Michipicoten Island is a large, remote island in Lake Superior, estimated at roughly 17 miles across, sitting approximately 50 miles offshore from the northern Ontario mainland. Today it is essentially uninhabited, with no permanent human population, no roads, and no electricity — just dense wilderness and wild animals. The island carries deep significance in Anishinaabe tradition as the domain of Mishipeshu, a powerful underwater panther spirit believed capable of conjuring deadly storms on the lake. It once supported copper mining and fishing operations, both of which have long since been abandoned, leaving behind only ruins and legend. Gates flew to the island by bush plane in Season 12 of Expedition Unknown to join a team searching for lost World War I-era minesweepers believed to have sunk in the surrounding waters, following a trail that reportedly began with a newly uncovered 1919 lighthouse keeper's report.
Anishinaabe peoples establish the island as a site of spiritual significance, associating it with Mishipeshu, the underwater panther deity of Lake Superior
Copper mining and commercial fishing operations established on the island; all eventually abandoned
A lighthouse keeper's report is allegedly written, describing a French sailor's body found on the island's shore — later surfaced as a key clue in the minesweeper investigation
Gates and a research team investigate the island in Expedition Unknown S12E05, conducting sonar and dive surveys in search of lost minesweepers
Michipicoten Island sits in one of the most treacherous stretches of Lake Superior, a body of water with a well-documented history of shipwrecks and violent weather. The Anishinaabe people of the Canadian First Nations have long held the island as a place of spiritual power, home to Mishipeshu — described in the episode as 'a powerful and dangerous god depicted as an underwater panther.' Scholars of Indigenous Great Lakes traditions understand Mishipeshu not simply as folklore but as a reflection of the lake's genuine dangers, encoding generations of hard-won knowledge about Superior's unpredictability into mythological form.
The island's industrial past — copper extraction and commercial fishing — is consistent with broader patterns of resource exploitation across the Lake Superior basin in the 19th and early 20th centuries. All such operations on Michipicoten have been abandoned, and the island has reverted to near-total wilderness. The existence of a 1919 lighthouse keeper's report describing a sailor's body is the kind of archival fragment that maritime historians treat as a starting point for investigation rather than a conclusion — intriguing, but requiring corroboration from physical evidence such as wreck locations, hull identification, or naval records.
The search for the minesweepers themselves sits in a broader tradition of Great Lakes wreck hunting. Lake Superior's cold, fresh water is known for preserving wooden and steel hulls remarkably well, and sonar technology has located numerous previously unknown wrecks in recent decades. Whether the specific vessels Gates' team sought have been conclusively identified remains, based on available episode information, an open question — the episode explores the possibility rather than announcing a solved case.
What Gates' visit contributes most clearly is visibility: Michipicoten Island is genuinely obscure, and bringing a film crew by bush plane to conduct sonar and dive surveys draws public attention to both the maritime history of Lake Superior and the living cultural heritage of the Anishinaabe people whose traditions have kept the island's significance alive long after its industrial era ended.
Gates describes Michipicoten Island as approximately 17 miles across, making it one of the larger islands in Lake Superior despite having no permanent human population today.
The Cessna Caravan that Gates flew to the island is the same aircraft type that made headlines in 2022 when a passenger with no flight experience successfully landed one after the pilot became incapacitated — a fact Gates mentions on camera.
Mishipeshu, the Anishinaabe underwater panther spirit associated with the island, is believed in tradition to be capable of causing the violent storms for which Lake Superior is historically notorious.
Lake Superior is known for preserving shipwrecks exceptionally well due to its cold, fresh water — making it one of the world's most significant inland maritime archaeology zones, with many wrecks still believed undiscovered.
Michipicoten Island is extremely remote and not easily accessible — reaching it generally requires a private charter flight or boat from the northern Ontario coast, roughly 50 miles away. There are no established tourist facilities, roads, or services on the island, so visitors should be well-prepared for true wilderness conditions. Check current regulations with Ontario Parks or local First Nations authorities before planning any visit, as access and permissions may be subject to specific requirements.
Wawa, Ontario is the nearest town on the mainland, approximately 50 miles from the island by air or water. Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario is the nearest major city, roughly 100 miles to the southeast.
Summer months, roughly July through early September, offer the most navigable lake conditions and the most daylight for exploration, though Lake Superior's weather can change rapidly at any time of year. Early spring and late fall bring significantly increased storm risk.
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the body of water surrounding Michipicoten Island and the primary setting of the minesweeper investigation in the same episode.
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan shares the same Great Lakes maritime mystery tradition, with numerous shipwrecks and underwater investigation episodes featured on Expedition Unknown.
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is another North American inland lake investigated by Gates for historical and legendary underwater mysteries, making it a thematic parallel to the Michipicoten search.