Sioux Lookout Zone Family Physicians

...We got home and asked ‘what are we going to have for supper tonight?' So away we go in the boat docked below the house, catch five fish and come home for supper...you can't really do that when you are living in Hamilton.

- Dr Chris Giles

Sioux Lookout is located on the shores of beautiful Pelican Lake in Northwestern Ontario.

The air is clear and the night skies dark enough to see the northern lights and constellations.

Sioux Lookout has a population of 5,200; a blend of native and non-native people and we work hard at integrating two distinct cultures and traditions. You can see that in the work of one of the oldest and most active anti-racism committees in Canada (SLARC - Sioux Lookout Anti-Rasicm Committee).

You can see it in the bilingual signs around town (Ojibway syllabics and English)and at the bannock bake-off that opens the 10-day Blueberry Festival every year in early August. Bannock is a baking powder based fried bread indigenous to the First Nations people of the area.

It is true some people who live here pay less attention to our social and political life than to our life near the bush. Looking at it from their perspective, Sioux Lookout is really just a tiny dot in a sea of boreal lakes and rivers known for its fishing and wilderness adventures. It is known also for the black spruce and shield rocks, which are habitat for moose, caribou, beaver, and eagles that are commonplace viewing in the area.

Sioux Lookout is a place that begs you to go outside, even in winter as well as at the peak of black fly season. Every other car or truck in town is carrying some other means of transportation once you are off the road - canoes, kayaks, motor boats, snowmobiles, and 4-wheelers. It seems as if everyone in town is just driving somewhere to get even closer to nature at its best.

Winter

It's cold in the winter but seldom so cold that you can't get out and enjoy it on skis, snowshoes, or snowmobile.  It is nice to be able to put on your skis and take off out the back door. The Nordic Nomads Ski Club is a group of enthusiastic volunteers who groom and maintain about eighty kilometres of ski trails north of town.

Snowmobiling is increasingly popular here either for touring or to take you to your favourite ice-fishing lake. There are hundreds of snowmobile trails connecting Sioux Lookout to places as far away as Minneapolis.

Dog sledding has come back as a popular winter activity and a number of local families have teams. You might mush with one of them sometime or start your own team.

There are indoor sport opportunities in winter too. Commercial, recreational, and old-timers hockey leagues are active and the curling rink is busy from November to May.

If you prefer warmer indoor recreation in the winter, two of our hotels have swimming pools which residents may use for a monthly fee.

We also have a gym and fitness centre with squash and racquetball courts, an indoor track, weight room, sauna, and a variety of aerobics, martial arts, and fitness classes.

The recreation centre organizes basketball and volleyball leagues, drop-in tennis all winter long, and a variety of seasonal programs including resident and day-long summer camps at Cedar Bay, the hub of some of our outdoor activities.

Summer

Sioux Lookout has a scenic nine-hole golf course. Baseball and soccer leagues are key summer highlights, for both participants and fans. Numerous sandy beaches allow easy access to the lakes for swimming, and there are boat launches at various locations on both lakes.

Sioux Lookout sponsors a bustling 10-day Blueberry Festival every August with numerous daily events for adults and children. An annual Blueberry Festival Triathlon, an all-day outdoor music festival, community fish fry, canoe rally, a kids' day with cooperative games and activities, a trade show, fastball tournaments, and numerous dances are just a few of the well attended events. Many locals organize family reunions to correspond with the popular activities.

But most people can't wait to get out of Sioux Lookout in the summer, out on the lakes and rivers that is. Sioux Lookout has easy access to a number of wilderness parks and is the home a number of canoe outfitters and guides. There are many canoe routes that begin and end in town or very close to it.