Why Spending a Saturday at the Thunder Bay Country Market is Basically a Fall Tradition
Amanda Bay
October 29, 2025
Figuring out a city’s neighbourhoods is part of cracking the code of where you want to live, work, and hang out. In Thunder Bay, there’s the added plot twist of its history as two entirely separate cities: Fort William and Port Arthur. The two—along with some outlying rural areas—joined together back in 1970 to form the new city of Thunder Bay, but yes, the original names live on in both casual conversation and in building names like, say, Fort William Gardens or Port Arthur Hockey Arena. (Knowing this backstory also helps you to get why some north-south street names just change midway, sometimes multiple times, for no apparent reason—it’s because they were originally in different cities and then joined in the middle!) So, here’s your cheat sheet to Thunder Bay’s Port Arthur and Fort William communities, along with a deeper dive into one of the more popular neighbourhoods in each.
Port Arthur – Where lake life meets urban living
Port Arthur is at the north end of Thunder Bay. A lot of it is perched on and around hilly terrain that slopes down towards Lake Superior, with some naturally gorgeous views—When you see pictures of the famous Sleeping Giant, framed by red brick buildings or with roofs and trees in the foreground, you’re looking at pictures taken in Port Arthur. One of the principal streets is Red River Road, which bisects the downtown streets like Court, Cumberland and St. Paul with their shops, restaurants and entertainment venues. This waterfront district has been revitalized in recent years and is now home to a pretty epic indie restaurant and bar scene, where you can find cool, restored century-old buildings featuring everything from chic cocktails and upscale dining to laidback cafes and welcoming bars with live music.
It’s a fun place to wander and shop too—in addition to flipping through vintage records at The Vinyl Frontier or finding your fave hand-crafted soaps and shampoos at Lovely Body, check out places like Goods & Co. Market (a Euro-style market with culinary treats, boutiques and pop-up events as well as an on-trend bar in a restored Eaton’s building) and the new Station Market in a pretty 100-year-old former railway station. Northwestern Ontario’s only professional theatre, the Magnus Theatre, is a key landmark in Port Arthur too, as is the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law and the Canada Games Complex.
Prince Arthur’s Landing is the main waterfront development, and that’s where Marina Park is found, with the cruise ship docks, outdoor concert stage, shoreline recreational trails, marina, splash pad/skating rink and BMX/skateboard park. While it’s an excellent place for people-watching, dining and boating tours on the big lake, it’s also a hot spot for festivals, like Wake the Giant, Festival of India and Canada Day, as well as free live music during the summer months.
Bay and Algoma – The local shopping hot spot
Bay and Algoma is a great little neighbourhood in Port Arthur. Referring to the area around Bay Street and Algoma Street, it has roots in the city’s Italian and Finnish communities in particular. Colourful and compact, it’s a fun place to stroll and shop for a few hours with your fave people. Your options include books and all things bookish at Entershine Books, kitchenware and gifts at The Kitchen Nook, Nordic accessories and décor at Finnport, crystals and clothing at Wojo’s Mojo, pottery and art by local and Canadian makers at Fireweed, cheeses from around the world at The Cheese Encounter, houseplants at Thuja’s Floral Design and specialty teas at the International House of Teas. There’s an assortment of pubs and restaurants too like the Madhouse (locals call it the Mad, and love its gastropub fare and on-tap brews) and Nook (excellent Italian food and a nice patio) and Rebel Salad and The Growing Season (same owners—both with yummy plant-based dishes). There are practical services too, of course, like hairdressers, pharmacies, banking, dental offices and a local hardware store. In the winter, there’s a tree-lighting event for the holidays and every summer it’s the site of the very popular Buskers Festival, where the streets are closed to traffic for one weekend and crowds come to enjoy talented local and international street performers like fire-eaters, jugglers and bands.
Intercity – Local landmarks and accessible convenience
If you ask a TBayer, the Intercity area is neither Port Arthur nor Fort William. Instead, as the name says, it is a centrally located area between the two former cities. (Check out a cool little time-lapse video here to see the two communities growing towards each other over the decades.) This central location is a common destination because it’s where you can knock out your grocery list, get a new pair of running shoes or hit the movie theatre with friends: this is the site for Intercity Shopping Centre as well as the farmers market, the movie theatre, and quite a few big-box stores for groceries, housewares and more. The Harbour Expressway runs through the area, making it easily reachable via a number of main streets. Just to the west are the campuses for Lakehead University, Northern Ontario School of Medicine University and Confederation College, as well as the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (the main hospital), the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium where touring concerts and performers as well as the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra make some magic, and the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, known for its collection of contemporary Indigenous art.
Fort William – A sports hub with mountain views
Fort William is at the south end of Thunder Bay. The terrain is flatter, eventually sloping down to the farms and rolling fields of the Slate River Valley outside of city limits, but it also features views of the stunning Nor’Wester mountain range. These flat-top or mesa mountains have been a part of the landscape for more than a billion years. At 483 metres (1,595 feet), the highest—and most famous—is the Mount McKay (also called Anemki Wajiw) on Fort William First Nation, which abuts the city limits just over the Kaministiquia River.
The shopping, restaurant and entertainment scene is a little quieter in Fort William, but you’ll still find lots of local gems like great coffee and baking at Up Shot Coffeehouse, gelato and other treats at Dolce Coffee House, fine dining at Giorg Cucina e Barre and plenty of vintage pinball fun and pizza at The Tilted Turret. Arthur Street runs the east-west length of the area with a bustling mix of mainstream stores and indie establishments. The Thunder Bay Museum and the Northwestern Sports Hall of Fame are also in Fort William. Thunder Bay International Airport and many of the city’s conference centres and hotels are at this end of town, as well as Chapples Park, an outdoor recreation area that includes an 18-hole golf course, tennis courts, baseball diamonds and a soccer field. (Coming soon at the same location: an indoor turf facility for soccer, tennis, field hockey, lacrosse, cricket and more.) Historic Vickers Park is a good destination for families, with leafy mature trees, a new playground (and a big turtle that has been climbed on for generations) and a skating trail in the winter. Another of the city’s go-to golf courses, Fort William Golf & Country Club, is found southside too, tucked in against the Nor’Westers.
Westfort – Unique finds and historic charm
Locals who love this neighbourhood love it a lot, for its long history, quiet residential areas and a boutique shopping district on Frederica Street that would fit right in to a rom-com movie. It’s got a nice retro vibe, where you can grab a coffee or lunch and shop for some special finds. There are diners and cafes like The Sal and Gusto; clothing shops like Lewk, Swartz Fine Fashion and J.B. Evans; and stores like Black Cat Antiques and Rollason Flowers s well as services like pharmacies, a seafood market, a deli, a barber shop and a grocery store. The street shuts down for family-friendly events twice a year: the Westfort Street Fair in the summer, which has live music, a train for the kids, sidewalk sales and plenty of guest vendors, and Winter Wonderland in December, complete with a tree-lighting ceremony, pictures with Santa and the Grinch, caroling, sleigh rides, a vintage snowmobile display and a bonfire with hot chocolate and s’mores.
Whether you’re all “Westfort is the best fort” or “Port Arthur forever,” as you get to know Thunder Bay, you’re sure to discover your favourite spots in all its neighbourhoods. Have fun!
