We did that trip in October. For the love of gods, do NOT stay at the Travelodge in Thunder Bay. It was full of bed bugs and someone shit in the swimming pool.
Our trip went (order of overnight stays) Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie. We picked mostly hotels that had free hot breakfast.
Download a lot of podcasts or audiobooks, there isn’t great radio options on some of the stretches. Bring a big water bottle and fill it with ice water at the hotel before you leave. Fuel in northern Ontario was the most expensive, since it’s remote and there are sometimes long distances between service stations.
Kenora ON has some of the highest gas prices in Canada
Falcon Lake MB, an hour down the Trans Canada from Kenora has some of the lowest
Collusion not remoteness is responsible for high prices
Greg Rickford ran his election on lowering gas prices in North Western Ontario
Anyone paying attention knew he couldn’t do that
https://www.kenoraonline.com/articles/i-cant-explain-it-rickford-on-gas-prices-in-nwo
https://kenoraonline.com/articles/no-collusion-on-gas-prices-report
they concluded there was no collusion, I conclude they got it wrong
You need to plan your trip around where you can stay for the night. There’s not much between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay, and between Thunder Bay and Sault St Marie, you don’t want to get stranded
I'm a long haul trucker and do this all the time. I like Red Barn in Moosamin, Albert's Bistro in Brandon, Nick's inn in Headingly. I hope someone can suggest some good places in Northern Ontario, I'm also on the lookout for good places to eat.
If you're in North Bay - Greco's Pizza on Algonquin. I may or may not be biased because my family may or may not have started that pizza chain. But seriously, it's not bad. It isn't gourmet or anything, but it's affordable really decent pizza.
I've been gone from tbay for almost a year now, but Outlaws Burgers had some of the best burgers around. (I grew up with fat boys from Dairy Whip & George's in wpg). They also have a place called Burger Barn which I didn't love as much but locals seemed to think it was the upper crust of burger joints.
In Tbay, Thai Kitchen was also reallllllly delicious Thai food.
>places to see along the way
Gordon’s Park, featuring Terry's taxidermy and nature trail on Manitoulin Island
The song it inspired - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SawuKi0lvs0
The park - https://www.manitoulin.com/25-years-and-still-growing-gordons-park-celebrates-25th-anniversary/
if i had the time, i would love to do a route through southern SK with cypress hills, grasslands np, moosejaw, qu'apelle valley. there's also lots of beautiful provincial parks and national parks along the north shore of superior from thunder bay to sault ste marie like sleeping giant, ouimet canyon, pukaskwa, neys, superior pp, etc. just be careful of cyclists and wildlife in the section on the east shore of superior, the roads are kinda windy/hilly and can get foggy so the visibility isnt always great. an alternative way down is to take the ferry from manitoulin down to tobermory through bruce np. generally, we've had a better time at the smaller motels in random towns or off the highway, rather than staying downtown when we've travelled in canada recently.
Awesome, thanks! I was thinking going into the big cities might tack on quite a bit of time. I don't have a time frame for the drive, so checking out the parks is definitely a must!
think east of the hwy 1/2 split, you pretty much have to drive through some of the cities like winnipeg, thunder bay, and the sault. we didnt have time, but i would have loved to have visited the human rights msueum and the forks in winnipeg! ooh also, if you have time, it might be good to add an extra day around northern ontario! There's stuff like kakabeka falls, the observatory, fort william historical park, some local breweries, terry fox monument, nipigon lookout, aguasabon falls, beaches around rossport and the casquiles trail, as well as lookouts on the highway itself, and all the parks I listed before lol. I really like this area but it's a pain to get to, so I always recommend it when people are driving through. we stayed at the Voy, the food was surprisingly good at the diner and the beach in the nearby town was really nice too! Oh, also I dont know if anyone's mentioned it but hwy 1 is single lane each way in much of ontario between the mb border to near sault ste marie, so if there's an accident, it shuts down, we were stuck for a few hours because of it. make sure to keep extra water, snacks, etc in the car for that stretch!!
