'Sioux Narrows' is a small resort community located on the shores of
Lake of the Woods and
Highway 71 in Northwestern
Ontario. There are about 300 permanent residents, and about double that in the summer time when cottagers from
Ontario,
Manitoba, and the
United States come for vacation. Tourism is the primary industry, with many resorts in the near vicinity, including Totem Resorts, White Birch Lodge and Red Indian Lodge
The community is located in the township of
Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls.
In the mid-18th century, an Ojibwa-Cree alliance is said to have defeated an invading party of
Sioux at a narrows here on the lake. Sioux Narrows is named in recognition of that event. You can overlook the site of the battle when you cross this community's most unique feature, the longest single-span wooden bridge in North America. The bridge was built in the mid-1930s and spans 210 feet across the narrows. The bridge is now in reconstruction, with an attempt to recreate the look of the original bridge, though it will no longer be a primarily wooden structure.