Wawa Beyond the Goose: A Lake Superior Stop Worth Making

There's a giant bronze goose standing at the junction of Highways 17 and 101 whose entire job is to make you take your foot off the gas. It's worked for decades — Wawa's goose is one of the most photographed roadside stops on the Trans-Canada, and the town takes its name from an Ojibway word for wild goose, so the statue isn't just a gimmick, it's the town's namesake standing 8.5 metres tall.

Wawa is a full day's drive from Hartley Bay Cottages, not a side errand — figure on roughly 600 km and 7 hours one way, heading north on Highway 69 through Sudbury and then west on Highway 17 through Sault Ste. Marie and along the Superior shore. That's real windshield time, and it deserves to be treated as its own overnight trip (or two), not squeezed into a single long day out and back.

Breaking the drive down: from Hartley Bay Road, it's about 50 to 60 minutes north on Highway 69 into Sudbury. From there, Highway 17 west to Sault Ste. Marie runs roughly 3.5 hours, and the final stretch from the Sault up along Lake Superior into Wawa adds another 2.5 hours or so. All told, that's close to 600 km and 7 hours of driving in good conditions, before you factor in stops — and on this route, you'll want the stops. The most comfortable way to fit it into a cottage stay is as a 2 to 3 night add-on: an optional night in the Sault to split up the drive, then one or two nights in Wawa itself or at Lake Superior Provincial Park.

The goose itself sits right at the Highway 17/101 junction next to the Wawa Visitor Centre, which makes it an easy first stop for a map, washrooms, and the obligatory photo before heading into town. The current statue — stainless steel and bronze — was unveiled on Canada Day 2017, but it's actually the third goose to stand watch over Wawa. The original, a 1960 plaster version, has since been retired to Young's General Store; a steel goose took over in 1963 and served for decades after that. The whole tradition exists because Highway 17 was rerouted around downtown Wawa, and the town needed something big enough to convince through-traffic to turn off — which, evidently, it still does.

Once you've had your photo, the town itself is worth a walk. Wawa Lake sits right in town, with a waterfront park and boardwalk (Lion's Waterfront Park) and a easy, family-friendly stretch of shoreline at Dr. Rose's Beach — a good way to stretch your legs after seven hours in the car. Downtown along Mission Road has enough food options for a proper meal before you settle in for the night.

Don't stay in town the whole time, though — some of the best reasons to make this drive are just outside it. Magpie Scenic High Falls, a roughly 22-metre drop spanning about 38 metres wide with its own viewing platform, is only minutes from downtown and makes a great first stop coming in from the Sault. The Magpie–Silver Falls trail nearby adds a second, quieter waterfall to the same outing if you have the time.

Lake Superior itself is the other half of the draw. Sandy Beach Eco-Interpretive Park is about 10 minutes from the goose and an easy way to actually stand on the shore of the largest of the Great Lakes. A little farther out, roughly 8 km from town at the mouth of the Michipicoten River, Naturally Superior Adventures rents kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddleboards if you want to get out on the water — just keep in mind Superior makes its own weather, and wind and fog can turn serious fast, even close to shore.

You'll actually already be driving through Lake Superior Provincial Park on the way in from the Sault — it begins about 15 to 20 minutes south of Wawa, and Wawa functions as the park's supply town. The park's biggest draws are Old Woman Bay's sweeping beach and cliffs, the Agawa Rock Pictographs, the Coastal Trail, and campgrounds at Agawa Bay and Rabbit Blanket Lake. A park permit is required, same as anywhere in the Ontario Parks system, and it's easy enough to pick up on your way through.

Timing matters too. Summer brings a local music festival, a salmon derby, and wild blueberries in season; winter has an ice-fishing derby and good snowmobiling once the trails are in. Whatever the season, Highway 17 along Superior is a genuine weather highway — check conditions before you leave Hartley Bay, especially outside summer.

The most important practical note is the simplest one: don't try to do Hartley Bay to Wawa and back in a single day. It's a 14-hour round trip before you've spent any actual time there, which defeats the purpose of the drive. Fuel stops and accommodations also thin out noticeably past Sault Ste. Marie, so top up before that last stretch rather than assuming you'll find something along the way. A comfortable split looks like this: a night at the cottage to start, a full travel day north with stops in places like Espanola, Blind River or the Sault, a night in Wawa or the park, and a second travel day heading back south. The Visitor Centre at the goose is genuinely useful for planning the rest of your stay once you arrive.

From Hartley Bay, you're already surrounded by Shield rock, pine forest and dark night skies — [worth building a full trip around](/blog/toronto-to-hartley-bay-cottages-road-trip-itinerary) on its own. Wawa adds something different: the open expanse of Lake Superior, a classic Circle Tour landmark, and a genuine waterfall a short walk from your car. If you've got two extra nights, it's a great add-on to a cottage stay. If you've only got a single day to spare, though, that day is better spent on the French River and Killarney side close to the cottages — a 7-hour one-way drive is the wrong way to spend a short trip.

**Quick facts:** Drive from Hartley Bay Cottages — about 600 km / 7 hours via Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie. The goose — 8.5 metres tall, at Highway 17 and 101. Don't skip — Magpie High Falls and Old Woman Bay in Lake Superior Provincial Park.

*Photo: the Wawa Goose, by Mhsheikholeslami via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.*