Sights in Northern Ontario
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Kakabeka Falls
About 25km west of Thunder Bay, just off Hwy 11-17, is Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park. The spectacular 40m waterfall is the source of many local legends. The moody chute is at its best after the thaw in early spring and it gushes year-round after heavy rains.
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Polar Bear Habitat & Heritage Village
Despite the name of the train (Polar Bear Express), and the giant replica at the info center, there are no wild polar bear roaming around the region, although Nanook became Cochrane’s furriest citizen (let’s hope) when the Polar Bear Habitat & Heritage Village opened its doors in 2004. A loving staff cares for the scruffy beast – the oldest polar bear in captivity – who was brought to the center as a cub after poachers shot his mother. Visitors can interact with Nanook at daily ‘meet the bear’ sessions, or swim with him in a pool divided by a thick sheet of glass (swim session $5). Voyeurs can check out the live ‘Bear Cam’ on the website. An on-site mock colonial village,…
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Dionne Quints Museum
North Bay has never seen the mining-related booms and busts inherent to most towns in northern Ontario. In fact, the area was rather unremarkable until five little girls briefly turned the city into the most visited destination in Ontario after Niagara Falls. These little girls were the Dionne Quints – identical quintuplets. Born during the Great Depression, they were exploited as a tourist attraction by the provincial government. Their fame became so widespread that they even starred in four Hollywood films. Today, the Dionne Quints Museum contains a fascinating collection of artifacts from their early years. (Their later years haven’t been such a happy story – growing u…
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Science North
This huge science center is a major regional attraction conspicuously housed in two snowflake-shaped buildings on the edge of Lake Ramsey. After passing through a tunnel dug deep within the 2.5-billion-year-old Canadian Shield, take the elevator to the top and work your way down through the spiral of exciting hands-on activities. Wander through a living butterfly garden, stargaze in the digital planetarium, explore rocks through a microscope, build an empire out of Lego or fly away on a bushplane simulator. The blue-coated staff are exceptionally friendly and can tackle the most obscure questions about the displays. Major exhibits change regularly, as do the films screene…
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Terry Fox Memorial
The Terry Fox Memorial should be your first stop in town - both to visit the valuable information center, and to learn about one of Canada's great heroes. The memorial honors the young Terry Fox, a native of British Columbia, who lost his leg and eventually his life to cancer. Before passing on, he left a powerful legacy by attempting to walk across Canada with an artificial leg to raise money for cancer research.
On April 12, 1980, he started his walk in St John's, Newfoundland. On September 1, he arrived in Thunder Bay after traveling 5373km, but was forced to stop as his illness worsened. Today's memorial is erected close to where Terry ended his great 'Marathon of Hop…
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Washow James Bay Wilderness Centre
At the time of research, the Moose Cree were constructing the Washow James Bay Wilderness Centre. The goal of the center, 70km east of Moosonee, is to re-create several villages, each at different points in history. One camp has bark-construction dwellings typical of the precontact era, and another will feature contact-era canvas tepees. Guests travel between the main base and the villages by canoe, and activities in the area might include demonstrations of trapping and fishing. Practical details and prices had not been established at the time of research, so check the website for the latest information.
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Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre
A visit to the Soo’s most dynamic museum is an excellent way to learn about the idiosyncrasies of northern Ontario culture. A 20-minute film explains the importance of bushplanes in the region, as several remote communities are not accessible by road. The jiving soundtrack captures the sense of adventure associated with this oft-used form of transportation. Stroll amongst retired bushplanes to get a sense of how tiny these flyers really are. A flight simulator takes passengers on a spirited ride along sapphire lakes and towering pines (you might even get a little wet!).
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Fort William Historical Park
French voyageurs, Scottish gentlemen and Ojibwe scuttle about while re-enacting life in the early 1800s at this historical park. From 1803 to 1821, Fort William was the headquarters of the North West Company. Eventually the business was absorbed by the Hudson Bay Company and the region’s importance as a trading center declined. Today, the large heritage center offers 42 historic buildings stuffed with entertaining and antiquated props like muskets, pelts and birch-bark canoes.
