Ney's Provincial Park holds one of the quieter chapters of Canadian history. During the Second World War, a camp here held German prisoners of war, and visitors can still learn something about it at the site. Today the park is a pleasant place, with a long sand beach on Lake Superior, dunes, a rock headland with a lookout, and a campground in the trees, all within a few kilometres of the town of Marathon.
Marathon, with about three thousand people, is the nearest place for fuel, food and supplies. It was a pulp mill town founded in the 1940s and still has an industrial feel, but it has the pumps and groceries, which is what matters. The Trans-Canada Highway runs through here, and the riding between Wawa and Marathon is among the finest on the north shore: long rolling hills, glimpses of the lake, rock cuttings and the smell of spruce and cold water.
The lake is the main character. Superior is deep, clear and cold, and the sand here is fine, with driftwood piled in lines along the beach. On a calm morning, with the mist rising off the water, it is easy to stand on the headland for longer than you meant to. The park lies on the Canadian Shield, some of the oldest rock on the continent, and the shoreline shows its polished boulders and glacial scours.
Plan for weather. The lake can cool the air by many degrees, fog sometimes drifts in on warm days, and storms can arrive from nowhere. Summer is short, from about June to September, and the park is quiet outside that time. Mosquitoes and black flies can be fierce in early summer, so bring repellent. For a night stop, the campground is lovely, and Marathon has a small number of motels if you want a bed.