The best of Thunder Bay, beginning at St. Patrick's Cathedral
Museums or galleries make up 9 of the 13 places on the list. There are 11 places to visit inside Thunder Bay’s municipal boundary, and 2 more within 5 km of its edge. Allow a day for Kakabeka Falls, 28 km off.
Thunder Bay’s big names
CathedralSt. Patrick's Cathedralin town
FortFort William Historical Parkin townArt galleryArt galleryThunder Bay Art Galleryin town
MuseumThunder Bay Historical Museumin townSki hillSki hillKamview Nordic Centrein townMuseumMuseumNorthwestern Ontario Aviation Heritage Centrein townEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
The layout
The outermost point is Founders' Museum & Pioneer Village, at 17 km.
The dashed line is Thunder Bay’s municipal boundary; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · Statistics Canada 2021 outline
The types of place
Green: inside Thunder Bay. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
The list in full
The 11 inside Thunder Bay come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Provincial and city parks are on the Outdoors page instead.
Historic places in Thunder Bay → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Thunder Bay →
Beyond the town
Places well known beyond Thunder Bay (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a Parks Canada property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
Visiting Thunder Bay: questions
What are the main attractions in Thunder Bay?
The best known inside Thunder Bay’s municipal boundary are Fort William Historical Park, Thunder Bay Art Gallery and Thunder Bay Historical Museum.
Does Thunder Bay have a museum?
Look at Northwestern Ontario Aviation Heritage Centre, Alexander Henry Museum Ship and Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, in Thunder Bay or within 5 km.
Is there a Parks Canada property near Thunder Bay?
No: none lies within 5 km of Thunder Bay on our list.
How is this list made?
Four open sources feed it (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, ODCAF and the federal and Québec heritage registers), merged so each place appears once. Forts, houses, lighthouses and churches stay only with a sign they are open to visitors, and businesses such as hotels, restaurants and tour operators are left out. Every place is tied to the town by its 2021 outline, or by lying within 5 km of it.
Places to visit: Canada publishes no open tourism list, so this one is assembled from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), Wikidata (CC0), Statistics Canada’s ODCAF museums and galleries (2020, Open Government Licence – Canada), the federal and Québec heritage registers and CPCAD’s national parks, and it reflects what mappers and editors have recorded. Forts, houses, lighthouses and churches count only with a sign that visitors are welcome. Places sit in each town’s 2021 census outline; visitor counts are Wikidata’s latest, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (4)
- St. Patrick's Cathedral: Vidioman, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Fort William Historical Park: Doug Coldwell, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thunder Bay Historical Museum: Vidioman, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kakabeka Falls: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).