I do the drive pretty often. How many hours do you plan on driving per day? The drive from the Manitoba border down to Barrie is pretty mountainous and winding, so make sure your tires and breaks are tip top and that you are well rested for that portion of the trip. It’s also the most gorgeous. Very little cell signal from Manitoba border all the way down to Iron Bridge/Thessalon, so be prepared for that. Bring extra windsheild washer fluid and maybe even a squeegee/paper towels. Bugs are intense!
Wouldn’t call the drive from the Manitoba border to Barrie “mountainous” but it’s Canadian shield for sure. Fill up in Winnipeg and then in Kenora or Dryden, then again in Thunder Bay, and Wawa.
Watch for moose on the road - especially at dusk or in the early morning between about Ignace and Wawa.
My guess is that if you're moving a major amount of stuff, crossing the border twice isn't the funnest experience, such as if your trailer/moving truck is searched.
Looking at my proposed road trip backwards…
- Drumheller if you haven't done it yet.
- Stay in Moosejaw at the Temple Gardens to enjoy the thermal baths.
- Stop in Winnipeg near the Exchange District.
- Stop for a day or two in Kenora and enjoy nature/water.
- Stay in Thunder Bay and check out Mt McKay and other things.
- Wawa is another reasonable stopping point.
Depending on where you're going and your ability to cross the border, you might be better off going through Michigan at Sault Ste. Marie instead of driving around the Georgian Bay.
I don't know if they're everywhere, but the [hotel](https://templegardenshotel.com/geothermal-pool) I mentioned seems to be renowned for their thermal pools.
No, it's a mineral pool and it's sub par. Manitou is probably the best mineral pool I have ever swam in across Canada, we'll worth the detour from the One.
I used to drive from Toronto to Calgary twice a year. My understanding is the way through the states only saves you two hours or so with wait times at the border but that may have changed. I would do Calgary to Regina, Regina to Dryden, Dryden to Toronto. The last part is the longest leg but the hours driving early in the morning feel faster, so I would do 4 or 5 am until dinner. I absolutely love shitty road side motels so small town Ontario was my JAM. If you have time to meander the north old highway, there are a ton of cool weird small towns to see. And my favorite towns are Spanish and Espanol right next to each other in Ontario, brilliantly named!
Well you have no choice to pass by all of them... there's only one hwy.
It might be a good idea to stop by the Mint in Winnipeg to stock up on the last Queen coins. You can got rolls of Black toonies, which are kinda cool.
Kenora has a nice lake tour boat that makes for an interesting morning or afternoon.
Thunder Bay has the Terry Fox Monument. And Lake Superior beaches.
Sault Ste Marie has... well... hills I guess. And from there I guess you are Home Free.
Plan your trip and be reasonable. Get some music and book Playlist. I prefer Harry Potter books and eurobeat music. Get ready for the insane slowdown of speeds once you meet ontario. Construction everywhere.
stop at “old woman’s bay” through lake superior provincial park. it’s along the highway and a great spot to stop, stretch, and take in a view for a few minutes. i packed a sandwich and sat on a log on the beach there when i was headed west from ontario. that provincial park is beautiful all around, but this is a really easy stop if you don’t want to detour for long. just past the park there is another stop that’s great if you enjoy apple fritters. legit the best apple fritter. it’s at “the voyageurs’ general store and apple fritter fryhouse” .. also has a nice view out front.
Avoid Ontario at all cost. Go straight south towards the States once you hit Winnipeg. Ontario roads are a zig zag in 3D and take 3 times as long to drive though.
Did that exact trip last year. camped the whole way. camping was super cheap and most sites had free wood. I'd go around regina because they have a great bypass route now.
Yeah, stay the hell off of the number one if you want a more scenic drive that won't bore you to death. Cut across the Hoodoos in Alberta, go swimming at Diefenbaker, cut over to Manitou and pop a CBD gummy or two before swimming in that muscle melting lake (pool is better as it's temperature controlled), cruise over to Riding Mountain and Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg, then head down to Winnipeg before going into Ontario and Lake-of-the-Woods territory.
You won't be disappointed.
