Thunder Bay Lookout
If time is really precious, drive the 30 km off of Highway 11/17 to the Thunder Bay Lookout; one of the first interior access roads within the park. It is 9 km in on a good gravel road from Highway 587. Some engineers were thinking, you step out a few metres on a platform suspended high over a cliff and it’s like the world is spread out at your feet as you peer downwards through the see-through metal grate. (This design was also implemented at the nearby Ouimet Canyon, just west of Nipigon. Panoramic views of a 150 metre wide gorge and sheer cliffs that drop 100 metres straight down to the canyon floor highlight this day use park only.)
Hundreds of metres below, the clear, cold waters of Lake Superior lap at a rocky shore lined with various shades of green. Off to the right (north) you can see the purplish outline of Caribou Island. To the left (west) you can spot Thunder Bay in the distance.
(The giant’s form looks better from a distance. One of the best views of the giant’s outline is from Hillcrest Park within central Thunder Bay, it provides one of the finest scenic outlooks over the city; the giant is also very discernible from the Terry Fox monument as you enter Thunder Bay from the east on Highways 11/17.) The platform at the Thunder Bay Lookout is not for the faint of heart but there are plenty of spots where you can see the view while standing on more solid ground.)