Thunder Bay Ontario Intel.

Good morning,

Getting ready to meet in Thunder Bay for the Wabakimi trip. We will have some time before and after the trip to organize. I hate organizing gear in hotel rooms, so is there a local campground that would fit the bill?

Otherwise, any cool bars, restaurants, or sites that are a can't miss?

We will be leaving a car in Thunder Bay - multiple options for stashing a car while we are north - any of them recommended?

We will stop at Wilderness Supply - any other groovy or funky places to hit?

Thank you.

Campgrounds that you might want to stay at are pretty far out of town. Kakabeka Falls about 30k to the west and Sleeping Giant about 50 k to the east. Hotel rates in Thunder Bay are astronomical, and often unavailable. Tiinas is a good breakfast joint, usually pretty busy, but good food and fast.
I've been out of the bar scene in T Bay for a couple of decades, but if you want to have a drink and a meal I would suggest Montanas or one of the larger chain restraunt type deals.
I have to go to T Bay regularly, but not by choice. It's not much of a city, difficult to get specialty items. The only other outdoor type place is Gear Up For the Outdoors. Have fun on your trip!

You can camp at Fort William Historical Park, a recreated fur trade era fort. It is located just south of the airport as you come into TB from the south on Hwy 61. However, the campground is located in a large open field without any shade. You can probably find some city parks in TB for day use in sorting your gear.

I have always enjoyed the Marsala Grill, an Indian restaurant located just north of the old downtown area in an older residential neighborhood at 170 N. Algoma St. Of course you would need to enjoy Indian cuisine.

Lastly, I have left my car at the TB KOA campground on Hwys 11/17 just north of TB at the junction with Hwy 527 (which takes you north to Armstrong). They didn’t charge me but my group camped there the night before heading north to Armstrong.

Trowbridge Falls campground (city-run) is on Hodder Avenue just north of the trans-Canada highway. A lot closer than Kakabeka or the KOA. Check out the Thunder Bay subReddit as they have good recommendations for cool restaurants. At the moment, downtown north side (Port Arthur) seems to have the bulk of the cool spots.

Thank you gentlemen - I will check these out!

Trowbridge is usually packed, I went there once to try to get a site, you would really have to be the sociable type to enjoy it. It is easier for me to warn you away from places than recommend them, lol.

The Delta is a new hotel over looking lake Superior. In theory, a really nice place, the scenery is beautiful. you can stroll along walk ways by the dock, take in the sites and sounds, but..... the train runs all night, and often times in the morning, if you don't know the escape route, you can be trapped for a half hour waiting for some mega train to pass. Plus, at 400 bucks a night, the view doesn't seem that spectacular. Also, it is very common on your scenic stroll to run into many meth-heads and vagrants hitting you up for dough. The parking lot is about a half a mile away too, which makes one a bit nervous at night (reference the meth head comment). The attached restaurant looks good, and it has a pretty good jazz trio that plays weekend nights, but the food and service is not that great and the prices reflect the 400 dollar room rate. I stayed there twice (my wife had a corporate rate), but after getting trapped by the train and almost missing my medical appointment, and getting accosted right outside the hotel by a very weird looking meth enthusiast, we decided to stay somewhere else.

Too bad you weren't coming up my way, you could camp in the back yard for free and have beers around the fire, with only a slight chance of meth heads.

It was our first time in Thunder bay last year on our trip to wabakimi. The place is definitely a working town. Its seemed pretty rough. Our hotel was pretty nasty. We did not find a good restaurant but we did like sleeping giant brewery. And yes the drug addict thing is true.

I have going through TB at least annually since 2007 with the exception of the Covid years. It does seem to have gotten rougher since my first visit. Maybe less jobs now and/or in-migration of down and out people.

We used to sleep in the car at Kakabeka Falls rest area but that was fifteen years ago. The Prospector Steakhouse is downtown still but its been that many years since I ate there. I do have the recipe for their formerly excellent rolls. Too bad Hoitos is gone. Keeled Over if you are coming from Rochester NY the fastest route is 11 all through... Geraldton and mem bring beer. Bud Lite.

Thank you YC!

As I was doing my planning saw Geraldton and thought it rang a bell, and it hit me pretty quick. Mem and others have been providing great advice about this. I am going through the details but have informed my brothers we will meet outside of town, sort gear, hit Walmart and head up.

Cannot wait!!

Thanks again everybody!

jdeerfoot said:

You can camp at Fort William Historical Park, a recreated fur trade era fort. It is located just south of the airport as you come into TB from the south on Hwy 61. However, the campground is located in a large open field without any shade. You can probably find some city parks in TB for day use in sorting your gear.

I have always enjoyed the Marsala Grill, an Indian restaurant located just north of the old downtown area in an older residential neighborhood at 170 N. Algoma St. Of course you would need to enjoy Indian cuisine.

Lastly, I have left my car at the TB KOA campground on Hwys 11/17 just north of TB at the junction with Hwy 527 (which takes you north to Armstrong). They didn’t charge me but my group camped there the night before heading north to Armstrong.

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Thank you jdf, this is perfect. All of the recommendations looked good but my one brother is driving in form CO so a midpoint is perfect. Looks like an interesting park so will learn a bit more about Canada!

KO - the tour of the fur trading post is excellent and very informative.

Make sure you check out the canoe building room, that is the best part of OFW.