Nipigon
▼ 37.5 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Thunder Bay right now
Observed Jul 17, 9:00 p.m. EDT
Where the Nipigon River meets Superior’s north shore, under some of Ontario’s biggest cliffs.
61.2 µg/m³
PM2.5 in Thunder Bay right now
AQI 167 · Unhealthy
AQHI 11+ — Very high risk (Thunder Bay)
Latest observation Jul 17, 9:00 p.m. EDT
Build-time readings shown
3 places with a place to stay, ranked by air quality
Rossport
▼ 27.6 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Thunder Bay right now
Observed Jul 17, 9:00 p.m. EDT
Tiny island-sheltered harbour village on Lake Superior, a favourite calm-air stop on the north shore.
Terrace Bay
▼ 23.8 µg/m³ less fine-particle pollution than Thunder Bay right now
Observed Jul 17, 9:00 p.m. EDT
North-shore town above Aguasabon Falls with Superior beach access and motel lodging.
Why these towns?
Most of the getaways above sit on big water — Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario or Lake Superior — or in lake-dense highland country. Large lakes generate onshore breezes and sit away from the boreal fire zones, so during many smoke events they stay a band cleaner than inland cities. That's not a guarantee: smoke plumes move, which is why we re-rank this list against live PM2.5 and AQHI data every hour rather than publishing a fixed list. If everything within three hours of Thunder Bay is smoky, the rankings will say so — sometimes the honest answer is to stay inside with a filter running.