TRAVEL LIKE A LOCAL | Top 10,000 Places to Visit in Canada
Page created by Jack Turner | University of Windsor 
| Photo by P199, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Magnetawan Historical Museum houses artifacts from the logging and farming history of the local area. The range of holdings includes the first plant and turbine to have supplied the village with electricity as well as a 1930’s style log cabin.
This is mainly a summer attraction though. The facilities are open to the public seasonally, beginning in July and closing at the end of August.
Photo: magnetawan.com
Barbara Hanley, the first woman ever elected mayor of a community in Canada, was born in Magnetawan in 1882.
Hanley was elected mayor of Webbwood ON in 1936. Trained as a teacher, she decided to enter municipal politics in an attempt to improve conditions for the town.
Hanley won annual re-election campaigns from 1936 to 1943.
Photo: The Canadian Encyclopedia
From the top of this high rockface, look out over the calm and still waters of Cecebe Lake. Also, have fun and try out the unique acoustics of the area which gave the rock its name.
Find this landmark East of the village off Highway 520 and know that it is accessible only by water.
Postcard: The Steamer Armour Near Echo Rock, Lake Cecebe, circa 1920
Hand-operated Dam and Locks are located on the Magnetawan River in the heart of the Village of Magnetawan. Without these locks and dam, the history of this area and its riverboat traffic would have been extremely different.
The lock at Magnetawan, built by the Ontario Government, 1883-86, was replaced in 1911 by the present concrete structure.
In the quarter-century following its completion, an average of 704 passages were made through the lock by steamships each season. Notable among those ships were the “Wenonah” (1886), “Glenrosa” (1891), “Wanita” (1896), “Glenada” (1904), and “Armour” (1906).
The “Mike”, the last steamship by ply these waters, was removed from the river about 1934.
It takes 30min for the locks to change direction.
Photos: Vlad Umnov
The remains of a sunken paddle-wheeled steam ship can be seen at the foot of Echo Rock on the south side of Lake Cecebe.
The ship was constructed at the wharf in Burks Falls in July of 1886 and after 20 years of service, it was converted into a towboat. It would not keep this job for long as an unchecked fire in the fuel room eventually caused the whole thing to sink. The engine and boiler were later retrieved, but the hull can still be seen at the bottom of the lake to this day.
This colourful central park to the Magnetawan township has it all. There are facilities nearby for docks, pavilions for eating and recreation, outdoor exercise equipment, a children’s playground, and a small but sunny beach area. Public washrooms are also available on site.
Photo: Magnetawan.com
A section of the Trans Canada Trail runs through the Magnetawan region, represented by Discovery Routes Trails Organization.
As the longest trail in the world, it touches all three of the oceans around Canada. The portion that winds through Magnetawan ranges from the Sequin Trail to the Old Nipissing Road north.
The Old Nipissing Development Road, formerly the only route by road to the north, is now the main street of Magnetawan. The more northern section that leads to Rosseau has fallen into disuse over the decades and now sports a different kind of tourist attraction. Follow the footsteps of the original settlers past ghost towns, old cemeteries, and abandoned farms.
The trail is suitable for hiking and mountain biking.
Photo: discoveryroutes.ca
Trail lays between Highways 69 and 11 through the Parry Sound District. It has two ends from which to get on or off the trail, one in Rousseau on Hwy 141 and the other in Nipissing on Hwy 534.
