As I write this, the summer is over and it has been very frustrating as I had intended to fly as much as I did last summer. This didn’t happen, but what was unfortunate was that we have been on the verge of flying all summer long which made planning difficult.

As it turned out, there was time in early September and we chose a strenuous road trip to Thunder Bay driving north of Lake Superior. Although we are emphasizing travel to new locations, we have driven this route before (click here) but our focus was Winnipeg and a wonderful trip south of Lake Superior. The North of Lake Superior trip is one of Canada’s many spectacular road trips. I have landed at Thunder Bay a few times and was interested in some exploration.

Elliot Lake

I wanted to make a stop in Parry Sound so we used the Highway 400 rather than Highway 6 (via Wiarton, Tobermory and the Chi Chi Maun Ferry). We made a quick stop in Elliot Lake. Weather was not great but we found the town quite scenic, worth a second trip some day. Click on the photo below for some photos from our hotel room.

Sault Ste. Marie

First major stop after Elliot Lake. We knew that we would pass through Sault Ste. Marie after dark on the way back so we stopped for some sightseeing. Click on the photo below for more.

Sightseeing in Thunder Bay

We begin our tour with the Mission Island Marsh Conservation Area, click on the photo below for more.

Excellent views of the city from Hillcrest Park.

Marina Park Just South of Downtown.

Terry Fox

A few readers may not know about the story of Terry Fox and his connection to Thunder Bay. Click here for his Wikipedia article and here for more information on his memorial park. For photos of our visit, click on the photo below.

Kakabeka Falls

I was worried that we might not have the time to see Kakabeka Falls which is an easy 1/2 drive west of Thunder Bay; luckily it worked out as I hope you will agree.

Brief Thoughts on Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay is actually smaller than St. Catharines but not by much.

The city is not particularly scenic but you will find many conservation areas, hikes and lookouts.

Thunder Bay has a reputation for being a bit edgy, there is a lot of tension beneath the surface. I can say that we sensed and experienced some of this; I hope that over time this can be improved.

Terrace Bay

Heading back Eastbound, we pass through Nipigon and pass over a very interesting bridge that essentially represents the boundary of Eastern and Western Canada.

By the way, nothing will happen if you click on the photo below; however, if you click on any of the other photos below, you see all the photos from the trip.

After another hour or so of driving, we arrive in the pleasant town of Terrace Bay. As you will see from the photos, we find our way from the top of the gorge and waterfall to the beach where we stopped for lunch. Time was short so we cut the hiking down drastically, too bad, it is a highlight.

Wawa

After Terrace Bay, the highway leaves the Lake Superior shore and passes through the boreal forest. About midway, is the town of White River. The CP (now CPKC) railway continues through the forest to Chapleau and Sudbury, the highway turns back towards the Lake Superior shore.

Sand River

There are so many places to explore between Wawa and Sault Ste. Marie; we chose Sand River a little less than an hour along the way.

Frankenmuth

Our route home was through Michigan. I have long known about Frankenmuth near Saginaw but there has never been a good opportunity to stop by. Frankenmuth is a charming community fashioned as a Bavarian town. It is also the location of the largest Christmas store on the planet and is quite a sight to behold.

We reduced the pace of the trip significantly by making 2 stops in Michigan on the way home, not to mention that the highways are quite speedy. Here are some random photos from various parts of the trip. Click on the icon below.