Canada's Artsy City Surrounded By Lakes Is An Ontario Beauty With Outdoor Adventures

The monument known as The Big Nickel is exactly that: a giant replica of a Canadian five-cent coin, rising 30 feet above its support posts. The sculpture was erected in 1964, the brainchild of local firefighter Ted Szilva. This is the most famous attraction in Sudbury, Canada, and for a long time, the Big Nickel was the only thing most road-trippers knew or remembered about the old mining town. Travelers driving across Ontario would stop in this community of about 160,000 residents, take pictures in front of this numismatic landmark, buy provisions, and maybe spend the night.

Yet Greater Sudbury — as it's been known since 2001 — has radically transformed in recent years. Combining all its suburbs, Sudbury has the largest area of any municipality in Ontario (including Toronto) at nearly 2,000 square miles. The town has fostered an arts community and invested in public murals and sculpture. Sudbury has three different colleges, including Laurentian University, Cambrian College, and the French-based Collège Boréal, each of which attracts students from across the country.

Most impressively, Sudbury has overcome its reputation for industrial pollution and environmental abuse. Visitors no longer see the town as a pit stop between major Canadian cities, but a destination full of outdoor adventures. With its many conveniences, unique personality, and inspiring underdog story, Sudbury is a shining example of why Canada is the most popular destination abroad for first-time travelers.

Sudbury has come a long way since its former heyday in the 1970s. Founded as a mining town, Sudbury's workforce extracted copper and nickel from surrounding soil, which did severe damage to the region. The INCO Superstack rises 1,250 feet above the skyline, once the second-tallest chimney in the world. For decades, acid rain decimated surrounding vegetation. The town was composed of uninspired storefronts and high rises. The commercial center was active and popular in the 1970s, but it was long derided among Canadians as a homely backwater.

Today, the Superstack is being dismantled, and the municipality has benefitted from decades of aggressive re-greening efforts. Workers have planted 10 million trees and added grass to nearly 9,000 acres of land since 1978, revitalizing what used to be a lunar landscape. The region is dotted with lakes, including the sizable Ramsey Lake and Lake Laurentian. Hiking paths wind their way through the woodlands,, and the sloped shores offer beautiful views in any season. Cyclists can explore a web of bike trails during the warmer months, and skiers and snowboarders head to Adanac Ski Hill, a modest slope just northeast of downtown. With its inexpensive lift tickets, Adanac could be added to this list of the best family-friendly ski resorts that are actually affordable.

The lynchpin of the local creative scene is the Art Gallery of Sudbury, which hosts exhibits and is expected to move into a spacious new complex by 2030. Dozens of murals have been painted onto blank walls across the city, and the town hosts an impressive range of conventions and festivals, from Poutine Fest to Sudbury Pride Week. The Big Nickel now stands in front of Dynamic Earth, a state-of-the-art science center with a focus on mining and engineering.

Sudbury's obscure location, just north of Lake Huron, makes it an important way station for overland travelers. If you're driving around the Great Lakes on the Canadian side, Sudbury is a natural place to stop and refuel: It's about four hours north of Toronto and five and a half hours west of Ottawa. Going west, the next major location is the border town of Sault Ste. Marie, three and a half hours farther down the highway. Sudbury has its own small airport (YSB), with direct flights to Toronto and Ottawa. In short, this town requires some effort to get to, but if you're in the middle of a cross-country drive, it's an oasis.

The town itself has a good number of hotels, many of them costing less than $100 per night. Convenient lodging has long made Sudbury a prime place for road trippers to rest between long days at the wheel. You'll also find a handful of campgrounds and RV parks around the adjacent lakes. These budget-friendly options offer easy access to the region's vast forests.

Sudbury's restaurant scene is growing incrementally, and you'll find an impressive range of cuisines. Check out Laughing Buddha for gourmet pizza and craft beer, Peko Peko for Pan-Asian cuisine in a fashionable setting, or elevated pub-grub at Buzzy Brown's Brasserie. Local beverage-makers include 46 North Brewing, a small-batch craft brewer with a tasting room, and Crosscut Distillery, with its attractive bottles of gin, vodka, and moonshine. Sudbury is starting to resemble other up-and-coming Canadian cities like Bayfield, a gorgeous Ontario getaway with shops and restaurants.