Located in the heart of Algoma Country, Aubrey Falls is an underrated destination. About two hours northeast of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, these stunning waterfalls are somehow off the tourist radar.
Returning from a road trip along the north shore of Lake Superior, we thought we would take a detour off the beaten path and see Aubrey Falls for ourselves.
A visit to the Thunder Bay area along Lake Superior, Ontario, is not complete without a visit to The Sleeping Giant. We had the opportunity to see the giant’s profile from Marina Park back in 2021 and I have been thinking about it ever since. Famous primarily for one of the most iconic trails in Ontario, the Sleeping Giant was the main reason we returned here.
Thunder Bay is the largest city in northwestern Ontario and was composed of two formerly separate towns: Fort William, a French fur trading outpost on the banks of the Kaministiquia River, and Port Arthur, the eastern terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the major transshipment point for lakers carrying goods from across the Great Lakes.
Thunder Bay centre boasts a small variety of buildings, but no one really visits this area for the city. The panoramic view of the Sleeping Giant and Marina Park are the main attractions of the Waterfront District and an afternoon spent there will give you an idea of the other activities available.
The scenery changes once you get to Sudbury (5 hrs north of Toronto), but the truth is that the 700-km stretch from Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay offers the most picturesque coastlines and rocky cliffs that will take your breath away. The rugged Precambrian red granite, the forested hills, and the deep blue or turquoise waters create the perfect backdrop you could wish for.
From pebbles to the finest sand beach, you will never tire of finding your special spot. From lazy rivers to white-waters rapids, there is something for everyone! Oh, and did I mention the waterfalls?!
If you happen to be near Burk’s Falls, Parry Sound District, Ontario, about 265 km north of Toronto, then you don’t want to miss visiting the Screaming Heads. As weird as it might sound, yes, there is a place where you can see dozens of screaming heads along with other concrete sculptures, depicting various worldly or rather unworldly creatures.
Established in 1959 as part of the Ontario Parks system, Grundy Lake Provincial Park is located along Trans-Canada Hwy, 85 km south of Sudbury, Ontario. With a wide variety of camping grounds, few hiking trails, and countless inland lakes, we thought it was a good place for us to spend a few relaxing days.
Home to 12 species at risk, 3 lakes and 2 mountains, Heaven’s Gate Nature Preserve stretches out along the northern shore of the North Channel, bridging the gap between La Cloche Provincial Reserve and Killarney Provincial Park in Ontario.
Out of the hundreds of hiking possibilities in Northern Ontario, the trail going to the White River suspension bridge is the one you won’t want to miss. If you like hiking, you love nature, and suspension bridges, then this is the trail you must have on your list.
Being on the road already for few days, on our West to Northwest Road Trip, we planned carefully a full day on this rather difficult trail.
One of the largest living history attractions in North America, Fort William offers a vivid image of the fur trade life. Re-enactment of the old days was our main reason we chose to visit the fort, as we very much enjoyed the cheerful animators from Fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia. Although the park staff was very limited after the big lockdown from the beginning of the year, we considered lucky to be able to visit it, as the park re-opened mid-summer.
The story of the North West Company and its rendezvous place at Fort William covers but a brief span of history. Between the American Revolution (1776-1783), the war of 1812, and later the Pemmican War, then until its own absorption by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821, the North West Company exercised a virtual monopoly of all trade into the northwest directed from Montreal. As the company’s inland headquarters, Fort William became the pivotal point in a vast fur trading empire, in a peaceful time before the several changes of what will later become Canada, such as 1869 when Hudson Bay Company turned over the governance to the new nation of Canada who decided the future of the North West territories. Anyway, Fort William remains an eloquent proof of peaceful trading times, frozen in time at the height of the fur trade in North America, as it was in 1816.
Hope you will enjoy the little movie, and the cheerful animators of Fort William!
Tip(s) of the day:
~ visited in August 2021
1000 Places and Memories 