French: Sault-Sainte-Marie

The Soo Locks, a system of parallel shipping locks that allow massive freighters to navigate the 6.4-metre elevation change between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, are the engineering centrepiece of this northern Ontario city and one of the busiest lock systems in the world. Visitors can watch thousand-foot ships pass through the locks from observation platforms at the Sault Ste Marie Canal National Historic Site, a free attraction that operates year-round. The Agawa Canyon Tour Train, a full-day rail excursion through 183 km of Canadian Shield wilderness, is one of the premier scenic-train experiences in the country, passing through a landscape of granite cliffs, boreal forest, towering trestle bridges, and waterfalls. The downtown Queen Street corridor provides the dining-and-social hub, with Italian restaurants, pubs, bakeries, and a growing number of independent cafes serving the local population. Nightlife is modest, with neighbourhood bars and a few music venues providing weekend entertainment. The Art Gallery of Algoma exhibits regional and national art, and the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, housed in a historic waterfront hangar, displays a collection of bush planes and water bombers that tell the story of aviation in the Canadian wilderness. The Ermatinger-Clergue National Historic Site preserves the oldest stone house in Northern Ontario. The city's Anishinaabe heritage is significant: the Garden River First Nation and Batchewana First Nation communities are adjacent to the city, and Indigenous cultural programming appears throughout the region. Annual events include the Rotaryfest summer celebration and the Bon Soo Winter Carnival. Day trips reach Lake Superior Provincial Park, with its ancient Agawa Rock pictographs and rugged shoreline hiking, in about two hours.

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Population

79,000

Weather

Between Lake Superior and Lake Huron on the St. Marys River, a humid continental climate produces long, cold winters and short, warm summers. Lake Superior moderates temperatures but also generates significant cloud cover and lake-effect precipitation. Annual precipitation averages about 900 mm. Spring (March to May) is late and gradual, with temperatures climbing from -3C (27F) in March to 14C (57F) by late May. Lake ice and cold water delay warming. Summer (June to August) is warm and pleasant, with daytime highs of 23-26C (73-79F) and overnight lows around 12-14C (54-57F). Lake Superior keeps extreme heat rare. Fall (September to November) is brief, with temperatures declining from 17C (63F) in September to 0C (32F) by November. The surrounding boreal forest produces autumn colour in late September and early October. Winter (December to February) is harsh, with daytime highs of -6 to -3C (21-27F) and overnight lows around -16 to -12C (3-10F). Snowfall averages about 3000 mm per season, and lake-effect bands can deliver enormous one-day accumulations.

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