Chapleau Crown Game Preserve Loop

The Chapleau Crown Game Preserve — at 7,000 square kilometers, one of the world’s largest wildlife preserves — hides a maze of old logging roads dating back to early 1900s timber operations. This loop route connects abandoned camps like Barclay Bay and Shillington Creek via rough two-tracks that served the area’s massive white pine harvest. Established in 1925 to protect depleted game populations, the preserve now shelters moose, black bear, and woodland caribou across endless boreal wilderness.

Stock high-clearance vehicles handle most sections, but wet spots and creek crossings can trap the unprepared. Bring recovery gear and expect muddy conditions even in dry weather — this is true Canadian Shield country where granite meets muskeg. Open May through October, though bugs are murderous until August. No services inside the 100-kilometer loop, but you’ll find excellent fishing, wildlife viewing, and the kind of northern Ontario solitude that made the Group of Seven famous.