The biggest city between Ottawa and Duluth, Sudbury (pop. 163,000) lies in the middle of a geological basin that contains one of the world’s largest concentrations of nickel, as well as numerous other precious metals. Originally an Ojibwa tribal settlement, the town began to develop after the 1883 arrival of the railway, and boomed when nickel and copper were discovered here three years later. Uncontrolled development followed, mines and processing plants sprang up all over the landscape, and soon the area was a classic industrial-era ecological disaster. No trees grew for miles around, and a haze of toxic smoke choked the inhabitants, who lived in narrow valleys below the mine heads.
In the early 1950s, Sudbury undertook a massive urban renewal and land reclamation project to return at least a vestige of the original beauty and unpolluted air to the area, with considerable success. For older residents, the city has changed dramatically for the better; the air is cleaner and trees dot the landscape. Today, Sudbury is still Canada’s most important mining community, producing as much as 85 percent of the world’s nickel and operating the country’s largest copper mine, INCO, west of town, but it’s an infinitely healthier place than its past may suggest.
As it passes around Sudbury, the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy-17) bypasses the city’s center, so turn north onto Hwy-80 toward Sudbury’s real visitor draw: Science North. Located at the edge of downtown Sudbury, along manmade Lake Ramsey, Science North is a state-of-the-art science and technology museum featuring many hands-on displays for kids and adults (daily; $C16–40; 705/522-3700 or 800/461-4898). Inside the snowflake-shaped structure, you can experience a simulated hurricane, watch flying squirrels fly, enjoy a butterfly aviary, talk to ham radio operators around the world, enjoy a show (most recently featuring grizzly bears) in the IMAX theater ($C12), or take a “virtual reality” voyage to Mars ($C7).
Science North also has one of Sudbury’s better places to eat—the Snowflake Restaurant—which says a lot about the town’s culinary offerings. The newest attraction here is Dynamic Earth, which simulates an underground mine. Outside, you can see Sudbury’s famous “Big Nickel,” moved here in 2003—it’s exactly what it sounds like, a 30-foot-tall replica of a Canadian nickel.
Among the better Sudbury hotels are the downtown Peter Piper Inn ($C90–120; 705/673-7801) at 151 Larch Street, and the Travelodge Hotel Sudbury ($C60; 705/522-1100) at 1401 Paris Street a block from Science North. For more complete information, contact the Sudbury visitors center (705/671-2489).
