This hike into the past traces a portage first established by first nations peoples, and later used by European explorers and fur traders. It was, for a short time, the main route for settlement in the Red River area of Manitoba and for further exploration west. French Portage is still part of a canoe route that connects Windigoostigwan and French Lake.

The low-lying terrain is sometimes difficult. Quetico is a protected, pristine wilderness retreat of international acclaim west of Lake Superior on the Canada-U.S. border. The park’s tangled network of lakes once formed water routes...