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Sault Ste Marie Museum
Constructed in the old post office, this three-story museum details the town’s history through several perspectives. The Skylight Gallery is a must-see for industrial history buffs; an interactive timeline from prehistory to the 1960s incorporates the local historical society’s unique collection of preserved fossils and relics. Beyond the exhibits, the structure is itself an important historical tribute to the early 1900s, when little Sault Ste Marie emerged from obscurity.
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Cree Cultural Interpretive Centre
Located in Moose Factory, this centre features indoor and outdoor exhibits of artifacts, including bone tools, traditional toys, reusable diapers and dwellings from the precontact era. You’ll learn about pashtamowin, or ‘what goes around, comes around’ – the Cree’s version of karma, if you will. It is best to explore the center with the aid of a guide, as they can relay fascinating details and personal anecdotes about the interesting displays.
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Fort William First Nation
Mt Mackay rises 350m over Thunder Bay, offering sweeping views of the region’s patchwork of rugged pines and swollen rock formations. The lookout is part of the Fort William First Nation, and reveals its most majestic moments in the evening when the valley is but a sea of blinking lights. A walking trail leads from the viewing area to the top of the mountain. Watch your step while climbing – the shale rock can cause tumbles.
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Moose Factory Centennial Museum
The Moose Factory Centennial Museum displays maps, furs and the Hudson’s Bay Staff House, which dates from the early 1700s. Moosehide altar cloths and Cree prayer books are a feature of St Thomas’ Anglican Church, built in 1860. The church is commonly known as the ‘floating church,’ because during a particularly harsh storm the wind lifted the structure up into the air and threw it down the street.
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Copper Cliff Museum
The Copper Cliff Museum occupies a pioneer log cabin roughly 6km west of the city center. It’s filled with relics from the bygone era when settlers first entered the region to survey the land. Note the odd juxtaposition of quaint pioneer life and grumbling industry as you stare at the nearby smoke-spewing shaft affectionately known as the ‘Superstack.’
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Thunder Bay Museum
This 100-year-old museum has enough quirks and gadgets to keep adults interested and children entertained. The well-presented artifacts offer visitors a glimpse of the region’s 10,000 years of human history by incorporating displays about Ojibwe culture, fur trading, military history and recent developments.
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Amethyst Mine Panorama
Visit the mine, 40km east of Thunder Bay, and dig for your very own purple chunk of amethyst, Ontario’s official gemstone. While pulling into the parking lot, you may notice that the gravel has a faint indigo hue – a testament to the fact that the area is truly overflowing with these semiprecious pieces.
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Ermatinger-Clergue National Historic Site
This pair of stone cottages comprises the oldest buildings west of Toronto, and have been transformed into an informative museum where costumed students re-create life in 1814 with activities like churning butter and dyeing fabrics.
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Art Gallery of Sudbury
Housed in the old mansion of a lumber magnate, this gallery’s permanent display tells the region’s history through carefully preserved artifacts, and the temporary showcase offers local artists the opportunity to express themselves.
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Sault Ste Marie Canal National Historic Site
Stroll through the quiet islands on the Canadian side of the waterway; the majority of freighter traffic occurs further afield in the American locks – the older Canadian locks, built in 1895, are used for recreational vessels only.
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Thunder Bay Art Gallery
Thunder Bay’s premier gallery offers an eclectic assortment of contemporary art from First Nations artists. The use of natural imagery, haunting masks and scorching primary colors will leave lasting impressions on visitors.
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Flour Mill Heritage Museum
This exhibit is sited in a 1903 clapboard house with period implements, artifacts and furnishings. It tells the story of the three flour silos on Notre Dame Ave.
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Art Gallery of Algoma
This gallery is housed on the ground floor of the modern brick civic center, and offers regularly rotating exhibits that often feature local artists.
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