Pancake Bay Provincial Park

Thanks eagle. We will more than likely make that one of our stops. Looking for a campsite near the city where we can tour and play tourist for a day or so. Appreciate it.

The SS Marie KOA is a stop of ours every year,exceptional campground in fact campground of the year 2015 in Ontario.
Well wooded , roomy for a commercial campground ,NOT your everyday KOA.
We fit easily at 62'.

OK. I think I have narrowed it down to Agawa and Pancake Bay. Our time is limited, but love the woods and camping and want to take in as much as we can.
However, DW has read reviews of Sault Ste Marie KOA and wants to spend some time exploring the city of Sault Ste Marie. Is this (KOA) something a camper would like? I mean will my picnic table be under someone else's slide? Don't get me wrong I want to see SSM, but a KOA?
thanks

I agree - both are good campgrounds, with very different experiences. I actually prefer Pancake Bay for the lake-side experience, and Rabbit Blanket in LSPP. In Rabbit Blanket, the first loop is for people with trailers/RVs, and the second loop is for tenters. (If you're towing, don't go onto the road to the second loop by accident like I did. Getting up the hill was ... interesting ... :) Did it though.)

Shopping: Wawa has a good grocery store and a Canada Tire. White River has a grocery store and hardware store. Marathon (NE corner of the lake, up past Pukaskwa) has a wider variety of stores and a small mall.

I don't think you will have any problems getting sites after Labour Day, it gets quieter in September.

In terms of choices, Rabbit Blanket is "inland" on a small lake,it has (from memory) about 30 electrical sites on the first loop, you can rent a canoe from a rack on the lake shore near the office and you can paddle into another nearby lake and portage as well, the lake is small and calm. The small lakes nearby also provide some canoe opportunities and there is a rental rack on one of them. RB is more sheltered from the Superior winds.

Agawa is on Superior so it will give you that experience (don't think they rent canoes there), it has more sites and a visitor center.

Why don't you try both, stay a couple of days at each one? You can also camp in one and go and check out the other. Just be sure to be on the top half of your gas tank, no gas in the PP, only gas is at Pankcake bay or Wawa, well over 100 km. apart

Thanks for all the info LSPP. Their website shows Agawa Bay and Rabbit Blanket Lake as Lake Superior Provincial Park. I take it that by your preferences of LSPP you are suggesting Rabbit Blanket Lake over Agawa Bay.
In either case, their website allows reservations up till Sept 4 or 5 and we plan on arriving there about a week after that. They say that the park is still open, but I was wondering how crowded it would be then. That's for Rabbit Blanket, Awaga and Pancake Bay.

Thanks

We've stayed in Pancake Bay and LSPP in the past. Both are great stops, but we find them more suitable for smaller RV's, we bypass both of them these days with our 36 ft. 5er. Anything over about 30 ft. will make it "fun" to shoehorn into sites and your RV will be scratched up by tree branches on some of the corners (specifically in Rabbit Blanket campground in LSPP).The hiking and the petroglyphs (sp?) in LSPP are great.

That area is devoid of shopping with the exception of a store within walking distance just south of Pancake Bay PP that sells local crafts and souvenirs, Wawa is north of LSPP and offers basic shopping. Otherwise, it's the "boonies"

x3 on LSPP. The Orphan Lake trail is an excellent hike. (There are other easier hikes too.) Old Woman Bay is also spectacular.

I also like Pancake Bay for short stays. Be sure and get a site close to the lake (better views and substantially fewer mosquitoes), which can mean making reservations early. Also, sites with electric typically have a single post that serves two adjacent sites. That can mean quite a long cable run if you get unlucky. This seems to be true at most Ontario PPs.

Showers are available at both, and the bathhouses are decent. (At least they were when we were last there 3 years ago. :) )

x2 on LSPP...awesome worth the drive!

Although it may be farther than want to go, I would really really really suggest you look up Lake Superior Provincial Park. It is one of the best parks in Eastern Canada for nature and scenery and about an hour north of Pancake Bay. Get a site on the beach and watch the sun set, explore some of the isolated beaches as well, hike down the crevasse to the petroglyphs painted on the very edge of the water, hike up in the hills to see spectacular views of Lake Superior. Even the drive from the Sault is very scenic.