Highway 101 begins in the west at Highway 17 near the town of Wawa and the village of Michipicoten, within Algoma District. Initially proceeding north, the route quickly turns eastward in Wawa and enters the barren expanses of the boreal forest, travelling through uninhabited wilderness for much of its journey across the Canadian Shield. Approximately east of Wawa, the route encounters Highway 547, which travels north to Hawk Junction. From that junction, Highway 101 travels south for several kilometres before resuming its east–west orientation. Just east of The Shoals Provincial Park, the highway crosses the Laurentian Divide, the boundary between the Great Lakes and Arctic Ocean watersheds; a sign and a small picnic area mark the transition. Approximately midway between Wawa and Chapleau, the route enters Sudbury District, through which it continues most of the distance to Timmins.