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Town in Ontario, Canada
Photo: P199, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Cochrane is a town of 5,400 people (2021) in Northern Ontario. One of its big draws is the Polar Bear Habitat, which is home to three polar bears (as of 2023) that are unable to survive in the wild.
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In honour of Cochrane's most famous native, Tim Horton, a Toronto Maple Leafs player who (with businessperson Ron Joyce) founded the Tim Horton's doughnut and coffee chain in Hamilton (Ontario) in 1964.
Opened 2008 in the Tim Horton Event Centre, photos, books, jerseys and 568 pucks - one for each goal scored.
The only captive bear facility in the world dedicated solely to polar bears. Four large outdoor bear enclosures. The Heritage Village has a train station with artifacts dating back to Cochrane’s beginning. The Antique Snowmobile Museum is another popular feature; as well as the homestead, blacksmith shop and trapper’s cabin. The best time to see the bears is in the morning when they are at their most active.
Houses a large collection of books, DVDs, puzzles, video games and other material. Also hosts an archive of various local artifacts and documents, including newspapers dating back to the 1920s. Downstairs there is an art gallery.
Festival Tri-Culturel du Nord de l'Ontario
Three-day event celebrating French, English and First Nations culture, mid-June.
Famous for ribs.
Classic diner fare: all-day breakfast, plus a menu that ranges from liver & onions to burgers to egg salad sandwiches.
Chinese and Canadian food.
Local bakery offering some two dozen different kinds of bread, various pastries, and light lunch options. Everything is made fresh in-house every day. The apple fritters and éclairs come strongly recommended.
previously the Ice Hut
Roadhouse fare: sandwiches, wraps, salads, burgers, wings.
23 rooms with four-piece bath, cable TV, in-room coffee/tea, a/c, Wi-Fi. Sauna, full-service restaurant, fax/photocopy service, meeting facilities, free parking with plug-ins for cars and lock-up for snowmobiles.
Best Western with 42 rooms, smoke-free, coffee makers and refrigerators in-room, free parking with plug-ins for cars, high-speed Internet, daily newspaper and continental breakfast included. Fitness centre, hot tub and whirlpool, steam room, dry sauna, laundry, meeting facilities and catering.
Fridges and high-speed Internet in some rooms.
Some unique room options, including loft rooms and igloos. Pet friendly rooms available as well.
Unpowered sites suitable for tents, campers and RVs. Dumping facilities and potable water are available. Open fires are not permitted. Propane BBQs and gas stoves are allowed.
Discount department store, grocery, clothing and housewares.
By train
By bus
Ontario Northland bus service runs daily local service westbound to Hearst with connection in Driftwood to Timmins, Sudbury, Parry Sound, and Orillia; southbound to Toronto via Temiskaming Shores,…
By plane
The town is served by the Cochrane Aerodrome, but it has no scheduled flights.
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Timmins · Regional · YTS
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