We visited Thunder Bay as part of Big Trip #5 in September 2026. 

We loved our time in the wilds of Ontario, but we were ready for a city with some eating and drinking options, and a campground with full hookups! Thunder Bay is just over an hour west of Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, so we grabbed a spot at the KOA and headed into town to explore.

Thunder Bay is the largest city on Lake Superior, one of Canada’s busiest ports. and apparently is the sunniest city in eastern Canada and was the first city in the world to enact daylight saving time in 1908.

Campground

The Thunder Bay KOA is huge and easy and convenient to downtown. We almost stayed at Chippewa Park south of town, with views of the Sleeping Giant, but due to a giant all-caps warning on the website about avoiding a narrow railroad bridge between the park and downtown, we decided to go with more of a known quantity in the KOA. We heard some road noise from the Trans-Canada overnight, but overall it was a nice stopover.

Eating and drinking

Upon researching Thunder Bay, we immediately decided on Tomlin for dinner. They focus on local ingredients and small plates for sharing, and it was crowded and delicious when we visited. We were super impressed!

Next, we walked a couple blocks down the main drag which at the time (Sept ’26) was completely dug up and uninviting, due to construction that appeared to have been going on for a while. Maybe it’s this revitalization plan? It was crappy in the meantime; otherwise downtown looked cute with shops and restaurants and a view of the harbor.

Our second stop in downtown was Lakehead Beer Co, also very busy, and we were there early on a Wednesday. Good for them! The beer was ok but I was excited by the fun sour beer options: cucumber, and key lime. Their Detroit pizza looked fantastic, and before we’d locked onto Tomlin we’d planned on Lakehead pizza for dinner.

Hiking

We didn’t hike in the immediate Thunder Bay area; we’d hiked in Sleeping Giant before leaving for Thunder Bay, and on the way to Minnesota we stopped at Pigeon River Provincial Park for a hike to stretch our legs. It’s just a 45-minute drive west from Thunder Bay, and immediately before the US border. We had earmarked a stop at High Falls, the tallest waterfall in Minnesota, which you can also see from a state park on the Minnesota side, but since we had an Ontario Provincial Parks season pass we figured we should save a few dollars and stop in Ontario. It was wonderful: easy Airstream parking, nobody else there, and the falls were gorgeous. The hike was an easy two-mile lollipop.

And then we went back into the US! The border crossing was easy, only taking several minutes. The officer checked Tilly’s CDC paperwork, but not rabies certificate or vaccination history. And with that, we were done with the Ontario portion of our trip. What a wonderful adventure it was! But Minnesota was next, and I had no idea yet how much I would love it there. First stop, Grand Marais, which has been on our Airstream wishlist map from the very beginning, over ten years ago!