(At Least) 3 Things to do in Thunder Bay

One hundred and ten thousand or so people. A giant that lies over the lake in slumber. When I visit the mid-sized town that I love so dearly, it takes me four hours by plane, or sixteen by car.  I was raised in the city of Thunder Bay and only moved away a few years ago, but I still love to visit regularly. 

Thunder Bay is a lovely city, and I’m sure that if you ever have the chance to visit, you’ll agree.  But what exactly do you do when you get there? Have you heard the city is boring? small? in the middle of nowhere? Well, it depends on who you ask. And if you ask me - absolutely not! I’ll walk you through my last day of my most recent fall visit. 

9:00 - Walk around Boulevard Lake

One of my favourite things about Thunder Bay is the proximity to nature. Boulevard Lake is a man made lake with a beautiful walking trail around it - the whole trail takes me about an hour to walk around at about 5 kilometres. The dam that creates the lake was recently redone and is beautiful to walk across! The lake is located in the Current River district of the city and is accessible by bus or car. 

1:00 - Lunch at The Madhouse

My wonderful mother and I decided to go to a local restaurant: The Madhouse. Located in downtown Port Arthur in the historic Bay and Algoma neighbourhood, they serve excellent pub fare and specialize in whiskey! As we wanted a lighter lunch, we decided to order two appetizers to split. Pictured below, we ordered the Loaded Nachos and Beer Cheese. The Beer Cheese came with local Gouda cheese from Thunder Oak Cheese Farm, as well as apples, and baked pretzels for dipping.

3:00 - Visit The Sweet North

The Sweet North is a must when visiting Thunder Bay - with a drive thru location as well as their location in downtown Port Arthur, you can choose to take your coffee and goodies to go or to eat in. Their bake-at-home sticky buns have a cult following in town!I have frequented this lovely bakery/cafe since I was in high school, sneaking off during lunch break to buy a Port Arthur Fog (their take on the Earl Grey Latte) and a delicious, freshly baked pretzel. This time around, I bought their seasonal Butterbeer and a cinnamon sugar pretzel for a mid-afternoon pick me up. Both were gone before I had the chance to take a picture!  If you go, I highly recommend trying their cruffins - a croissant muffin hybrid pastry that is offered in a different featured flavour every week! 

What Else Can You Do?

There are so much more things to do and places to visit in Thunder Bay if you have the time. I'd like to make some honourable mentions that I didn't get the opportunity to write about: hiking trails at The Sleeping Giant, Mount McKay, The Cascades, as well as great restaurants such as Seattle Coffee House, Growing Season, and Caribou. As well, a visit to Thunder Bay isn't complete without trying Finnish Pancakes or a Persian! I'd love to see pictures of your trip to Thunder Bay, so connect with me on Instagram to keep in touch!