City of Thunder Bay Tourism
When Thunder Bay locals want to impress visitors, they take them to Hillcrest Park in the center of the city to show off the stunning views of the harbor and distant Sleeping Giant.
Photographer Lois Nuttall, who owns Lake Superior Visits (group tours, lake trips and custom getaway packages), pegs the park as a popular place to watch the sunrise above the Sleeping Giant. “In the evening, you don’t see the sunset because it’s behind you, but there’s often a beautiful pinkish, purple-ish glow on the water and on the giant.”
All of Lois’ city tours include Hillcrest Park, where she can point out city highlights: the waterfront and main harbor with sailboats and cargo ships to the east; tops of downtown buildings that used to make up Port Arthur; the flatlands of the former Fort William community; and south-facing views of the Nor’Wester Mountain Range.
Paul L. Hayden / Lake Superior Magazine
Hillcrest straddles a ridge, one of three elevated locations where the city spreads out before you, along with the Terry Fox lookout on the city’s northeast end and Mount McKay on the south end.
Hillcrest attracts practioners of yoga or tai chi. Some people simply like to sit and enjoy an ice cream here.
Some of the park’s spectacular views don’t require looking long distances. It offers impressive sunken gardens with displays of about 80 flower varieties. A war memorial honors the Lake Superior Regiment that served in Europe in World War II. A universal carrier (lightweight tracked transport vehicle) used by the unit is displayed, and an honor roll lists those who died in the war.
Mounted on a stone wall are two carronades (short cannons, one pictured here) that the city originally placed at Port Arthur Collegiate Institute from 1911 to 1955.
You can learn about ancient history, too. A plaque installed in 2016 at Hillcrest commemorates the Cummins Site, a Paleo-Indian archaeological site on the outskirts of the city. Discovered in 1962 by local resident Hugh Cummins, it was used to make stone tools on the shoreline of ancient Lake Minong at least 9,000 years ago. The lake covered most of today’s Thunder Bay and the region. Back then, Hillcrest Park would have been part of an island on Lake Minong, according to Parks Canada. Relatives of Cummins participated in placing of the plaque last fall.
Yes, locals know that Hillcrest Park has it all: a scenic overlook, a playground, history and a great spot to picnic. And now you know it, too.
Hillcrest Park is on the East side of High Street, between Red River Road and Oliver Road. www.thunderbay.ca