Ritchie's End of Trail
Ritchie's End of Trail
64 Lake Street, Biscotasing, Sudbury, Ontario P0M 1C0 Canada
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4.0
#1 of 1 lodge in BiscotasingLocation
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Lake Biscotasi Northern Ontario Fishing Lodge Come fish on some of the most beautiful waters in northern Ontario for quality sized walleye, hard fighting pike and jumbo size perch. We are a full service outfitter that will provide you boats, motors, fuel, accommodations and food.
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Property amenities
Free parking
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Wifi
Beach
Pets Allowed ( Dog / Pet Friendly )
Business Centre with Internet Access
Room features
Kitchenette
Location
64 Lake Street, Biscotasing, Sudbury, Ontario P0M 1C0 Canada
Getting there
Sudbury Airport
124.1 km•
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5Reviews0Q+A1Room tip
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Cabins are basic, but comfortable. Propane fridge, stove, cold running water, indoor toilet. Wood stove for cool fall nights. Heated shower shack with ++ hot water. Host seemed disinterested with our repeat visit which was a problem to us. Fishing this year was ok. No electricity or WIFi or cell coverage in Bisco
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Date of stay: August 2019
Room Tip: Cabins are allocated based on occupancy numbers
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We headed out to Richie's End of the Trail Lodge for a 5 day fishing trip mid August. All in all a great trip. Fantastic lake where the fishing was awesome. Though, the week we were there fishing was bit slower, but we all caught plenty of fish. The lodge and food was what you would expect for the price we paid. I wouldn't expect more or less. Besides we could eat pretty much as much as we wanted. Boats work great for again what we paid. Got us around no problem. Probably the best part was the fishing maps Richie's provided were very detailed and markings of best places to fish. Our host Brian was a great guy. Very helpful and approachable. He share a number of great stories. Definitely would go back.
The driving in is dusty and long but if you want to get to good fishing such is the price you pay.
The driving in is dusty and long but if you want to get to good fishing such is the price you pay.
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Date of stay: August 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SIx long-time high school friends spent May 28 – June 3, 2016 fishing at Ritchie’s End of Trail Lodge on beautiful Lake Biscotasi about 3 ½ hours northwest of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. We had an excellent time with a few hiccups. We chose this location because one of our group saw the lodge on FISH TV and it seemed to be a great place to try: remote but within a day’s worth of driving (about 8 ½ hours from Toronto) with good fishing at a reasonable price. Check out the Ritchies website for more information.
The Very Good
• This is a remote lodge and we were very happy with the accommodations. We had the largest cabin called the “Cliff” that could sleep nine. It handled our group of six quite well but 8 or 9 might be a bit of an issue with just one bathroom in the cottage.
• There are two bedrooms, one had two single-over-single bunk beds, a single bed and a dresser and it was a little tight for space. The other bedroom was really just an extension onto the large main room. There was more space here but no dresser. It had a small closet, a table under the window and two single-over-single-bunk beds. I had a bottom bunk in this room.
• My bed was 5 out of 10 on the comfort scale but it seems that I simply chose the wrong one, the other 5 guys didn’t have an issue with theirs. With 3 empty beds I could have moved or swapped mattresses but didn’t bother. Upon arrival there were fresh sheets and pillow cases (these are not changed during your stay – there is only a full-time staff of two and a part-timer who works a couple of days a week – there is no room service of any sort).
• The boats were really very good. They are fully equipped with necessary safety equipment (they even checked to make sure we had our operator cards). Motors are 4 stroke Yamaha 15 hp that are terrific. If there are even numbers in your group, you will get a 14 ft. aluminum boat for every two people (this is what we had). If you have odd numbers, 3 people will be in a slightly larger boat (15 or 16 ft) as per the website. I personally don’t like fishing with 3 to a boat, even a 16 footer is too cramped – keep your group to an even number! The only thing I didn’t like about the boats at Ritchie’s is that they do not have flat decks but that is a minor quibble.
• We were on the “Full Plan Fishing Package” meaning that all food, gas and bait (worms) were included ($799 each + tax). You do all the cooking and wash-up. There was unlimited pork chops, chicken, hamburgers, ground beef, hot dogs, bacon, breakfast sausages and eggs (all but eggs were frozen). One steak each (frozen) was provided for the week – they were excellent as were the chops. Compare $799 for 6 days of fishing here to the full service lodges, with prepared sit-down meals at set times, and where you pay about twice that price for 3 or 4 days. There is a lot of value with this business model.
