The Most Thunder Bay Night Out: The Shag
Amanda Bay
April 8, 2026
The Centennial Botanical Conservatory is officially back, baby! Your tropical escape is sitting right on Dease Street, and yes, admission is still absolutely free. After being closed since February 2024 for major renovations, this city landmark quietly reopened earlier this year and it looks incredible. Everything got an upgrade from the brand new wings, better climate control, and even more reasons to romanticize your life under a soaring glass roof.
The second you step inside, it hits you. Warm, humid air, the sound of rushing water, birds chirping, the scent of soil and growing things…it’s legit the most affordable tropical vacation you’ll ever take. You’ll wander past and under towering palm trees, citrus groves, exotic plants, massive fig trees, and our favourite— a desert room (West Wing) packed with cacti that look like they belong on another planet.
There are over 600 plants in the cactus room, including a few rare rock cacti that are about 60 years old. This includes a massive Variegated Agave (probably the coolest thing you will see on site) that’s yellow and green and slightly alien looking, and said to be the biggest in the country.
Throw back: the Conservatory first opened on November 17th, 1967, as a Centennial celebration project by the Fort William Parks Board, and was designed as a legacy to the citizens of Thunder Bay. Over the decades it’s become one of those places that everyone seems to have a memory of… a school trip, a wedding (over 50 take place at the venue annually). For some people, it’s pure nostalgia, the kind of place where your grandparents took your parents, your parents took you, and now you’re bringing your own kids. For others, it’s the ultimate winter reset, a warm, tropical pocket of calm when Thunder Bay is doing its full frozen tundra thing, and for people who’ve moved here from somewhere else, it can be a connection back home, spotting plants they’re familiar with and getting a tiny reminder of where they came from.
This isn’t just a plant place, it’s a multi-functional, 20,000 square foot community space. On any given day you might see family photos taking place, artists with sketch pads, mom and toddler groups, and the Red Hat Ladies (yes, the fun loving seniors club) roll through. People literally come here on their lunch breaks in winter just to eat and exist somewhere green.
The recent renovation makes the entire experience better, and really expanded what the space can actually do. The East Wing was fully rebuilt and now has a heated slab, air conditioning, its own sound system, and lighting controls making it the dreamiest all-season event venue. Board meeting next to a citrus grove nearby? Don’t mind if we do. There’s even talk of house-style DJ nights in the future…plants, music, humidity? We’re listening.
In total, the Conservatory is home to about 300 different species and 1000 plants throughout the entire display, some being decades old. A lot of the large, mature plants were preserved through the rebuild, while others were moved out, rehabilitated, propagated and replanted. Some plants have even been donated by community members over the years, including a Norfolk Pine that’s been growing there for over 20 years. This place is part botanical collection, part living time capsule.
As the spring season unfolds, the Conservatory will start rotating in fresh seasonal displays, filling the space with spring blooms and vibrant colours. It’s also a working greenhouse, meaning many of the plants grown here will eventually end up in flower beds and planters throughout Thunder Bay during the summer.
One more thing to look for when you arrive is the beautiful Wake the Giant artwork at the front entrance, marking the future site of an Indigenous garden and ceremonial space. The vision is to continue developing the Conservatory as an education and cultural hub for the city.
Before the renovation, the Conservatory would see around 30,000 visitors in a year. Since reopening, there have already been days with more than a thousand people walking through, including visitors from across the region and around the world.
So… when are you going? Don’t forget to make a wish in the Wish pond!
