Staff Pick
Road Trip Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay – Lake Superior Drive
Sault Ste. Marie
Thunder Bay
700
km
8h30
drive
Summer
season
The Itinerary
This is one of the great Canadian road trips: roughly 700 km of Trans-Canada Highway around the north shore of Lake Superior, from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay. Superior holds about ten per cent of the world's surface fresh water and is large enough to generate its own weather, and the highway spends most of the distance within sight of it. Two to four days is the honest allowance. Attempting it in one is possible and wastes the entire point.
The first section climbs through Lake Superior Provincial Park, with the Agawa pictographs and Old Woman Bay, and reaches Wawa and its landmark goose. Beyond Wawa the country empties out. White River, long promoted as the coldest recorded spot in Ontario, is also the town that supplied the bear cub who became Winnie-the-Pooh. Pukaskwa National Park near Marathon protects the wildest coastline on the lake, with the Coastal Hiking Trail running south from Hattie Cove. Terrace Bay has Aguasabon Falls and gorge, and Nipigon marks the point where the highway finally turns west toward Thunder Bay.
Practical planning matters more here than anywhere else in the province. Fuel stops can be well over 100 km apart and some close early; cell coverage is intermittent between towns; and accommodation in the small north-shore communities is limited enough that summer arrivals without a booking may find nothing. Moose are a genuine hazard at dawn and dusk. Late September gives colour, cool air and far less traffic.
The first section climbs through Lake Superior Provincial Park, with the Agawa pictographs and Old Woman Bay, and reaches Wawa and its landmark goose. Beyond Wawa the country empties out. White River, long promoted as the coldest recorded spot in Ontario, is also the town that supplied the bear cub who became Winnie-the-Pooh. Pukaskwa National Park near Marathon protects the wildest coastline on the lake, with the Coastal Hiking Trail running south from Hattie Cove. Terrace Bay has Aguasabon Falls and gorge, and Nipigon marks the point where the highway finally turns west toward Thunder Bay.
Practical planning matters more here than anywhere else in the province. Fuel stops can be well over 100 km apart and some close early; cell coverage is intermittent between towns; and accommodation in the small north-shore communities is limited enough that summer arrivals without a booking may find nothing. Moose are a genuine hazard at dawn and dusk. Late September gives colour, cool air and far less traffic.
Points of Interest
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✦
Lake Superior Provincial ParkAgawa pictographs, Old Woman Bay and 200 km of shoreline.
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✦
Pukaskwa National ParkNorthern Ontario's only national park, with a wild coastal trail.
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✦
Aguasabon FallsA 30 m waterfall at Terrace Bay, easy to reach.
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✦
Ouimet CanyonA canyon 100 m deep near Thunder Bay.
Fishing Spots Along the Route
Protected areas along the route
🌿
Marathon
General Use Area
🌿
CRAIG'S PIT PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
Terrace Bay/Schreiber
General Use Area
🌿
Thunder Bay Urban Area
General Use Area
🌿
Craig's Pit Provincial Park Addition
Recommended Provincial Park
🌿
Aggregate Areas
General Use Area
🌿
Rural Areas
General Use Area
🌿
MAGPIE RIVER TERRACES CONSERVATION RESERVE
Conservation Reserve
🌿
MICHIPICOTEN PROVINCIAL PARK (CULTURAL HERITAGE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
RED SUCKER POINT PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
SOUTH MICHIPICOTEN RIVER-SUPERIOR SHORELINE CONSERVATION RESERVE
Conservation Reserve
🌿
Urban Areas
General Use Area
Take this route offline
Cell coverage thins out fast once you leave Sault Ste. Marie. Export the map as a geo-referenced PDF before you go and open it in BorealMaps — your GPS position shows on the map with no signal at all.
Try PDF Export How geo-referenced PDF maps workPractical info
- Departure Sault Ste. Marie
- Destination Thunder Bay
- Distance 700 km
- Duration 8h30
- Category Very long (500+ km)
- Best season Summer
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