Espanola (Ontario)

Espanola is a city in Northern Ontario that founded in the early 1900s for the employees of the Spanish Pulp and Paper Company. Though still a fine paper town, Espanola is now renowned for its picturesque wilderness, lakes, fishing, camping, hiking and golfing opportunities.

Understand
Espanola's population has hovered near the 5000-5500 number for the last 30-40 years. It has a beautiful golf course that lies along the Spanish River, several motels, camp grounds and restaurants for visitors, and is the largest shopping area between Sudbury and Sault Ste Marie.

History
The story of how Espanola got its name dates back to the 18th century where an Ojibwe tribe went out on a raid far away and brought back a Caucasian woman who spoke Spanish. This woman was said to have married into a First Nations family and taught her children to speak her mother tongue. Later, when French voyageurs would make their way to the mouth of the river they were surprised to hear bits of Spanish spoken by the local natives. Thus giving the town the name “Espagnole” which was later anglicized to “Espanola”. The river was subsequently then called the Spanish River.

The town of Espanola was founded in the early 1900s for the employees of the Spanish River Pulp and Paper Company. The town soon populated and housed a hotel, school and theatre. A couple decades later the mill was closed during the Great Depression and was rendered a ghost town. During the war Espanola was used as a German prisoner camp and later reopened and produced paper once again. Throughout the years the pulp and paper mill has become committed to lessening their environmental impact.

The 1969 CBC Television series Adventures in Rainbow Country was filmed near Espanola, close to the small First Nations community of Birch Island and at Whitefish Falls.

By bus
Espanola has Highway 17 (Trans-Canada Highway) passing through it. Espanola can be reached by car by travelling east from Sault Ste Marie or west from Sudbury on Highway 17, then south on Highway 6 for 2 miles.

By bus

 * Operates a route between Sault Sainte Marie and Sudbury including stops in Blind River, Elliot Lake, and Espanola.

Get around
Espanola is accessible by car but the best part of it all is that it is accessible to anyone by foot or by paddle along the Spanish River.

See

 * Massey Fair, 3rd weekend in August. Since 1908, tractor pulls, horse shows and lumber-jacking. Local farmers and gardeners still bring their best produce, jams and breads, quilts and handiwork.

Do
Espanola is renowned for its picturesque wilderness, lakes, fishing, camping, hiking and golfing opportunities. It offers many groomed snowmobile trails, and the Espanola Ski Hill for downhill skiing. Take a walk along the fitness trail to the shores of a sparkling lake Espanola.



Go next

 * Blind River — a small town about west, once a trading post, on the way to Sault Ste. Marie
 * Killarney — looks much closer than it is, because the Near North landscape here isn't open to road travel. The  drive will take you through Sudbury first.
 * Sudbury — the largest city and transportation, service, and business hub in Northern Ontario, along the Trans-Canada Highway.
 * Manitoulin Island — Espanola is the jumping-off point for travel to Manitoulin Island from the north.