
Thessalon
Thessalon invites you to come visit its town and surrounding recreation area. Any season you visit you will find one of the friendliest and most welcoming communities. Only 80 km (48 mi) east of Sault Ste. Marie, we are located at the mouth of the beautiful Thessalon River on the North Shore of Lake Huron. During the warmer months, Thessalon makes an excellent base for kayaking, canoeing, fishing, biking, hunting, camping and boating. Best of all, Thessalon offers large, clean “Blue Flag Rated” sandy beaches for excellent swimming with playgrounds nearby.
While relaxing on one of our beaches, you may even be lucky enough to watch a Great Lakes freighter pass by on its way to Thessalon’s Smelter Bay. You have to see it to believe it! Our sunsets (and sunrises!) over Lake Huron will take your breath away. The lakefront full-service 40 slip marina is a natural stop for boaters. Amenities include washrooms, showers, laundry, kitchen, and lounge with library and TV. Thessalon is the hub for popular cycling, hiking, and motorcycling touring route trails, including the Great Lakes Waterfront and Voyageur Trails, the Lake Huron Circle, and the Deer Trail.
The excitement continues into the Fall season. World-class Fall colours are on display in Thessalon and around the loop on Highway 129 towards Chapleau, then on to Wawa, returning through Sault Ste. Marie. Thessalon gets its “Tip of the Tail” nickname from the annual Fall motorcycle loop called “Ontario’s Tail of the Dragon”. Hundreds of motorcyclists crave the meandering highway along the banks of the Mississagi River.
In the winter months, the fun doesn’t stop! Snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and ice fishing are our activities of choice. Thessalon has something to offer for both young and old. Art lovers can discover our Northern Ontario landscape that provided the inspiration for the famous “Group of Seven” artists.
If you are interested in seeing a wide variety of bird species, Thessalon has lots to offer. During Spring and Fall migration, Lighthouse Point is alive with warblers, flycatchers, sparrows, and other songbirds in the trees alongside the road. For birders, the wastewater treatment lagoons are popular attractions and twenty different species of ducks have been recorded at the ones in Thessalon. The beaches at the parks and the marina are a great place if you want to find some gulls or shorebirds. You will also want to check out the open fields on the north side of Highway 17, as they have great habitat to find owls, hawks, and falcons. Plus, you never know what kind of rarity you’ll come across. Thessalon has had some remarkable species come through in recent years, including a sighting of a Tropical Kingbird, a species typically found in Central America!
Little about the history of Thessalon is recorded before the lumbermen arrived in 1869. Indigenous Peoples may have called the area “Neyashewun” meaning “point of land.” History buffs learn about our once-booming lumber town with remnants of a strong lumber industry at the renowned local sawmill. While the historic lighthouse at the end of Lighthouse Point Drive is no longer, the functioning Red Bridge originally built in the late 1880s is a living reminder of our past.
Local amenities include everything you will need – restaurants, fine accommodations, our municipally-run Lakeside Campground, charming shops, full grocery store, pharmacy, hardware store, variety store, gift shops, gas station, liquor store, and wireless access at the local library. Community events such as the Easter Egg Hunt, Community Days, Fall colour tours, and Moonlight Madness take place throughout the year making Thessalon a great place to visit during all four seasons.