Outdoors: How a 60 mile walk became an epic motorcycle ride

It's one of the Top Ten Drives in Canada.

It has been named one of the best Ontario motorcycle routes twice.

The twists and turns of the road are described as thrilling, even knuckle clenching at times.

Massive rock cuts, pristine wilderness and amazing views of Lake Superior.

The stretch of highway from Wawa to Sault Ste. Marie is one of the most incredible stretches of the Trans-Canada Highway that you'll ever experience by car or motorcycle.

Now imagine if this stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway never existed.

Imagine if you drove to Agawa Bay...and then had to turn back.

Imagine never being able to step off your motorcycle, or drive your car and see magnificent rock formations like Old Woman Bay, the white sandy beach of Katherine Cove, or the panoramic views from the top of scenic lookouts.

But it isn't that hard to imagine.

In fact, for almost 20 years, the bottom of the Agawa River Valley was where the highway ended.

It just stopped.

The town of Wawa was a mere 60 miles ahead.

But you couldn't reach it.

At least not by car.

Before 1960, people living and working in the town of Wawa traveled in and out by steamboat on Lake Superior, floatplane, and railway as early as 1912 when the rail line from Sault Ste. Marie to Hawk Junction was completed, and after 1921, Hawk Junction to Hearst by train with Algoma Central Railway.

Read the history about the 60 mile walk.