Editorial standards.

Sources come first.

Articles and trip guides are written from primary and official sources wherever they exist: Parks Canada and the U.S. National Park Service, Ontario Parks and state park agencies, municipalities, First Nations and Tribal Nations, museums, and the organisers of events. Every article lists the sources it relies on at the end of the page, with links, so any claim can be checked.

Each place, listing and guide records the source we used and the date we last checked it. Seasonal details such as hours, access, ferry schedules, border requirements and prices change, and pages say so.

Checked before it is published.

Facts that a visitor will act on are checked against their source before publication: dates, locations, distances, seasonal access, booking requirements, border crossing information and safety information. We use AI tools to help research and draft; every piece is checked against the sources it cites before publication, and no article is published without them. An editor reviews published pieces and corrects errors promptly.

Corrections.

If something is wrong, we want to know. Send a correction with the page and what needs changing. We fix factual errors promptly, update the page date, and note substantive corrections on the page. Operators can correct their own listing by claiming it.

Real photographs only.

Every photograph on the site is a real photograph of a real place, credited to its photographer with its licence on our photo credits page. Many come from public-domain collections such as NOAA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or from Wikimedia Commons contributors. We never publish AI-generated imagery. Where a business has not yet supplied its own photo, we show a credited photo of its area, clearly labelled “Area photo”, so it is never mistaken for the business itself.

Indigenous history and places.

The Great Lakes are the homelands of many Indigenous Nations, including the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Wendat, whose relationships with these waters continue today in Canada and the United States. We write about Indigenous history, treaties and places from the Nations’ own published sources and from recognised institutions, avoid speaking on behalf of any community, and welcome guidance and corrections from First Nations, Métis and Tribal Nations. Read our introduction to the First Peoples of the Great Lakes.

Listings and events.

Business listings come from the businesses themselves, public directories and our Canadian partner directory, ShopLocal. A listing marked “Operator confirmed” has been claimed and checked by the business. Event details come from organisers and public ticketing pages; confirm with the organiser before travelling. Accessibility features are declared by operators unless marked as verified; see our accessibility page.

Independence and sponsorship.

TheGreatLakes.ca is an independent publication, not an official tourism authority in either country. Sponsored placements are always labelled, and payment never buys editorial coverage, a favourable description or a change to factual content. Being listed does not imply endorsement.

Open to AI assistants, with attribution.

So that AI assistants give travellers accurate, current information about the Great Lakes, our published content is available in machine-readable form through llms.txt and the details at /.well-known/mcp.json. We ask that anyone citing our work names TheGreatLakes.ca and links to the original page.

Questions about these standards? Contact the editor. See also About us and For tourism & community partners.