Wawa - municipality in Ontario, Canada

Wawa (pop. 3,000) is a former mining town on a sparsely-populated section of the Trans-Canada Highway in Northern Ontario.

Understand

Wawa, named for an Ojibway word meaning “Wild Goose”, served as a French fur trade post from 1725 and as a mining town since a gold rush in 1896. Iron ore (hematite) was found in 1897; the last of the mines closed a century later. Forestry was also once a major local industry, but is in decline in the Wawa, Dubreuilville and White River region as Weyerhauser closed its oriented strandboard mill in 2007. The local population, close to 6,000 at its 1990s peak, has dropped by half in about twenty years; portions of the town and highway were damaged by a flood in 2012.

The last Ontario section of the Trans-Canada Highway, 250 km (150 miles) from Sault Ste. Marie to Wawa, was completed in 1960. As the new highway bypassed downtown Wawa by a mile, a 28-foot-tall Canada Goose was constructed at the Highway 17 / 101 intersection, the entrance to the town, to make Wawa easily visible to visitors.

Visitor information

• Tourist Information Centre, Mission Rd, 47.974042°, -84.783117°, +1 705-856-2244 ext 240. 8AM-8PM. Located beside the Wawa Goose.

Get in

By car

• From the north and south: Wawa straddles a sparsely-populated stretch of Highway 17 (Trans-Canada Highway). Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) to the south and Thunder Bay to the northwest are the nearest cities of any size.
• From the east: Highway 101 from Chapleau

By bus

• Ontario Northland. Operates primarily in Northern Ontario. 2022-04-23 Operates a bus route multiple days per week between Thunder Bay and Sault Sainte Marie including stops in Red Rock, Nipigon, Schreiber, Terrace Bay, Marathon, White River, and Wawa.

By plane

• Wawa Airport (IATA: YXZ), 47.966944°, -84.786389°. Wawa Airport does not receive scheduled flights, but several chartering companies are based in the town.
• Watson's Skyway Ltd, +1 705-856-4233.
• Wilderness Helicopters Ltd, +1 705-856-1660.

By thumb

Wawa is recognized as a notorious hitchhiker's trap - easy to get to, but impossible to leave. Enter at your own risk.

If you're planning on hitchhiking your way out, good luck. The best place to thumb a ride is near the Wawa Goose.

Get around

Wawa is a small town where everything is a short walk away.

• Wawa Taxi, +1 705-856-1133.
• Wawa Transit, +1 705-856-5802. Monday to Friday 8:45AM to 2:45PM. A demand-response public bus — call in advance to book a ride. Adult $4, senior (55+)/disabled $3, child (under 10) $2 2022-06-27

See

• The Wawa Goose, Hwys 17 and 101, 47.973542°, -84.782973°. 24/7. 2.7 tons and tall, the new bronze goose replaced the 4-ton steel goose with the same height constructed 1963, which itself replaced a plaster model placed at the highway crossroads when the last section of Trans-Canada Highway was completed in Ontario in 1960.

