We will soon be posting a chart showing the weekly trend in the depth of snow at the park office at Red Rock Lake.

On January 23rd, there was an average snow depth of 78.3 cm. This time last year there was 101 cm of snow on the ground.

The snow depths are determined at Red Rock Lake, one of the highest elevations in the park and usually gets more snow than areas along the shoreline of Lake Superior.

Check back soon for more information about snow conditions in the park this winter.

 

The email link for entering your photos in the 2011 photo contest has been fixed.

If you had entered photos and did not get a message that your email was not delivered, then we have your photos.

If you got a message that your email was not delivered, you can now re-send your photos.

With summer almost over, it is time to come back indoors and sit down at the computer. We determined the winners of the photo contest last May, notified the winners and put their names and pictures in the 2011 park newspaper. I was ready to put it on the website but ran into software glitches (the blog and website are run by a volunteer/member of Niijkiwenhwag – Friends of Lake Superior Park with help from a teacher and students from our local high school). We plan to move the website to the latest version of software this fall and add the 2010 photo contest winners to the photo gallery.

So here are the winners of the 2010 photo contest.

Thank you to all who entered the contest.

People in the Park

1st Place

Fishing Gama

Ches Sulkowski, Tilsonburg, ON

2nd Place

Sunset Frolic

Carol Kroeker, Calgary, AB

3rd Place

Day’s End

Mike Kreutzweiser, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

 

 

Nature and Scenery

1st Place

Sleeping Fox

Les Piccolo, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

2nd Place

Old Woman Bay Sunset

Chris Hominuk, Mississauga, ON

3rd Place

Awausee Fern

Pat Folk, St. Clair Shores, MI

The Gargantua Road is now open as of Thursday, May 26.

The water level on the Sand River has dropped a little since our last post. The flow level chart for the Pukaskwa River (north of the Sand River but also within the eastern Lake Superior watershed) showed a drop in flow since the peak May 3 but it has levelled-off.

The weather forecast for May 13/14 was for rain but less rain fell than predicted. I have seen a picture of the Sand River from May 17 and it showed that the water level was similar to this picture from May 13.

The Gargantua Road is closed until May 27. Repairs to the road have not been finished. This means that the road will be closed for the Victoria Day long weekend.

Mijinemungshing (Mijin) Lake Road and the Rabbit Blanket Lake campground will both open at 9am on Friday, May 13.

Gargantua Road will remain closed until further notice.

Ice is off all the lakes.

Frater Road and the Sand River Road (to the Sand River canoe route take-out) are accessible.

The Rabbit Blanket campground was suppose to open on May 6, but snow has delayed the opening. The campground should be open on May 13, but call the park office (705-856-2284) or email info@lakesuperiorpark.ca for the latest information.

The Mijinemungshing and Gargantua Harbour roads are still closed due to snow. It is predicted that the Mijin road could open May 13 and the Gargantua Harbour road could open May 20. Contact parks staff using the phone number or email address above.

Agawa Bay campground opened May 6. Campsites in the first loop (the 100′s) are open. Water and electrical sites are available. The comfort station with showers and laundry is open.

Crescent Lake campground and the Crescent Lake Trail open June 17.

Agawa Rock Pictograph Trail opens May 20.

The backcountry (interior) campsites and trails accessible from Highway 17 are open.

Self-serve registration for campgrounds is available at campground offices. Backcountry self-serve registration is available at the Agawa Bay and Rabbit Blanket Lake campground offices; at Orphan Lake Trail; Gargantua Harbour road; Mijin Lake road; and at the Park Office at Red Rock Lake.

Lake Superior Provincial Park opened today, Friday, May 6. Here is what is available at the start of the season:

Agawa Bay campground is open: – first loop is available for camping

- comfort station is open

- electrical and non-electrical sites available

-  self-registration at the campground office

Most trails along the highway 17 corridor are open.

Backcountry camping is available.

Mijinemungshing and Gargantua Harbour roads are closed at this time because they are still covered in snow. Many inland lakes are still ice covered. We will post information on the status of these roads on this blog; or call the park office at 705-856-2284 (Monday – Friday); or send an email to info@lakesuperiorpark.ca

Agawa Rock Pictographs Trail and the Visitor Centre at Agawa Bay will open on May 20.

We have been told that flows in the 2 major rivers north of the Sand River peaked on May 3. This may change because there is still some snow on the ground in the watershed and if we get warm weather, the melt could bring flows back up again. Also, if there is significant rain, the flows could increase.

A couple of sources have told us that flows are normal for this time of year. The spring in 2010 was unusually early and low flows.

Here is a picture of the Sand River looking upstream from the Hwy. 17 bridge. The bridge is at the mouth of the river just before entering Lake Superior. The rock, with the red circle, can be used as a reference for water levels. In higher flows it is surrounded by water, in low flows it is high and dry.

You can look in the Sand River category for pictures of flows on the Sand River in previous years.