• Brian and Andy were both very helpful in pointing out what have been the most productive fishing areas. Brian personally took us to the FISH TV spot and 4 or 5 other places in the northern area of the lake. Andy had had some luck one day in the southern part of the lake during our week and he marked those specific places on our charts as well as a few others. We tried all those spots.
The Okay
• I’ll admit to two things up front here – I watch what I eat and I make no excuses for this (and suffer the obvious consequences of good-natured ribbing from my buddies). Canned vegetables are not an option for me and, other than the potatoes and cooking onions that Ritchie’s provides, everything else is canned. So I shopped in Sudbury for fresh fruits and veggies with two others in our party.
• The fishing. It wasn’t a disaster but we were disappointed. In our group we have one highly skilled and experienced fisherman who has fished for decades in lakes, rivers and streams all over Ontario and the east coast. Four of us have fished on and off our whole lives and we generally have decent results. For one guy it was his first time fishing – ever! But before reading about our productivity, know that friends of one of the guys in our group fished Biscotasi the week after we did and those 8 guys caught 72 pickerel and too many pike to count.
However, on this trip we collectively caught a total of 25 fish over 6 days of fishing. None were worth writing home about. I caught 8 (4 pickerel, 4 pike). My pike were all under 18” and I landed the two largest pickerel at 16 ½” and 17 ½”. All other pike were 20” or less and all other pickerel were 15” and less. We varied our techniques and baits, followed the charts, fished the obvious charted structure; our fish finder quit so we rented one for the last 2 days and that still didn’t help even as we continued to fish obvious structure. It seems the luck around the lodge was about the same. The biggest we heard of was a 22” pickerel caught by a fellow in the next cabin and that fish “saved our trip” as he said. Having written this, even though it was disappointing, we weren’t EXPECTING an easy time although we ANTICIPATED lots of fish (and we thought we were prepared). It is a big lake and as such can sometimes be hard to fish. The bottom line is that we weren’t productive and sometimes you just luck-out!
The Unexpected
• Nowhere on Ritchie’s website does it say there is no power at the camp (unless it’s buried somewhere that I didn’t see and, if so, I apologise). Was it a big deal and did it affect our good time? Absolutely not! But it would have been nice to know beforehand. Two guys wouldn’t have lugged their portable CD players up there. You can recharge batteries for your fishfinder, walkie talkies or other electronics at the office, so that wasn’t an issue (but it was a little inconvenient).
Would I go back? No. But not because our fishing wasn't as good as we'd hoped. We did have a very good time, but when we do these trips we like to try different places. Since every trip we've done the major species have been pickerel (walleye) and pike, next time we might choose a destination offering a different species.
The Very Good
• This is a remote lodge and we were very happy with the accommodations. We had the largest cabin called the “Cliff” that could sleep nine. It handled our group of six quite well but 8 or 9 might be a bit of an issue with just one bathroom in the cottage.
• There are two bedrooms, one had two single-over-single bunk beds, a single bed and a dresser and it was a little tight for space. The other bedroom was really just an extension onto the large main room. There was more space here but no dresser. It had a small closet, a table under the window and two single-over-single-bunk beds. I had a bottom bunk in this room.
• My bed was 5 out of 10 on the comfort scale but it seems that I simply chose the wrong one, the other 5 guys didn’t have an issue with theirs. With 3 empty beds I could have moved or swapped mattresses but didn’t bother. Upon arrival there were fresh sheets and pillow cases (these are not changed during your stay – there is only a full-time staff of two and a part-timer who works a couple of days a week – there is no room service of any sort).
• The boats were really very good. They are fully equipped with necessary safety equipment (they even checked to make sure we had our operator cards). Motors are 4 stroke Yamaha 15 hp that are terrific. If there are even numbers in your group, you will get a 14 ft. aluminum boat for every two people (this is what we had). If you have odd numbers, 3 people will be in a slightly larger boat (15 or 16 ft) as per the website. I personally don’t like fishing with 3 to a boat, even a 16 footer is too cramped – keep your group to an even number! The only thing I didn’t like about the boats at Ritchie’s is that they do not have flat decks but that is a minor quibble.
• We were on the “Full Plan Fishing Package” meaning that all food, gas and bait (worms) were included ($799 each + tax). You do all the cooking and wash-up. There was unlimited pork chops, chicken, hamburgers, ground beef, hot dogs, bacon, breakfast sausages and eggs (all but eggs were frozen). One steak each (frozen) was provided for the week – they were excellent as were the chops. Compare $799 for 6 days of fishing here to the full service lodges, with prepared sit-down meals at set times, and where you pay about twice that price for 3 or 4 days. There is a lot of value with this business model.