Do

• Lion’s Waterfront Park, Wawa Lake, 47.999°, -84.77°. Park with free WiFi and boardwalk along Wawa Lake.
• Voyageur hiking trail. Public hiking trail between Sudbury and Thunder Bay, through Scenic High Falls and Silver Falls, two parks overlooking the Magpie River gorge. Scenic High Falls offers a picnic pavilion, toilets and an interpretive trail from the bottom to the top of the Falls.
• Bristol Off-Roading Outfitters, Bristol Motel, 170 Mission Rd (Hwy 101), +1 705-856-2385. Snowmobiling, bear hunting, ATV touring.
• Michipicoten Golf Club, 47.988313°, -84.769478°, +1 705-856-2590. May-October. Nine holes, practice green and driving range, cart and clubs rental, lessons, discounts for local motel clients. Club house +1 705-856-2590, pro shop +1 705-856-7409.
• Naturally Superior Adventures and Rock Island Lodge B&B, 10 Government Dock Road (on Lake Superior at the mouth of the Michipicoten River), 47.933897°, -84.851182°, +1 705-856-2939, info@naturallysuperior.com. 8AM - 8PM. Naturally Superior Adventures and Rock Island Lodge B&B is located on Lake Superior about 8 km from Wawa. They outfit and lead guided trips on Lake Superior and her headwaters by sea kayak, tandem and Voyageur canoe, stand up paddleboard (SUP) and by foot. They offer paddle Canada and BCU sea kayak/canoe certified training, rentals and area shuttles. They also have a lodge, with 4 guest rooms, each with an en suite bath. All of their rooms are no farther than 50 m to the water's edge. They operate bed and breakfast-style with additional meals available. Rates for the lodge are $98 - 120. Email address for the lodge: info@rockislandlodge.ca. Checkin: 3 PM; checkout: 11 AM. Do-it-yourself info for those who are not staying at the lodge here. 2015-11-22

Events

• Wawa Winter Carnival. February.

Buy

• Young's General Store, 105 Mission Rd, 47.98456°, -84.77973°, +1 705-856-2626, allan@youngsgeneralstore.com. Su-Th 11AM-7PM, F Sa 8AM-8PM. Store and fuel station rebuilt after a 1979 fire. Quirky tourist attraction with bait shop, souvenirs, an oversized Henrietta the Moose, big barrel of pickles, freshly packed fudge and summer sausage. 2022-06-27

Eat and drink

• Kinniwabi Pines Restaurant, 150 Hwy 17 South, 47.92813°, -84.808°, +1 705-856-7226. 5PM-9PM. Seafood, Chinese, Trinidadian, European. $25-60 2022-06-27
• Embassy Restaurant & Tavern, 70 Broadway St, 47.99425°, -84.77129°, +1 705-856-2251. F Sa 5:30AM–9PM, Th Su 5:30AM–8PM, M-W 6AM–8PM. Diner. 2018-12-15
• Fireside Dining, 118 Mission Rd (at the Wawa Motor Inn), +1 705-856-2278. Daily 11:30AM-midnght. It features a 27-foot tall fieldstone fireplace. Canadian cuisine, offering a full-course menu for lunch and dinner. 2018-12-15
• Viking Restaurant & Tavern, 177 Mission Rd, 47.989621°, -84.7744°, +1 705-856-4441. M-F 11AM-9PM. Burgers, pasta, salad bar, local pickerel. 2022-06-27

Sleep

• Algoma Motel, 164 Mission Rd (Highway 101), 47.9894°, -84.7726°, +1 705-856-7010. Motel in town centre, hunting and fishing cabins 13 km outside of town for outdoors enthusiasts, outfitter's packages. Pet-friendly room available (+$20). Ouble from $130 2022-06-27
• Best Northern Motel & Restaurant, 150 Hwy 17 South, 47.92589°, -84.80999°, +1 705-856-7302. Restaurant with Polish and European cooking, free wi-fi. Riverside Lounge, indoor dry sauna and billiard room, rooms and cottages overlooking the Old Michipicoten River. Double $120, cottage for 2 adults and up to 4 children $175 2022-06-27
• Wawa Motor Inn, 118 Mission Rd (1.8 km off Hwy 17/Hwy 101 Junction at the Wawa Goose Monument, and 1 km west off Hwy 101, then turn left in Wawa on to Mission Road), 47.98596°, -84.78113°, +1 705-856-2278, wmireservations@shaw.ca. From $116 2022-06-27
• Big Bird Inn, 191 Mission Rd, 47.99024°, -84.7732°, +1 705-856-2424. Check-in: Noon, check-out: 11AM. 2022-06-27

Connect

Go next

Lake Superior Provincial Park - hiking, paddling, fishing, two serviced campgrounds for RVs and tents, one rustic campground, 200 backcountry campsites, all a short drive (or what passes for one around these parts) from town.