Coming from the United States, you drive through Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, where you cross into Canada. From there it is only 190 miles, about four hours at most.

You can take either Highway 17 East to Thessalon and then Highway 129 to Chapleau, or Highway 17 North to Wawa and then Highway 101 East to Chapleau. These routes take you through some truly gorgeous country with breathtaking views of the lakes and rivers. Here are some photos of the Lake Superior shoreline.

We do not recommend Highway 556 during the summer, from Sault Ste. Marie past Ranger Lake to Highway 129. It is a curvy gravel road, can be quite rough and will cost you much time and maybe the price of a new muffler. It is fine during the winter though when the surface is hard packed snow. The other roads that we recommend are excellent and all paved.

Coming from Southern Ontario, you will travel along Highway 17 West through the mining town of Sudbury until you reach Thessalon. From Thessalon you take Highway 129 north. That will get you to Chapleau in 2 hours.

By airline. If you live so far away from Chapleau that driving is impractical, you might consider traveling by commercial airline. Coming from the U.S., you can fly as far as Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. There, you can have a rental car waiting and make Chapleau in a four hour drive. Last we checked, there were two car rental agencies at in the Sault airport terminal. They were AVIS 1-906-495-5900 and HERTZ 1-906-495-5190.

Coming from southern Ontario, you can fly to Timmins, Ontario. That is only 120 miles from Chapleau. Again, a rental car is necessary because there are no busses to Chapleau. Here is a link to the flight schedules of Air Canada and Air Ontario. Air Ontario is owned by Air Canada.

By private airplane. You can fly into the Chapleau airport. But all aircraft arriving in Canada must first land at an approved Airport of Entry during specified customs hours of operations. Currently customs services are available at 146 airports designated as Airports of Entry. Telephone reporting requirements are outlined in Telephone Reporting for General Aviation