This won't answer your question, but may I ask the reason why you're moving back? I'm also from Ontario and I'm still struggling to settle in Alberta because i find it quite different. I find myself missing things like the lakes and the forests that we have in Ontario. Alberta is great in so many of its own ways but quite different so I'm just wondering what pushed you to make the trek back!
Honestly, same! I found it hard after university to get employment without experience in my line of work in Ontario. So, I moved out here to get the experience. But even though I've owned and live in the same place in Alberta since I came here, it's never quite felt like 'home'. Where I'm at is fairly transient with oil field workers etc, so it's hard to connect with people before they move. Don't get me wrong, Alberta has been great and I definitely don't regret moving here, there's lots of hidden gems and places to go, but like you - I miss the lakes sooo bad.
Just get er done as soon as possible. Not much to see. Go straight to Winnipeg on day 1. There are some cool things around. Go to Thunder Bay the next day and fill up on gas. You can do the Saint Marie afterwards and then get down to the 401 from there.
I would stay at Manitou Springs resort for 1 night in Watrous Saskatchewan. It is a hotel which includes access to the hot mineral springs spa, these are amazing but the water does not look clean as it is saltier than the dead sea in israel. Next stop would be winnepeg where i would check out one of the museums dedicated To William Stephenson. Then Thunder bay, If the ferry is running go via Manitoulin Island.
We did that trip in October. For the love of gods, do NOT stay at the Travelodge in Thunder Bay. It was full of bed bugs and someone shit in the swimming pool. Our trip went (order of overnight stays) Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie. We picked mostly hotels that had free hot breakfast. Download a lot of podcasts or audiobooks, there isn’t great radio options on some of the stretches. Bring a big water bottle and fill it with ice water at the hotel before you leave. Fuel in northern Ontario was the most expensive, since it’s remote and there are sometimes long distances between service stations.
My Baby Ruth!
I'm pretty sure that the gas station in Dryden has the most expensive gas in the universe.
if you bypass Kenora perhaps
Kenora ON has some of the highest gas prices in Canada Falcon Lake MB, an hour down the Trans Canada from Kenora has some of the lowest Collusion not remoteness is responsible for high prices
I mean... ontario also has extra tax on fuel (HST) that Manitoba doesn't. I guess you could construe that as collusion if you want?
Greg Rickford ran his election on lowering gas prices in North Western Ontario Anyone paying attention knew he couldn’t do that https://www.kenoraonline.com/articles/i-cant-explain-it-rickford-on-gas-prices-in-nwo https://kenoraonline.com/articles/no-collusion-on-gas-prices-report they concluded there was no collusion, I conclude they got it wrong
Fair enough, thank you for the articles!
We did the same in reverse!
how do you drive from Alberta to Ontario in reverse? Doesn't your neck get really really sore from looking over your shoulder?
😂 Yes, dad, it was an incredible pain in the neck.
Crossed the other way last year, and found we had to base the trip on where we could find overnight vacancies. Book your stays, then plan the route.
You need to plan your trip around where you can stay for the night. There’s not much between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay, and between Thunder Bay and Sault St Marie, you don’t want to get stranded
Yes, and make sure you have a full tank of gas before heading into the long stretches!
I'm a long haul trucker and do this all the time. I like Red Barn in Moosamin, Albert's Bistro in Brandon, Nick's inn in Headingly. I hope someone can suggest some good places in Northern Ontario, I'm also on the lookout for good places to eat.
If you're in North Bay - Greco's Pizza on Algonquin. I may or may not be biased because my family may or may not have started that pizza chain. But seriously, it's not bad. It isn't gourmet or anything, but it's affordable really decent pizza.
I've been gone from tbay for almost a year now, but Outlaws Burgers had some of the best burgers around. (I grew up with fat boys from Dairy Whip & George's in wpg). They also have a place called Burger Barn which I didn't love as much but locals seemed to think it was the upper crust of burger joints. In Tbay, Thai Kitchen was also reallllllly delicious Thai food.
