Exploring Ontario: Our Favourite Day trips from Thunder Bay

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.

Sleeping Giant from Marina Thunder Bay

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Discovering Laurissilva Forest: Levada do Caldeirao Verde

Located in the municipality of Santana, on the northern coast of the island of Madeira, the Queimadas Forest park is one of the best places to observe Laurissilva Forest. Home to the typical flora of Madeira’s Laurissilva Forest, we found this park very peaceful, especially PR 9 – Levada do Caldeirao Verde the perfect place to have a relaxing walk, and admire nature, especially after a demanding hike on the previous day, Pico to Pico.

Casa de Abrigo das Queimadas
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Exploring New York: The best things to see and do in Finger Lakes region

Finger Lakes region takes its name from eleven long and narrow lakes spread like fingers across the region, and it’s located within four to five-hour drive from metropolitan cities, such as Toronto, New York, Philadelphia, or Pittsburgh. Over thousands of years receding glaciers carved this landscape, giving place to an idyllic home to generations of people. No wonder why, as sparkling lakes, breathtaking waterfalls and rolling pastoral hills dominate the landscape, making Finger Lakes Region a hidden gem.

European settlers found one of the most powerful Native Americans Nations in this area, who believed that Finger Lakes were the fingerprints of the Great Spirit. It is said that the Great Spirit reached down and, in touching the earth, transformed this land into sacred ground. But the geological term finger lake refers to a long, narrow body of water occupying a glacially over deepened valley, and the most notable ones are Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. Within about 9,000 square miles, there are miles of lakeshores, countless waterfalls, and vineyards; from biking, hiking, boating, fishing, to visiting museums, or quaint towns and villages, there is an activity for everyone, you name it.

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Watkins Glen State Park, the jewel of FINGER LAKES REGION

Sometime over 12,000 years ago, receding glaciers carved some of the most pristine lakes, giving place for green valleys, deep gorges, and spectacular waterfalls. Watkins Glen State Park hosts some of the most picturesque waterfalls in this area.

Rainbow falls view, Watkins Glen state park
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Hitting the road again: Letchworth state park

Letchworth state park, renowned as the Grand Canyon of the East, is a 14,350-acre park in New York state, following for about 27 km the course of Genesee River. With three major waterfalls, lush forests, and a deep gorge, the park is one of the most scenically areas in the eastern U.S. The Genesee River is the essence of the park, and can be observed either roaring through the gorge on sudden drops, between cliffs as high as 600 feet in some places, or in a calm course along its winding way.

Letchworth state park
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Niagara Falls State Park at a glance

Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest state park in the U.S., being established in 1885 as the Niagara Reservation. It was the first of the several such reservations that eventually became the cornerstones to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

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White River suspension bridge trail – Pukaskwa National Park

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.

Pukaskwa National Park - White river suspension bridge trail
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Dundas Valley and its waterfalls, Ontario

Dundas Valley Conservation Area is one of the southern Ontario’s most spectacular natural areas. It offers great hiking opportunities along a small section of the Bruce Trail and few other side trails that weave through the forest along Niagara Escarpment.

Being part of a large glacial valley from about 10,000 years ago that spreads into Lake Ontario, this conservation is actually famous for its 1,200 ha of lush Carolinian forests, a rich and unique ecosystem found in southern Ontario.

Dundas Valley Conservation Area
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