Silver Islet ON Ontario Canada, Lake Superior
21
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Frequently Asked Questions
By small boat, into a sheltered cove lined with wooden cottages and private docks. The call is limited to expedition ships and the landing depends on conditions on Lake Superior.
At the tip of the Sibley Peninsula on Lake Superior, where the road from Thunder Bay ends. It is a one-street hamlet, with no terminal and no duty-free shop.
An elongated rock formation that seems to float on the lake above the hamlet, protected within Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. It is the visual landmark of the whole call.
In 1868, prospectors from the Montreal Mining Company found a vein of exceptionally pure silver on an islet barely above water. From 1870 the islet was enlarged more than tenfold with crushed rock and the shafts drove down beneath the lake. The mine closed in 1884 when the coal needed for the pumps failed to arrive in time and water reclaimed the workings.
From the shore only. The bare islet is visible, the last remaining trace of the venture. On calm days, residents say you can make out the shadow of the drowned works beneath the surface.
Visit the carefully restored 1871 general store, whose tea room serves scones and coffee in season. Guided walks lead to the peninsula's lookouts, through spruce and birch forest to basalt headlands with long views over Superior.
Very few. Bring what you need and take your waste with you. Cell coverage is intermittent, which is an excellent excuse to put the phone away.
Moose, foxes and boreal birds, more often heard than seen. The onboard naturalists point them out during walks in the provincial park.
The Canadian dollar and English. Bring cash: services are very limited and a card terminal is not guaranteed.
Walking shoes for the trails and rocky shorelines, plus something windproof. The air over the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area stays cool even in summer.
