina Ridge hiking trailhead is approximately 6.5km from Gervais Landing/Sturgeon River Launch. Reaching it is quite straightforward, it's a very wide double track trail that is easy to hike or bike. Reaching the start of the bike trail, though, requires you to cross Sturgeon River. The river crossing is not particularly wide - 30m perhaps. When I crossed it in August 2025 the water level was at most up to my knee; obviously this will change at different times of the year. The river was moving fairly quickly but it was easily passable for me and I just walked my bike across. There's an obvious safety consideration here in crossing a fast-moving river. Do your homework, be prepared, take precautions, know your limits, don't do this if it's dangerous to you, and do all of this at your own risk.
You could choose to hike to the trailhead, and it would be a nice hike. I biked it on my mountain bike and this was a nice ride and definitely saved me some time. You can see the route I took here:
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Strava route (bike in): https://strava.app.link/HROBojlw9Vb
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Strava route (bike out): https://strava.app.link/HNkq49ow9Vb
The ride is double-track, not overly technical, and passes several scenic lakes. Expect puddles and ruts, but it's manageable with a mountain bike if you've got some decent skills. You'll pass by Hamlow Lake and Little Scarecrow Lake - both would make great backcountry camping sites and would be a nice spot to make a basecamp for the hike, if you've got time to factor it into this trip.
Hiking to Ishpatina Ridge
A few notes on this hike:
First, this is a strenuous and physically challenging hike. If you decide to do it, know your abilities and your limits.
Second, the trail is fairly well-defined and quite well marked with flagging tape, but it requires some navigation and constant situational awareness. This is not a maintained or official trail - the trail that is there exists because people have hiked it and flagged it. It's very remote.
Third, you can find GPS tracks of the trail from different sources. In my experience, they were pretty accurate - but I spent time reviewing topographical maps, planning my route, and becoming familiar with where I was going before I set foot on the trail. You should do the same.
The trail "officially" starts here:
I mountain biked to this point and stashed my bike in the woods (it was still there when I came back, and I doubt anyone had even walked by it). I stopped and had a short snack here then started hiking at 9:05 AM from the trailhead.
The trail begins through different types of forest with most parts being well-flagged and navigable. I passed by the tip of Woods Lake but the first main landmark that I hit was the west perimeter of Scarecrow Lake. It's beautiful - there's an obvious campsite toward the north end that seems to be reachable by canoe as well.
As other trip reports have mentioned, there is a part of this section of trail that was affected by a forest fire several years ago. There is a section of the trail (a few hundred metres) that is quite challenging to navigate because of this - it requires very careful foot placement and many of the rocks and logs are quite slippery and unstable.
After following Scarecrow Lake to the northern tip, the trail brought me back into the forest. I passed by one other small lake, and then the trail really started to become steeper: I gained about 300M in just under 3km. This is a strenuous hike up to the summit, parts of it are quite technical, and overall this was a real challenging hike.
I reached the summit at 12:15 PM (about. 3hours of hiking, 8.82 km).
Strava Route (Hike): https://strava.app.link/TfobAZnw9Vb
Summit Experience
Reaching the summit is totally worth the effort. You're rewarded with beautiful panoramic views, and the privilege of being in an extremely isolated part of the world - and of being the highest person in the province of Ontario while you're there. I think that's cool.
The fire tower is still standing but it's not climbable and I assume would be unsafe to do so anyhow. There’s a small memorial box with tributes to Robert M. Smith (“Smitty”) that includes his ashes and a guest book - add your name and say something nice. There's also a Nalgene bottle filled with handwritten notes from past visitors.
The views from the summit are incredible with vast, rolling hills, shifting cloud cover, and quiet wilderness.
I had brought my camp stove and a pot, so I hung out for a few hours, had a hot lunch, made coffee, and spent time taking photos and video.
Descent
I left the summit at 2:20 PM and descended quickly, reaching the trailhead area and my bike at 5:15 PM.
The descent confirmed how steep the climb really was - my knees felt it.
I backtracked the same route out as in. No surprises, and I stopped at a few lakes along the way.
I reached the trailhead, hopped on my bike, and made it back to my car by around 6PM. This was a great hike and bike.
Camping & Permits
Ishpatina Ridge falls within Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park, a backcountry park. You must purchase a backcountry camping permit through Ontario Parks if you're going to camp within the boundaries of the park.
There are no established campsites, bear boxes, or latrines.
Connectivity & Safety
There is no cell service past Capreol. I strongly recommend:
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Purchasing and bringing the topographical maps for this area
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Do your research: know where you're going. Review satellite images, trails, maps, roads, etc.
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Carrying a satellite communicator (e.g., Garmin inReach) so you can communicate in emergencies
After Your Trip…
You can commemorate your journey (or dream of one!) with:
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The Ishpatina Ridge Wild Sourdough Starter, made from a sourdough starter with wild yeasts from the Ishpatina region.
