What’s Growing Around Thunder Bay? Farms, Food & Local Markets
Amanda Bay
September 9, 2026
Out in Murillo, someone’s currently eyeing pie pumpkins that aren’t quite ready yet, out toward Slate River, the dairy operations haven’t slowed down all summer, and then in Nolalu a family is taking care of some furry cows. The point is a lot is growing around Thunder Bay.
With roughly 150 farms tucked around our district, they’re doing way more than just growing hay (though yes, hay is the MVP crop feeding all our local cattle, sheep, and goats). Then you’ve got the fun stuff like berries, veggies, greenhouses, and farm stands run by actual humans who will tell you their entire life story if you ask about their tomatoes.
Here’s where to find all of it:
Kakabeka Farmers’ Market:
Saturdays, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
(running until September 26)
Location: Beside the Legion parking lot on Highway 11/17 in Kakabeka Falls
This market prides itself on being the only farmers’ market in Northern Ontario. That’s because over half of its vendors sell food they actually grew or made themselves, with no middlemen or mystery ingredients.
What you’ll find on site? Pretty much everything from fresh veggies from The Gus Homestead (currently with peppers, butternut squash, and pink celery), jams from Windy Sunshine Farm, and ecologically raised produce from BearHaven, who also somehow makes homemade candy (just to name a few).
This is the perfect fall drive, and while your visiting go say hello to the falls and grab a coffee at the Metropolitan Moose.
Also be sure to ask about the bear sticks.
Good Harvest:
Sunday, September 24, 10 am – 4 pm
Location: Red River Road between Court and Cumberland (yes, they close the whole street).
Hosted by Goods & Co and the Waterfront District BIA, the Good Harvest is a massive outdoor farmers market with a corn boil, apple cider, pickle tables, and farm games.
What makes Good Harvest different from your regular Saturday market run is that it brings together farmers who don’t usually share a spot in one place for one day. It’s genuinely rare for that many local producers to be standing side by side, and it means you can knock out your entire fall shopping list (with over 3,000 people joining in).
Nomad also sponsors a pie-eating contest, so if you’ve ever wanted to watch grown adults face plant into pastry for sport, mark your calendar. There’s a whole lineup of food trucks in addition to the farm vendors, live music from Cole Myronik and Tina Flank, and even a silk performance happening outside.
Fan favourite Woollysteer Ranch will be on site. If you follow Rachel and Jay on Insta, you know who they are and simply adore this first generation of family ranchers, who raise heritage Highland cattle and Mangalitsa hogs. Woollysteer’s Highland cattle AKA “hairy cows” are known for their distinctive horns and long, wavy, woolly coats, and famously gentle personalities. They are raised primarily for their meat, which is growing in popularity for being lower in cholesterol than other forms of beef.
They will be alongside over 40 other vendors, such as Bears Bees and Honey and Borderlands Farm, in the growing lineup of producers.
If you are looking to learn more and gain some knowledge at the event, The Food Action Network of Northwestern Ontario is hosting some workshops with some local experts that are entry by donation:
Registration and additional details are at; nwofood.ca/get-involved/#events. Drop-ins are welcome until capacity is reached.
Saturdays, 8 am – 1 pm, and Wednesdays, 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Location: Dove Building (the one with the green roof) at the CLE Grounds
Every vegetable vendor here grows their own stuff, which means the produce was probably picked yesterday. You’ll find Pitch Creek Farms, DeBruin’s Greenhouse, Hofland Farms, Sandy Acres Farms, Slate River Dairy, and Tarrymore Farms all in one spot.
The best part about a market like this isn’t just the food; it’s that you can actually ask someone how the bread was baked or why their tomatoes taste like that.
Special mention: Special mention: Sleepy G runs a self-serve farm stand open year round, stocked with seasonal organic veggies (carrots, beets, potatoes and cabbage), farm eggs, and merch. You take what you need, pay with cash or e-transfer, and log it in the book yourself. It’s located a bit off the beaten trail in Pass Lake at 39 Hansen Road.