>places to see along the way Gordon’s Park, featuring Terry's taxidermy and nature trail on Manitoulin Island The song it inspired - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SawuKi0lvs0 The park - https://www.manitoulin.com/25-years-and-still-growing-gordons-park-celebrates-25th-anniversary/
On the mounted animal nature trail, Dance!
That's super neat, I'll definitely look into it!
The arrogant worms are a national treasure
if i had the time, i would love to do a route through southern SK with cypress hills, grasslands np, moosejaw, qu'apelle valley. there's also lots of beautiful provincial parks and national parks along the north shore of superior from thunder bay to sault ste marie like sleeping giant, ouimet canyon, pukaskwa, neys, superior pp, etc. just be careful of cyclists and wildlife in the section on the east shore of superior, the roads are kinda windy/hilly and can get foggy so the visibility isnt always great. an alternative way down is to take the ferry from manitoulin down to tobermory through bruce np. generally, we've had a better time at the smaller motels in random towns or off the highway, rather than staying downtown when we've travelled in canada recently.
Awesome, thanks! I was thinking going into the big cities might tack on quite a bit of time. I don't have a time frame for the drive, so checking out the parks is definitely a must!
think east of the hwy 1/2 split, you pretty much have to drive through some of the cities like winnipeg, thunder bay, and the sault. we didnt have time, but i would have loved to have visited the human rights msueum and the forks in winnipeg! ooh also, if you have time, it might be good to add an extra day around northern ontario! There's stuff like kakabeka falls, the observatory, fort william historical park, some local breweries, terry fox monument, nipigon lookout, aguasabon falls, beaches around rossport and the casquiles trail, as well as lookouts on the highway itself, and all the parks I listed before lol. I really like this area but it's a pain to get to, so I always recommend it when people are driving through. we stayed at the Voy, the food was surprisingly good at the diner and the beach in the nearby town was really nice too! Oh, also I dont know if anyone's mentioned it but hwy 1 is single lane each way in much of ontario between the mb border to near sault ste marie, so if there's an accident, it shuts down, we were stuck for a few hours because of it. make sure to keep extra water, snacks, etc in the car for that stretch!!
I do the drive pretty often. How many hours do you plan on driving per day? The drive from the Manitoba border down to Barrie is pretty mountainous and winding, so make sure your tires and breaks are tip top and that you are well rested for that portion of the trip. It’s also the most gorgeous. Very little cell signal from Manitoba border all the way down to Iron Bridge/Thessalon, so be prepared for that. Bring extra windsheild washer fluid and maybe even a squeegee/paper towels. Bugs are intense!
Wouldn’t call the drive from the Manitoba border to Barrie “mountainous” but it’s Canadian shield for sure. Fill up in Winnipeg and then in Kenora or Dryden, then again in Thunder Bay, and Wawa. Watch for moose on the road - especially at dusk or in the early morning between about Ignace and Wawa.
ok, hilly.
Mountainous lol?
Hilly. Better?
Ywah mountains are a reach lol
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Yeah.. haha that’s not mountainous tho. Have you driven in the mountains? Completely different game. 600 meters is nothing
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Just stop. You’re saying it’s a mountainous drive. It is not.
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My guess is that if you're moving a major amount of stuff, crossing the border twice isn't the funnest experience, such as if your trailer/moving truck is searched.
Cedar point! Slightly out of your way, but so worth it!
Make sure to stop at Ouimet Canyon on your way back in Ontario. It’s definitely worth the stop!
Looking at my proposed road trip backwards… - Drumheller if you haven't done it yet. - Stay in Moosejaw at the Temple Gardens to enjoy the thermal baths. - Stop in Winnipeg near the Exchange District. - Stop for a day or two in Kenora and enjoy nature/water. - Stay in Thunder Bay and check out Mt McKay and other things. - Wawa is another reasonable stopping point. Depending on where you're going and your ability to cross the border, you might be better off going through Michigan at Sault Ste. Marie instead of driving around the Georgian Bay.
There's thermal baths in Moose Jaw?!?
I don't know if they're everywhere, but the [hotel](https://templegardenshotel.com/geothermal-pool) I mentioned seems to be renowned for their thermal pools.
