The Chiniguchi Waterway is located in the Southwest corner of the Temagami canoe area - the largest interconnected network of canoe routes in North America. These routes, known as Nastawgan to the Ojibway people, have been used for thousands of years and still exist to this day.

Every season, the Chiniguchi Waterway attract hundreds of canoeists, who are drawn to the area's crystal clear lakes, picturesque campsites, and breathtaking vistas from atop the area's many high rocky ridges.

For thousands of years, these waterways served as important travel routes for the region's indigenous people, linking the First Nations people on Lake Wanapetei, with the First Nations people of Temagami. Evidence of these early travelers can be still be found through the pictographs that were painted on the rocks in various locations along the route. Every year, more and more of these forgotten pictograph sites are "re-discovered" by keen-eyed paddlers. These pictographs are estimated to be more than 300 years old, and it is presumed they may have had a religious significance. Red Ochre images of canoes, thunderbirds, moose, bear, and the Ojibway Spirit Manitou, can be found in places throughout these waterways.

** An important note regarding pictograph sites: These pictographs are extremely sensitive to abrasion; it is important that they be appreciated from afar, and never be touched with the human hand. The natural oils in your skin will damage these ancient works of art. It is customary to leave an offering of tobacco when visiting a pictograph site.

The area has also been a regular destination for some of Temagami's famous canoe tripping camps, including Keewaydin, Wanapetei, and Taylor-Statten for many years. Evidence of early Keewaydin trips through the area can be found carved into the bedrock at a campsite on Chiniguchi Lake dating back to 1905.

In more recent years, the area has been a captivating attraction to recreational canoeists. Long sand beaches, Old Growth Pine, and hundreds of kilometers of untouched shoreline draws paddlers from across the country. Two areas along the Chiniguchi Waterway made the list of
"Top five scenic lakes in Temagami" on Ottertooth.com.

Today, one of the most unique features the Chiniguchi Waterway has to offer, is the existence of Old Growth Pine forests scattered throughout the area. In fact, the Wolf Lake area contains the largest Old Growth Red Pine forest in North America - and most likely the largest in the world. The Red Pine in this area average 260 years in age. Various pockets of Old Growth White Pine also exist throughout the route. Many an opportunity presents itself to the weary canoeist, to get out and stretch the paddling legs with a walk through Old Growth Pine forests, on top of the soft carpet of generations of pine needles that cover the forest floor.