• Brian and Andy were both very helpful in pointing out what have been the most productive fishing areas. Brian personally took us to the FISH TV spot and 4 or 5 other places in the northern area of the lake. Andy had had some luck one day in the southern part of the lake during our week and he marked those specific places on our charts as well as a few others. We tried all those spots.
The Okay
• I’ll admit to two things up front here – I watch what I eat and I make no excuses for this (and suffer the obvious consequences of good-natured ribbing from my buddies). Canned vegetables are not an option for me and, other than the potatoes and cooking onions that Ritchie’s provides, everything else is canned. So I shopped in Sudbury for fresh fruits and veggies with two others in our party.
• The fishing. It wasn’t a disaster but we were disappointed. In our group we have one highly skilled and experienced fisherman who has fished for decades in lakes, rivers and streams all over Ontario and the east coast. Four of us have fished on and off our whole lives and we generally have decent results. For one guy it was his first time fishing – ever! But before reading about our productivity, know that friends of one of the guys in our group fished Biscotasi the week after we did and those 8 guys caught 72 pickerel and too many pike to count.
However, on this trip we collectively caught a total of 25 fish over 6 days of fishing. None were worth writing home about. I caught 8 (4 pickerel, 4 pike). My pike were all under 18” and I landed the two largest pickerel at 16 ½” and 17 ½”. All other pike were 20” or less and all other pickerel were 15” and less. We varied our techniques and baits, followed the charts, fished the obvious charted structure; our fish finder quit so we rented one for the last 2 days and that still didn’t help even as we continued to fish obvious structure. It seems the luck around the lodge was about the same. The biggest we heard of was a 22” pickerel caught by a fellow in the next cabin and that fish “saved our trip” as he said. Having written this, even though it was disappointing, we weren’t EXPECTING an easy time although we ANTICIPATED lots of fish (and we thought we were prepared). It is a big lake and as such can sometimes be hard to fish. The bottom line is that we weren’t productive and sometimes you just luck-out!
The Unexpected
• Nowhere on Ritchie’s website does it say there is no power at the camp (unless it’s buried somewhere that I didn’t see and, if so, I apologise). Was it a big deal and did it affect our good time? Absolutely not! But it would have been nice to know beforehand. Two guys wouldn’t have lugged their portable CD players up there. You can recharge batteries for your fishfinder, walkie talkies or other electronics at the office, so that wasn’t an issue (but it was a little inconvenient).
Would I go back? No. But not because our fishing wasn't as good as we'd hoped. We did have a very good time, but when we do these trips we like to try different places. Since every trip we've done the major species have been pickerel (walleye) and pike, next time we might choose a destination offering a different species.
Read more
Date of stay: June 2016Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I have been driving up to Ritchies for aprox. 13 years now. It is an awesome getaway. No tv/ cell phone distractions. The cabins are in great shape and well equipped. I usually do two trips a year, one with friends, and the second one with family. I bring my own boat, but the rentals are in great shape with fish finders etc. I would recommend utilizing the fish guide for the first time up to get to know the lake/fishing techniques. The owner Brian is very accommodating.
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Date of stay: September 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Been back from our trip for a few weeks now. To be honest we were VERY disappointed. The Lake was fantastic, beautiful place. We visited for Opening weekend and a 5 day trip at Ritchies.
The food & cabin itself were terrible. His assistant Brady was a great kid and a real asset, the owner made promises of fixing things that never happened.
We purchased the food included package, so we paid extra to have our food supplied.
May 2022: Day one opening weekend, we wake up to find the milk for our coffee had expired in 2021 and was chunky, we told the owner, he then supplied us with powered coffee mate... Powered milk substitute for fishermen who enjoy coffee. He didn't even offer to get us proper milk, just powdered coffeemate.
We later discovered most of the food we were supplied with had expired as well. We were there in May 2022, the dairy products we were supplied, the cheese and milk etc had expired in Sept of 2021. Pretty sure serving guests expired food is a health violation.
We think the food is frozen at the end of each year then given to unsuspecting clients the following season.
TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE
The Propane lights in our cabin were not working properly, owner suggested we needed new mantles that he'd get the next day...never happened, cabin was mostly dark even during the day.
