Things to do in Sudbury: Get outdoors, explore with kids
Sudbury’s massive regreening project has paid off. More than 10 million trees have been planted in the city since 1978. Today it’s a fantastic destination for those who love spending time outdoors. There’s plenty to do, whether you’re an outdoor enthusiast or a family with kids ready to learn and explore. Read on to check out our list of the best things to do in Sudbury, from parks and mines to the best science centre in Northern Ontario.
Our most recent visit was hosted by Tourism Sudbury and the Travel Media Association of Canada. Have questions about planning your next visit to Sudbury? Join our Facebook community!
Sudbury is a stop on our Georgian Bay Circle Tour road trip >
The best places for outdoor activities in Sudbury
Sudbury is a fantastic destination for people who love spending time outdoors. Thanks to the city’s regreening project, its lush Canadian Shield forests have returned. There are plenty of places where you can head outside, get active, and enjoy the best of what Sudbury has to offer. Here are four of our favourites.
Kivi Park
Kivi Park is Sudbury’s year-round outdoor adventure playground! This 480-acre park at Sudbury’s south end opened in 2016. It’s home to more than 55 kilometres of trails for hiking, fat biking or mountain biking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. You can also rent equipment for some activities at the park, thanks to Sudbury sporting goods store Adventure365.
If you enjoy organized sports, you can take advantage of the disc golf course, soccer field, basketball courts, and hockey rink. Families with kids will appreciate the two large playgrounds and the hiking trail to the park’s wishing tree.
At Kivi Park, Sudbury’s residents and visitors can enjoy the outdoors in every season. Summer access for canoeing, kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding is available at the Crowley Lake sector. And in the winter, a 1.3-kilometre skating trail weaves its way through the tall birch trees of the boreal forest.
Lake Laurentian Conservation Area
Greater Sudbury is home to 330 lakes, the most of any municipality in Canada. One of those is Lake Laurentian, which along with several others is part of Lake Laurentian Conservation Area.
Located in the city’s south end, this park offers four-season trails for running, hiking, cycling, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. Note that equipment rentals are not offered here. If you can bring your own canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard, there are docks available near the main parking area.
Lake Laurentian Conservation Area is one of the best places in Sudbury to see the positive impact of the regreening project. From the lookouts on the hiking trails, you can spot juts of black rock in between the trees. This is scarring from mining pollution created in the first half of the 20th century. Imagine standing on the same spot just a few decades ago and seeing no trees at all!
Bell Park
Even in the busiest parts of Sudbury, there’s parkland to enjoy. Ramsey Lake is the second-largest lake in the world that’s fully within the limits of a city. (The largest is Lake Wanapitei, which also falls within Greater Sudbury’s city limits!) Just behind Science North, you can access a 2-kilometre boardwalk on the shores of Ramsey Lake in Bell Park.
As you explore the park, you’ll find a marina and a boarding dock for boat tours, a supervised beach with washrooms, and a children’s play structure. Canada’s largest mural is on the walls of Sudbury’s abandoned St. Joseph’s Hospital, located within present-day Bell Park.
A few steps away, you can visit the 10 millionth tree in Sudbury’s regreening project, planted here by Dr. Jane Goodall. The Grace Hartman Amphitheatre is located along Bell Park’s boardwalk and hosts live outdoor concerts during the summer months.
Onaping Falls
Onaping Falls, located northwest of Sudbury, is famous as the subject of the painting Spring on the Onaping River by Group of Seven artist A.Y. Jackson. A lookout bearing his name and 3 kilometres of hiking trails are located at the falls and in the surrounding forest.
The falls cascade 55 metres down the edge of the Sudbury Basin. This 60-kilometre crater is the third largest in the world. It was created by a meteor impact that occurred more than 1.8 billion years ago. The impact deposited the nickel, copper, gold, platinum and other metals that are extracted today by Sudbury’s mining industry.
A.Y. Jackson painted Spring on the Onaping River at this site in 1953. The painting was purchased two years later by a group of students and was hung at Sudbury Secondary School. Shortly after Jackson’s death in 1974, the painting was stolen and hasn’t been seen since. This tale adds another layer of lore and intrigue to this beautiful site.
You can take a short walk to the A.Y. Jackson Lookout or a more challenging hike to the bridge and its picture-perfect views. Either way, the views here are spectacular and accessible to most.
The best things to do in Sudbury for families
Heading to Sudbury with kids in tow? There are plenty of family-friendly attractions in Sudbury to keep little ones busy, and grown-ups have a great time, too! These hands-on educational experiences are sure to make great memories. Here are the best family-friendly things to do in Sudbury, Ontario.
Science North
Science North is Northern Ontario’s science centre and most popular tourist attraction. Descend underground to enter its four floors of interactive displays. On the way to the entrance, you’ll walk past exposed shatter cones, geological evidence of the meteor impact that created the Sudbury Basin more than 1.8 billion years ago!
Inside, you’ll find sections focused on space, climate change, and the human body. The entire third floor houses live native Canadian animals, including a beaver, a porcupine, turtles, snakes, and more. On the second floor, you can enter a butterfly observatory and watch as they flutter all around you. There’s also an on-site cafeteria, an IMAX theatre, a gift shop, and a special exhibition space.
When it’s time to stretch your legs, Bell Park is just behind Science North on the shores of Ramsey Lake with boardwalks, trails, a beach, a playground, boat tours, and more. There’s so much to do here that you can confidently plan to spend a full day.
Dynamic Earth
You’ve likely heard of Sudbury’s Big Nickel. It’s a nine-metre replica of a 1951 Canadian nickel, a roadside attraction paying homage to Sudbury’s mining industry. Just beside the Big Nickel, you’ll find Dynamic Earth. This attraction lets you delve deeper into mining, both figuratively and literally!
Your visit begins with a look through the interactive galleries. Here, you can learn more about rocks and minerals as well as the history and process of mining. You can even try your hand at panning for gold.
When it’s time for your tour, you’ll descend into the mines located 21 metres (70 feet) underground. This feels very deep, but it’s only a fraction of the depth miners travel to get to work. At Sudbury’s nearby Creighton mine, miners plunge 2.5 kilometres to begin their shifts!
As you walk through Dynamic Earth’s mining shafts, you’ll explore the evolution of mining from the late 1800s to today. During that time, worker safety and diversity within the mining industry have come a long way.
Don’t forget to take part in one of Dynamic Earth’s coolest activities. When you buy a postcard at the gift shop, you can mail it from the underground mailbox. The Canada Post mailbox at Dynamic Earth is the deepest mailbox anywhere in Canada!
Explore more road trips in northern Ontario >
