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Tunnel Island is situated just west of downtown Kenora at the mouth of the Winnipeg River in Lake of the Woods - not only one of Canada's most spectacular lakes, but also one of its most historic bodies of water.
A site of distinction
For thousands of years, almost every traveller who has journeyed across Canada by land or by water has shared this crossroads. Native elders describe it as a "spiritual gateway." It was a link in ancient First Nations trade and transportation routes, then a vital water route for the fur traders, explorers and surveyors. Later it bridged a portion of CPR's transcontinental rail line and, more recently, it has carried a section of the Trans-Canada Highway.
Tunnel Island is also a diverse ecological zone which lies at the intersection of three different biomes - Prairie/Parkland, Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Forest, and Boreal Forest - with a resulting diversity of tree and plant species. The island is home to substantial bald eagle and white-tailed deer populations, as well as other wildlife.
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