MY DREAM TRIP TO ONTARIO'S SUNSET COUNTRY

Sitting in the Sunset Country office on a cool October afternoon, I looked out the window at Lake of the Woods and all it offers. Since it was Friday afternoon, I'll admit my work ethic is a little less intense lol, but isn't everybody's?  As a travel marketer, I try to convince you to visit Ontario's Sunset Country, so I got thinking: if I had the chance, with no limits in mind, what would my dream trip up here be? I can tell you it's a lot of fun just to think about it - all that water, all that open space, nature, wildlife. So with three weeks of holidays and no cash limit (remember it's a dream), what would I do?

So I had the idea to write this article as my thing to do for the rest of the day, and here's the dream trip that I'd take to Sunset Country...

With so many choices, what does one do first? Fishing a remote outpost lake comes to mind immediately, so the only real decision is where to go. Somewhere further north seems like a real adventure, so I'd head north of Red Lake to catch big lake trout, walleye, and pike, or maybe Sioux Lookout, or, since it's a dream trip, both! Staying in one of these cabins, often the only one on the lake, is an experience everyone should have. The cabins are fully equipped, and you prepare your own meals. The fishing on these remote outpost lakes is often over-the-top good! You can literally catch and release 100 fish in a day. Of course,  a walleye shore lunch is part of the day. Nothing like freshly caught fish right out of the lake!

After enjoying time at the outpost, it's time to try something a little more extreme. A wilderness canoe trip into a Provincial Park. With a canoe outfitter helping plan the route, arrange a confirmed pick-up time, and rent the equipment, it's relatively easy to start an adventure in the backcountry of Ontario's Sunset Country. Choosing where to go is the hard part, as each wilderness park offers something different - all majestic and teeming with wildlife and fish. Along the journey, you can look for Indigenous paintings on cliff walls, some centuries old. Indigenous culture has a long history, and learning about it is worth a trip in itself.

A week of paddling and camping under the stars is something to do if you love adventure, and it would bring back memories of many paddling trips I took years ago. The sound of the paddle hitting the water, the canoe gliding effortlessly over glass-calm lakes, is an experience like few others. All around you are the true Boreal landscapes untouched by logging and development. You can only access and experience this firsthand on a wilderness canoe trip, so it definitely makes the dream trip list.  

So, after being a bit exhausted from my remote outpost and canoe trips, it's time to take it easy for a week and go on a houseboat cruise. Since I live next to Lake of the Woods and have been on it countless times, I'm going to try a lake I haven't visited before, Lac Seul, and I can't wait to cruise its shorelines, look for wildlife, and, of course, wet a fishing line! A houseboat vacation is one of the most relaxing, but planning takes time, and it's important to do it right so you have everything you need out on the water. Good thing houseboat rental operations make it easy.

I like that once you leave the dock, it's just you, your family and/or your friends, and the lake, and you can do whatever you want, at whatever pace you want. If it's hot out, then swimming will be the major activity, and with the fishing boat in tow, you can catch and release dozens of the walleye Lac Seul is famous for. We'll keep a few small ones in the slot to eat for supper, of course! I think that after a week out on the water in this floating cabin, the energy I spent on the outpost and wilderness canoe trips will be fully restored! 

Well, after three weeks in Sunset Country doing whatever I wanted, I guess it's time for the dream to end. Owning a lake, even if just for a week, would probably be the highlight of this trip for me. Being in a remote location and being able to fish whenever I want, even at night, is a dream come true! The canoe trip and the true wilderness aspect that it offers would be the most rewarding part of this trip. When you think about it, completing a wilderness canoe trip is as much an achievement as it is a fun vacation - and certainly something to hang your hat on. The final week on a houseboat, well, it's something I've always wanted to do, especially with my family and maybe a few friends. It's was also a good, relaxing way to end the dream vacation. 

Truth be told, if I actually got to do this, it would be tough coming back when it ended and getting used to work again.

Can I edit this dream so it never ends?

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