Elliot Lake

Elliot Lake was established in 1955 as a uranium mining community; it reached its economic peak in the 1980s before entering a long period of population decline due to resource depletion and weak export demand. The city has since attempted to market itself (and its stock of inexpensive vacant housing) to retirees and visitors with mixed results.
The city sits on the Canadian Shield, and is surrounded by dense forest, muskeg swamps, numerous lakes, winding rivers, and hills of Precambrian bedrock. The local forests are mixed deciduous and coniferous, with colourful displays in the autumn.
Local wildlife include moose, white-tailed deer, American black bear, beaver, loon, muskrat, otter, Canada goose, and lynx, to name but a few. Fish species include lake trout, speckled trout, rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, pickerel (walleye), and sturgeon.

History

Prior to the settlement of the city, an Ojibwa village existed near the present hospital site on the lake's shoreline.
The city was established as a planned community for the mining industry in 1955 after the discovery of uranium in the area, and named after the small lake on its northern edge. By the late 1950s, its population had grown to about 25,000. The population has varied with several boom-and-bust cycles from the 1950s to the 1990s, from a high of over 26,000 to a low of about 6,600.
In 1959, the United States declared that it would buy no more uranium from Canada after 1962. During the 1970s, federal government plans for CANDU reactors and Ontario Hydro's interest in atomic energy led the town, anticipating a population of 30,000, to expand again. However, by the early 1990s, depleted reserves and low prices caused the last mines in the area to close.
In the years since, the city has found some success promoting itself as a retirement community and tourist destination. In the late 2000s, mineral exploration began taking place in the area, with at least one new mine under preliminary development by start-up miner Pele Mountain Resources
The Algo Centre Mall, built during the 1980s mining boom years, partially collapsed in June 2012 due to severe design error. Water and road salt, allowed to leak from a rooftop parking lot for years, corroded structural metal in the building until it failed. Two people were killed. A new outdoor mall (Pearson Plaza) was built and partially operational in spring 2016.

Elliot Lake is 27 km north of Trans-Canada Highway 17 on Ontario Highway 108. Exit the Trans-Canada at the tiny hamlet of Serpent River.
Elliot Lake Municipal Airport has no regularly scheduled flights. Five Seasons Transit (+1-800-461-3582) offers a charter shuttle to Sudbury and to Toronto airport.
Ontario Northland runs a bus from Elliot Lake to Spragge, where riders can connect to its Sudbury-White River route.

There are four local city bus routes. The main transfer points are the Rexall drugstore in the centre of town and the Foodland at Pearson Plaza. There is no local bus on Sunday.
There are two taxi operators:

• Taxi Plus (+1 705 461-6161) and
• Union Taxi (+1 705 848-7111).

Hire cars are available from Practicar (23 Perini Rd, +1 705 848-4111).
There is a U-Haul agency at 9 Perini Rd. (+1 705 848-0730).

• Elliot Lake Nuclear and Mining Museum

  phone: +1 705 848-2287
  address: 255 Highway 108
  Local history and memorial to former miners.

• Fire Tower Lookout and Heritage CentreRestored Ranger's cabin erected in the mid 1950s; a replica of a fire ranger's lookout provides a 360° panoramic view of the area.

• Uranium Atom Monument

• Mississagi Provincial Park

  phone: +1 705 862-1203
  Hiking trails, lakes, canoeing and kayaking, backcountry camping and trout fishing.

• Deer Trail Curling Club

  phone: +1 705 848-7301
  address: 55 Hillside Drive South

• Mt. Dufour Ski Area

  phone: +1 705 848-6655
  address: 10 Ski Hill Road

• Stone Ridge

  phone: +1 705 848-8695
  address: 71 Nordic Mine Road
  18-hole golf course.

Other activities in the local area include walking trails, beaches, 300km of ATV trails, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing.

Events

• North Shore Challenge

  address: Elliot Lake Airport Dragway
  Annual motorsport drag race, antique car show and activities, mid-July.

• Pearson Plaza

  address: Hillside Drive South and Ontario Avenue
  The long-awaited replacement for the doomed Algo Centre. Its first tenant (Sobey's Foodland) opened on April Fools' Day 2016, Turner's Department store, Dollarama, municipal library and two-restaurant food court.

• Mum's Place

  phone: +1 705 461-3816
  address: 8 George Walk
  Home cooking, diner food.

• Fireside Classic Grill

  phone: +1 705 461-3711
  address: 14A Oakland Blvd
  Steaks, prime rib, pastas, tacos, sandwiches, wraps, fish and chips, curry, stir fry.

• Topper's Pizza

  phone: +1 705 461-1717
  address: 259 Hillside Dr S

• Gem Family Restaurant

  phone: +1 705 848-0394
  address: 80 Hergott Ave
  Home cooking.

• Fireside Classic Bar and Grill

  phone: +1 705-461-3711
  address: 14A Oakland Blvd

• Hampton Inn

  phone: +1 705 848-4004
  address: 279 Highway 108
  52 rooms, fitness centre, indoor salt water pool, conference room and business centre, laundry, broadband Internet, hot breakfast (included).

• Dunlop Lake Lodge

  phone: +1 705 848-8090
  address: Highway 108
  Twelve main lodge rooms, a 3-bedroom cabin with private yard, campsite and trailer rental. Snowmobile & ATV trails, swimming, fishing and dock slips. Open year-round.

B&B

• Pam's Bed & Breakfast

  phone: +1 705 847-0078 or +1 705-261-1754
  address: 28 Albert St
  Three bedrooms, shared bath, smoke and pet free, full English or continental breakfast, wi-fi.

• Red Rose Bed & Breakfast

  phone: +1 705 848-4716
  address: 25 Albert St
  Two bedrooms, shared bath, walk-out lakeside deck overlooking Porridge Lake and ski hill. Wi-fi, in-ground outdoor pool.