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Primary Region in Ontario, Canada
Photo: Vidioman, SelfieCity, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons
Northern Ontario is the large and sparsely-populated region that dominates the map of Ontario but lies far away, both geographically and culturally, from the big cities of the south.
So far from the rest of Ontario that it's more like a part of Western Canada, this is where the rugged terrain of the Canadian Shield reaches right down into Minnesota and is easily accessed by road.
Drive the remote Highway 11 route to get lost in the heart of Northern Ontario.
The rocky shores of the giant freshwater "lake" (really more like a sea) called Superior offer literally thousands of km of coastline to explore.
Closest to the big cities and airports of the South and therefore the most accessible and developed for tourism, it is home to many lake resort towns.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
Manitou Mounds
The M.S. Kenora offers cruise experiences on Lake of the Woods. The cruise passes by Coney Island beach, through the scenic channels south of Kenora, and returns through the exciting ‘Devil’s Gap’, a channel guarded by a mythical rock bearing its name. Bald eagles and wildlife can also be sighted.
Science education centre in with an IMAX theatre, a butterfly gallery, a robotics lab, and interactive exhibits on geology, animal biology and other areas of science.
By car
The 2 main routes through Northern Ontario are Highways #11 and #17. They diverge at North Bay with Highway 11 going north and Highway 17 going west to Sault Ste. Marie then north from there.
By rail
Via Rail provides service from Toronto to Parry Sound and Sudbury Junction (10 km from the city), and continues through Northern Ontario with stops at Hornepayne, Longlac, Sioux Lookout and several…
By bus
Ontario Northland operates the following routes in the region as of June 2026:
By train
Three major passenger rail routes stretch across Northern Ontario's vast terrain.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Nakina · Regional · YQN
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home of Maximillian the Moose, an 18 ft (5.5 m) tall statue
a former mining boomtown that now seeks to attract tourists and retirees
a vacation resort town
calls itself the "gateway to Northern Ontario"
the starting point for the Agawa Canyon tour train
Northern Ontario's largest city
a popular retirement and recreational destination
the metropolis of the northwest
its main attractions are mining tours and outdoor recreation
a 2314-ha park for hiking, canoeing and birding
spectacular and diverse scenery, and the Agawa Pictographs
the world's largest freshwater island
a mixed (natural and cultural)
popular as camp and cottage country
its 60-km Coastal Trail offers a challenging but rewarding wilderness experience along the steep Lake Superior coastline
one of the world's largest boreal forest reserves, almost the size of Puerto Rico
Articles and travel topics about Northern Ontario and Canada.
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