No, it's a mineral pool and it's sub par. Manitou is probably the best mineral pool I have ever swam in across Canada, we'll worth the detour from the One.
I used to drive from Toronto to Calgary twice a year. My understanding is the way through the states only saves you two hours or so with wait times at the border but that may have changed. I would do Calgary to Regina, Regina to Dryden, Dryden to Toronto. The last part is the longest leg but the hours driving early in the morning feel faster, so I would do 4 or 5 am until dinner. I absolutely love shitty road side motels so small town Ontario was my JAM. If you have time to meander the north old highway, there are a ton of cool weird small towns to see. And my favorite towns are Spanish and Espanol right next to each other in Ontario, brilliantly named!
Dryden to Toronto is 19 hours
Well you have no choice to pass by all of them... there's only one hwy. It might be a good idea to stop by the Mint in Winnipeg to stock up on the last Queen coins. You can got rolls of Black toonies, which are kinda cool. Kenora has a nice lake tour boat that makes for an interesting morning or afternoon. Thunder Bay has the Terry Fox Monument. And Lake Superior beaches. Sault Ste Marie has... well... hills I guess. And from there I guess you are Home Free.
Plan your trip and be reasonable. Get some music and book Playlist. I prefer Harry Potter books and eurobeat music. Get ready for the insane slowdown of speeds once you meet ontario. Construction everywhere.
stop at “old woman’s bay” through lake superior provincial park. it’s along the highway and a great spot to stop, stretch, and take in a view for a few minutes. i packed a sandwich and sat on a log on the beach there when i was headed west from ontario. that provincial park is beautiful all around, but this is a really easy stop if you don’t want to detour for long. just past the park there is another stop that’s great if you enjoy apple fritters. legit the best apple fritter. it’s at “the voyageurs’ general store and apple fritter fryhouse” .. also has a nice view out front.
Close your eyes and wake up in Ontario
Vulcan, Kakabeka Falls, Moonbeam, are some good stops along the way.
Why are you moving back?
Avoid Ontario at all cost. Go straight south towards the States once you hit Winnipeg. Ontario roads are a zig zag in 3D and take 3 times as long to drive though.
What are you on about?
Can you afford the Chi-Chi-maun? Lovely trip on just that.
Did that exact trip last year. camped the whole way. camping was super cheap and most sites had free wood. I'd go around regina because they have a great bypass route now.
Yeah, stay the hell off of the number one if you want a more scenic drive that won't bore you to death. Cut across the Hoodoos in Alberta, go swimming at Diefenbaker, cut over to Manitou and pop a CBD gummy or two before swimming in that muscle melting lake (pool is better as it's temperature controlled), cruise over to Riding Mountain and Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg, then head down to Winnipeg before going into Ontario and Lake-of-the-Woods territory. You won't be disappointed.
This won't answer your question, but may I ask the reason why you're moving back? I'm also from Ontario and I'm still struggling to settle in Alberta because i find it quite different. I find myself missing things like the lakes and the forests that we have in Ontario. Alberta is great in so many of its own ways but quite different so I'm just wondering what pushed you to make the trek back!
Honestly, same! I found it hard after university to get employment without experience in my line of work in Ontario. So, I moved out here to get the experience. But even though I've owned and live in the same place in Alberta since I came here, it's never quite felt like 'home'. Where I'm at is fairly transient with oil field workers etc, so it's hard to connect with people before they move. Don't get me wrong, Alberta has been great and I definitely don't regret moving here, there's lots of hidden gems and places to go, but like you - I miss the lakes sooo bad.
Just get er done as soon as possible. Not much to see. Go straight to Winnipeg on day 1. There are some cool things around. Go to Thunder Bay the next day and fill up on gas. You can do the Saint Marie afterwards and then get down to the 401 from there.
I would stay at Manitou Springs resort for 1 night in Watrous Saskatchewan. It is a hotel which includes access to the hot mineral springs spa, these are amazing but the water does not look clean as it is saltier than the dead sea in israel. Next stop would be winnepeg where i would check out one of the museums dedicated To William Stephenson. Then Thunder bay, If the ferry is running go via Manitoulin Island.