Watersports are the main attraction at Sioux Narrows.
Launch your boat at the park ramp for cruising or sailing
or waterskiing. The lake is also inviting for canoeists, as
it is part of a well-used waterway corridor along which
many historic parties of explorers paddled to the West.
Lake of the Woods offers some of the best fishing in
Ontario. Walleye, northern pike, muskie, lake trout, smallmouth bass,
rock bass, pumpkinseed, bluegill, crappie and perch are plentiful.
Wildlife is also abundant and frequently seen along the shoeline in quiet bays.
Moose, deer, fox, wolf, bear, rabbit, beaver including huge snapping turtles
along with 100's of birds provide watchers with endless amazement.
Located on one of the many islands of Lake of the Woods,
Sioux Narrows is surrounded by
thousands of other islands and connecting waterways --
remnants of glacial Lake Agassiz, which once covered the
ancient bedrock of the Precambrian Shield.
Evidence of the area's glacial past is also evident in the
marks gouged in the bedrock, and by the erratics found
here. Erratices are huge boulders left behind by the
massive fields of ice.
The rich soil deposited by ancient Lake Agassiz supports
a forest of aspen, maple, birch, red and white pine,
balsam and cedar. Wildflowers such as bunchberries,
pasture roses, daisies, and spotted touch-me-nots bloom
from spring to fall, complementing the wide variety of
moss- and leaf-greens on the forest floor. There is also a
variety of edible plants - hazelnuts, blueberries,
raspberries, strawberries and sand cherries.
Chipmunks, squirrels and snowshoe hares are sure to be
seen at the park. On occasion you will see a white-tailed
deer or even a black bear. Bald eagles, ospreys and
cormorants breed on the nearby islands. The beach and
shoreline are good places to spot loons, great blue herons,
white pelicans, and sapsuckers.
Red-ochre ancient pictographs painted on rocks along the
lakeshore depict spririts, animals and less identifiable
shapes suggesting a long aboriginal presence in the area.
More recently, in the mid-18th century, the Ojibwa
defeated a war-party of Sioux swimming across the
narrows. Today, the highway crosses the narrows at the
site of the battle, and the park and nearby town are named
in recognition of this episode of the area's history.
The Provincial Park has 71 campsites, of which 17 have access to an
electrical outlet. All are equipped with picnic tables,
fireplaces and a parking space. A comfort station is
centrally located. Other amenities include a laundromat,
playground and boat launch. Open from mid-May through
Labor Day, the park is gated in winter.