Northern Ontario Resource Trail

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The Northern Ontario Resource Trail is a mainly gravel road that travels north from Pickle Lake, Ontario to the northern shore of Windigo Lake. It links several winter roads and ice roads that serve communities in extreme Northern Ontario to Secondary Highway 599.

Contents 1 History 2 Caution! 3 Route description 4 Communities Served 5 External links

[edit] History

The Trail first started out as an extension of Secondary Highway 599, north of Pickle Lake, Ontario. It was extended to the Otoskwin River in 1966, and was 60 km (38 miles) in length (excluding southern parts of Secondary Highway 599).

On December 6, 1966, the northernmost 60 km (38 miles) portion of Secondary Highway 599 from Central Patricia, Ontario to the Otoskwin River was re-designated as Tertiary Highway 808. This designation lasted until 1983, when it was decommissioned as an official Provincial Highway. The southernmost 3 kilometres (2 miles) of the trail is paved, but the rest is gravel. The road is maintained year-round, due to its importance as a connection to ice/winter roads (which are only open during the winter) that connect to several Northern Ontario communities even farther north from its terminus at the Otoskwin River bridge.

[edit] Caution!

This road is extremely lightly travelled, and is in a very remote section of Ontario. It is advised that one fills up with gasoline and supplies, and checks weather conditions before travelling down this road. A spare tire is also a good idea, as it may be several hours (at least) for assistance to arrive. Cellular phones are useless in this area.

[edit] Route description

Although this road is well-maintained year-round, motorists should stock up on supplies in Pickle Lake, Ontario or Central Patricia, Ontario, and be prepared for remote bush travel. There are no gas stations or any other services on Highway 808/the Northern Ontario Resource Trail north of Central Patricia. Caution must be used as well, as there are some steep grades on the route, especially just north of Central Patricia. The speed limit is 80 km/h (50 mph) although there are many sections where such speed cannot be maintained.

[edit] Communities Served

The Nothern Ontario Resource Trail serves several communities via ice/winter roads that branch from it. They are listed below:

• Pickle Lake, Ontario/Central Patricia, Ontario
• Neskantaga, Ontario (Lansdowne House, Ontario)
• Eabametoong, Ontario (Fort Hope)
• Summer Beaver, Ontario
• Webequie, Ontario
• Cat Lake, Ontario

[edit] External links

• Highway 599 on The Kings Highway
• Highway 808 on The Kings Highway