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Photo: USGS, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
The world’s largest system of locks, including the largest lock in the Western Hemisphere: it has been a major feature of Sault Ste. Marie since the first major lock was built in the mid-19th century.
The Soo Locks are a set of parallel locks, operated and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, that enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. They are located on the St. Marys River between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, between the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. They bypass the rapids of the river, where the water falls 21 ft (6.4 m). The locks pass an average of 10,000 ships per year, despite being closed during the winter from January through March, when ice shuts down shipping on the Great Lakes. The winter closure period is used to inspect and maintain the locks.
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It's on the former grounds of the second Fort Brady and has a great hockey team. The campus is pretty and well worth a walk through, as it overlooks the wide St Mary's valley and has a view of the International Bridge over to Canada. Some beautiful views are at night, as the campus is elevated and you can see the distant lights of the Canadian side.
The world's longest canal-powered electric plant and dominates the shoreline east of the downtown area. Alford Park overlooks the St Mary's River, where you can relax for a picnic lunch to watch the big ships go by. Brady Park, established on the site of the original Ft. Brady, includes a tourist information center, a Japanese torii arch, the famous "musical fountain," and a comfortable atmosphere from which the big ships can be seen going through the locks. In the winter, the world’s biggest snowmobile racing event is held at the I-500 Snowmobile Track.
The oldest church still in use in Sault Ste Marie, built in 1881. Next door to it is the Tower of History was built as a Catholic Church memorial to the early missionaries to the area. This 200-foot-tall tower is a terrific place to view the St. Mary’s River and the countryside for many miles around. It also includes museum displays.
A 210-foot (64-m) tower explaining the history of the city and its famous locks, as well as an observation deck to see them and other nearby landmarks and attractions.
Housed in a huge retired "laker" - an actual ore-carrying ship. The museum contains many artifacts of maritime history on the Great Lakes, including mementos of the famed Edmund Fitzgerald wreck.