Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is often celebrated for its rugged landscapes and Great Lakes setting. But it’s also one of Northern Ontario’s most approachable family destinations.
Everything feels close. The waterfront is always nearby. Nature, history and kid-friendly attractions blend together in a way that makes it easy to plan a long weekend without overscheduling it. Whether you’re visiting in July sunshine or February snow, there are plenty of family-friendly things to do in Sault Ste. Marie, with enough variety to keep kids engaged and parents relaxed.
Here’s how to experience the Soo together.
If your visit lines up with winter, February brings Bon Soo, Sault Ste. Marie’s long-running winter carnival, which features family-friendly activities, outdoor events and seasonal fun across the city. Summer visitors won’t want to miss Rotaryfest, held in mid-July, when the waterfront comes alive with live music, food vendors, midway rides and fireworks. These annual festivals add even more reasons to plan your trip around the season and experience the city at its liveliest.
Some of the most memorable family activities in Sault Ste. Marie happen between destinations.
The Big Ben Hop-On Hop-Off Bus lets families explore the city from the top deck of a bright yellow double-decker. For kids, sitting up high and waving to pedestrians below turns simple sightseeing into part of the adventure.
Operating May through October, this bus tour gives visitors the freedom to see the sights and sounds at their leisure, with tickets valid the entire day. Stops include the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre / Entomica, the Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site, Bellevue Park, Agawa Canyon Train Station, plus the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site and the Swing Dam.
If you ask families about their favourite stop in Sault Ste. Marie, the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre almost always comes up.
Housed in a historic waterfront hangar, it’s the kind of museum where kids are encouraged to explore. They can climb into real bush planes, sit in cockpits, try the flight simulator and race up the fire tower lookout. It’s interactive, spacious and full of opportunities to imagine what it would be like to take flight over Northern Ontario.
Inside the same building as the Bushplane Heritage Centre, Entomica Insectarium adds another layer of discovery. Live insects from around the world are displayed in beautifully designed habitats, and brave visitors can even hold a beetle or get up close to a stick bug. It’s hands-on science that sparks curiosity—and usually a lot of excited storytelling afterward.
For many visiting families, this stop becomes a highlight of the trip.
Bellevue Park is Sault Ste. Marie’s massive 17-hectare park. It offers a variety of family-friendly fun, including an adventure playground, splash pad, floral beds and a display greenhouse, a picnic shelter and a sensory playground—the first of its kind in the city. The equipment has been chosen for the playground purposefully to enable children to be independent, safe, and active while using a variety of features that target imagination. Enhanced accessible play options eliminate barriers to play, provide sensory stimulation, and promote family bonding. You can read more about the features at Bellevue Park here.
For families travelling with bikes, Hiawatha Highlands offers active fun without requiring advanced skills. A dedicated two-kilometre kid-friendly flow trail and pump track give younger riders space to build confidence, while nearby park areas like Kinsmen Park and an Indigenous medicine garden provide room to slow down and explore.
Accessible from the Kinsmen Park parking lot at Hiawatha Highlands, Crystal Falls stands as one of the top Sault Ste. Marie waterfalls.
During the winter months, the park offers over 49 kilometres of ski trails, 12 kilometres of snowshoeing trails, and fat biking trails, making it an outdoor go-to for anyone looking to make the most of the season.
Closer to downtown, the Esposito Park Pump Track at Queen Street West connects directly to the John Rowswell Hub Trail, a 25-kilometre multi-use path linking parks, waterfront sections and neighbourhoods across the city. The pump track is ideal for quick, high-energy laps, with smooth rollers for beginners and banked turns for more advanced riders. From there, families can choose shorter, manageable sections of the Hub Trail for a relaxed ride.
For those ready to go a little farther (or who prefer to start closer to nature) the Hub Trail also runs through Fort Creek Conservation Area, a 77-hectare mix of forest and wetlands within city limits. Elevated boardwalks and scenic lookouts make it an engaging stop, and kids can keep an eye out for beavers, turtles and other pond life along the way.
Built in 1895, the Sault Ste. Marie Canal was once the world’s longest lock, the first to operate using electricity and the final link in an all-Canadian navigational chain connecting Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Located on the St. Marys River, the Soo Locks are part of the Parks Canada Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site.
Today, the canal area is an easy place to spend time as a family. You can chat with a Parks Canada interpreter about how the lock works, rent a fat bike and ride out to Whitefish Island or explore the nearby Attikamek Trail.
For a closer look, hop aboard the Miss Marie Soo Locks Tour, which takes families through both the Canadian and American locks on the St. Marys River and runs tours from mid-May to mid-October. Watching the boat slowly rise and lower with the water level feels a bit like being inside a giant aquatic elevator, and spotting a massive freighter nearby makes the scale of the Great Lakes system suddenly very real.
It’s educational without feeling like a lesson, and just interesting enough to keep everyone leaning over the rail.
Adding a bit of Sault Ste. Marie's history adds a broader perspective (and sparks some conversation) during a family trip.
At the Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site, the Old Stone House and Blockhouse offer an accessible introduction to early life in Northern Ontario. The Ermatinger Old Stone House has been fully restored to depict the domestic and professional life of Charles Oakes Ermatinger, who played a vital role in the social and economic life of Sault Ste. Marie. It’s compact enough to hold attention while still adding context to the region.
If you’ve got hockey fans in tow, catching a Soo Greyhounds game is an easy way to plug into the city’s energy and have some fun cheering together. Or, let off some steam at Swing Away Batting Cages at Strathclair Park.
For something a little different, check out Goatopia for opportunities to snuggle and play with adorable, friendly goats! They offer goat yoga, seasonal walks and goat socials—as well as a chance to have everyone giggling.
Rainy afternoons are easily filled at North Crest Lanes (24 lanes of ten-pin bowling), Soo Blaster’s arcade and games, axe-throwing, or golf simulators at Up and Down Lounge.
And of course, ice cream at The Big Moose, Holy Cow or the Gelato Mill tends to become a daily ritual.
Sault Ste. Marie is the kind of place where family time feels easy. Big experiences—like climbing into bush planes or riding through the Soo Locks—sit comfortably alongside simple pleasures like park afternoons, bike rides and ice cream by the water.
You don’t need a packed itinerary to make it memorable. With so many accessible options close together, families can mix adventure, learning and play at their own pace.
Whenever you visit, Sault Ste. Marie offers plenty of ways to explore, connect and enjoy time together.