Owner brought in a propane lantern for us to use in the cabin that had written on it...FOR OUTDOOR USE ONLY.
The Carbon Monoxide alarm went off twice in the middle of the night, and again we're were told not to worry about it and remove the battery for the alarm. Now I'm pretty sure a carbon monoxide alarm going off is kind of important, owner just brushed it off saying not to worry about it.
We chose to rent one of his boats and not bring up ours. His boats came with an inexpensive fishfinder which was a nice touch, but, the transducer was up-side-down and not reading properly when we took it out??
Our neighbours in the cabin beside us experienced the same thing...transducer upsidedown, carbon monoxide detector going off etc...
He simply wasn't ready to host guests, but had no problem taking our money though.
We're now trying to get receipts from the owner for the new Stay-Cation tax credit, he'll only issue one receipt. The 2 of us paid separately, yet he'll only issue one receipt with one persons name on it, saying its too much work issuing receipts to everyone. He'll have to consult his accountant to issue each of us a receipt...with the new tax credit, every guest will be requesting a receipt and he's only issuing one per group. Pretty sure the CRA won't accept a receipt that has someone else's name on it.
Maybe the terrible service is due to the fact that the resort is for sale, we're not sure, but, with the problems we saw, I'm surprised he has repeat business.
To be honest, we've been doing these resort type trips yearly for the past 35 years, THIS IS THE ONLY TRIP THAT I WAS HAPPY WAS OVER... WE'RE NEVER RETURNING to Ritchies End of trail...oh ya fishing was way less than spectacular considering it was opening weekend.
The food & cabin itself were terrible. His assistant Brady was a great kid and a real asset, the owner made promises of fixing things that never happened.
We purchased the food included package, so we paid extra to have our food supplied.
May 2022: Day one opening weekend, we wake up to find the milk for our coffee had expired in 2021 and was chunky, we told the owner, he then supplied us with powered coffee mate... Powered milk substitute for fishermen who enjoy coffee. He didn't even offer to get us proper milk, just powdered coffeemate.
We later discovered most of the food we were supplied with had expired as well. We were there in May 2022, the dairy products we were supplied, the cheese and milk etc had expired in Sept of 2021. Pretty sure serving guests expired food is a health violation.
We think the food is frozen at the end of each year then given to unsuspecting clients the following season.
TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE
The Propane lights in our cabin were not working properly, owner suggested we needed new mantles that he'd get the next day...never happened, cabin was mostly dark even during the day.
Owner brought in a propane lantern for us to use in the cabin that had written on it...FOR OUTDOOR USE ONLY.
The Carbon Monoxide alarm went off twice in the middle of the night, and again we're were told not to worry about it and remove the battery for the alarm. Now I'm pretty sure a carbon monoxide alarm going off is kind of important, owner just brushed it off saying not to worry about it.
We chose to rent one of his boats and not bring up ours. His boats came with an inexpensive fishfinder which was a nice touch, but, the transducer was up-side-down and not reading properly when we took it out??
Our neighbours in the cabin beside us experienced the same thing...transducer upsidedown, carbon monoxide detector going off etc...
He simply wasn't ready to host guests, but had no problem taking our money though.
We're now trying to get receipts from the owner for the new Stay-Cation tax credit, he'll only issue one receipt. The 2 of us paid separately, yet he'll only issue one receipt with one persons name on it, saying its too much work issuing receipts to everyone. He'll have to consult his accountant to issue each of us a receipt...with the new tax credit, every guest will be requesting a receipt and he's only issuing one per group. Pretty sure the CRA won't accept a receipt that has someone else's name on it.
Maybe the terrible service is due to the fact that the resort is for sale, we're not sure, but, with the problems we saw, I'm surprised he has repeat business.
To be honest, we've been doing these resort type trips yearly for the past 35 years, THIS IS THE ONLY TRIP THAT I WAS HAPPY WAS OVER... WE'RE NEVER RETURNING to Ritchies End of trail...oh ya fishing was way less than spectacular considering it was opening weekend.
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Date of stay: May 2022
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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LOCATION
CanadaOntarioNortheastern OntarioSudburyBiscotasing
NUMBER OF ROOMS
12
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Frequently Asked Questions about Ritchie's End of Trail
What are some of the property amenities at Ritchie's End of Trail?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, free parking, and a business centre.
Is parking available at Ritchie's End of Trail?
Yes, free parking is available to guests.
Are pets allowed at Ritchie's End of Trail?
Yes, pets are typically allowed, but it's always best to call ahead to confirm.