r/northernontario

Ministry of Transportation has installed ‘no trespassing’ signs along beachfront at Sawpit Bay.

A once low-profile spot that has gained popularity for its natural beauty along the shores of Lake Superior is officially off-limits to the public. 

Locals visiting Sawpit Bay have reported that “no trespassing” signs have been installed along the beachfront by Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation (MTO) — which owns the land just off Highway 17 about an hour north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

Sawpit Bay’s stunning ice caves in the winter, pebble beaches and clear waters in the summer have been enjoyed by area residents for decades.

But in the last several years, word has gotten out about what locals had once commonly referred to as a “hidden gem.”

Regular visitors say growing amounts of garbage and litter are being left behind at the site as more people in the region and beyond have become familiar with the once quiet locale. 

In addition to witnessing the trash piling up, Sault resident and photographer Dan Grisdale told CBC that rocks at the site have been getting spray-painted while several trees have been cut down in recent times. 

“It was pretty much around the pandemic when everything started going sour,” he said. “It’s just a total disrespect of the land.”

In an email to CBC, MTO spokesperson Julia Caslin said the land at Sawpit Bay is not intended for public use.

The “no trespassing” signage was installed before last winter to clarify that lake access is restricted at that location, she noted.

“Other public access points to the lake are available in the surrounding area where visitors can access the waterfront.”

Despite it technically being off limits, Sawpit Bay has been enjoyed by people “in the know” long before the land was being mistreated, according to Kenna DuFresne.

She’s been driving up to Sawpit Bay in the winters and summers for the past 30 years, but began noticing an influx of visitors in the last five years.

DuFresne said it’s no secret why.

“I’ve got to blame social media,” she said. “Somebody goes online and shows pictures they took at Sawpit Bay, and suddenly thousands of people know about it.”

“It’s really heartbreaking to see people leaving with buckets and buckets of rocks — that’s not good for the shoreline.”

Grisdale said it was almost a relief when he learned the “no trespassing” signs were installed at Sawpit Bay as he grew disappointed with how the area was being treated. 

He noted that regulars like himself had been working tirelessly to keep the area clean — a fight they couldn’t win.

“We drove up there just to get the garbage out and took a whole truckload of stuff out of there,” he said. “Two days later, my friend went back and had to do the same thing again. You can’t keep up, it’s brutal.”

Western University professor Jacquelyn Burkell has been studying the impact of social media on society.

She said the case of Sawpit Bay is among a growing number of examples in Canada where new visitors to lesser-known spots display uninformed behaviours. 

“If you’re someone who lives in this community, you understand the community values and live with this space,” she said. “But people from the outside lack the same kind of embodied understanding.”

“There’s no relationship there. It’s not bad people or that the internet is a bad thing. They don’t have any of the history or relationships that govern the interactions of people who, within their everyday life, know about it.”

Burkell said that social media could benefit spaces like Sawpit Bay, but noted it would take some work.

“If you figured out a way to get people to feel like it’s part of their responsibility, not just to visit or benefit from this place, but to care for it — then social media can be of tremendous value.”

Sawpit Bay users have expressed online that they’d like to see nearby Lake Superior Provincial Park take over and maintain the space so the public could use it. 

Grisdale and DuFresne both said they hope people learn from this case so that other natural areas and secret spots aren’t negatively affected by the human footprint. 

“It’s a different world than from when I grew up,” DuFresne said. “Hopefully this raises awareness of how much harm could be caused.”

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