Wishart Yellow Trail (west)

The Wishart Forest is one of the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority’s conservation areas aimed at protecting 221-hectare spruce and jack pine, boreal forest. The forest here is beautiful any time of year and right now (mid-summer) there are lots of mushrooms, some blueberries, and a beautiful carpet of moss and ferns.

Trail Data

Round-trip: 1 km
Difficulty: Easy
Location: Thunder Bay, ON

Directions to Trailhead

The Wishart Forest is located 11 km north on Onion Lake Road. From Highway 11/17 turn left (north) on Balsam Street. Turn left (west) along Wardrope Ave and turn right (north) on Onion Lake Road. The main parking lot is located on the left (west) side of the road just before a small bridge. There is a day-use fee to be paid at the drop box located in the parking lot.

This trail is the Yellow Trail that is located on the west side of Onion Lake Road. It leads to the left from the main parking area through a loop that connects to the Orange Trail and then heads back to the parking area. There are some rooty sections and some muddy wet sections but is fairly level for the most part.

Wishart Yellow Trail Hike Details

From the parking lot, you will immediately see three directions you could head in. Standing with your back to the parking lot, take the Yellow Trail to the left and continue straight following the yellow markers. The yellow trail turns to the right and loops back just before it meets up with the orange trail.

From the parking area you will also find a number of other trails:

• You will also see the very short Yellow Trail that leads to the right from the parking area and takes you to the river that runs under the bridge.
• There is also another Yellow Trail (east) across the road from the parking area. At the start, there is a wooden sign with a map showing the route of this loop as it comes close to the Current River.
• There is the Orange Trail that spurs off of the Yellow Trail West, which is a longer trail with a steady climb to a lookout.
• The widest path from the parking lot is the one that heads straight and appears to be a service road. This does not seem to be an official conservation area trail and it is not marked. This path will eventually take you to a very steep climb up to the top of a ridge and beyond.

The LRCA has posted a trail map to guide people, but it does not include any of the other trails that you find here, so I have to assume they are unofficial trails that are not maintained.