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Home > Ontario's Trans-Canada Highway > Ignace to Thunder Bay Itinerary
Ontario Trans-Canada Highway Route: Highway #17 between Ignace and Thunder Bay, Ontario
Here is the itinerary for the 247 km along #17 between Ignace and Thunder Bay:
Ignace was founded in 1879 and was a key water route to Lake of the Woods for early settlers. When the CPR was built through northern Ontario, it became a divisional point for taking on water and coal. Today is a jumping off point for prospectors and miners.
This area is traversed by waterways, which were much more convenient for travel and transportation by First Nations and early explorers, than cutting through the dense forests. The English River starts its westward path to the Winnipeg River into Hudson's Bay, and was a major fur trading route into the area. Today, the river generates significant amounts of hydro power. Towns like Upsala are key points for visitors to get to the many fly-in fishing resorts in the area. Early fur traders used a portage at Savanne Portage to connect east to Lac du Mielieu (near Raith) to the Kaministkwia River to complete a fur trading route between Lake of the Woods and Lake Superior, at Thunder Bay. Raith marks another Continental Divide, with points to the north and west flowing into Hudson's Bay, and points to the southeast flowing to the Great Lakes and the Atlantic.
The highway passes Kakabeka Falls, where the Kaministikwia River plunges 40 metres into a gorge. Kakabeka is Ojibwa for "thundering waters". According to legend, an invading party of Sioux Indians captured the daughter of the local Ojibwa chief who escaped by jumping over the falls, and warning her tribe to successfully fight off the Sioux..
The soils from here to Thunder Bay are flat and have rich sandy soils, well suited to potato farming, as well as for forage crops fed to cattle, sheep and pigs. Before you reach the Thunder Bay Expressway, which bypasses the on a high hill overlooking Lake Superior, you will pass close to the original fur trading for, Fort William. It was established by the Montreal-based North West Company in 1789, and became a Hudson's Bay company fort after the firms amalgamated in 1821. Today, Thunder Bays is a key shipping point for prairie wheat, as indicated by the many grain elevators seen along the waterfront.
Ontario Highways road condition reports for this segment.
KM from Start | Highway Point Description | Municipality | GPS and
Map Zoom |
EB | WB |
0 | 247 | Junction Hwy 599, N to Silver Dollar (69 km) | Ignace | Map Zoom |
13 | 234 | Green Pines Campground R V Park, north side of highway | | Map Zoom |
56 | 191 | English River town & river crossing | EnglishRiver | Map Zoom |
68 | 179 | Picnic area W side | | Map Zoom |
85 | 162 | Picnic area, N side | | Map Zoom |
86 | 161 | Graham Rd crossing | | Map Zoom |
83 | 164 | Beaver Creek crossing | | Map Zoom |
86 | 161 | Fire Steel River crossing | | Map Zoom |
89 | 158 | Little Fire Steel River crossing | | Map Zoom |
102 | 145 | Town of Upsala, OPP detachment | Upsala | Map Zoom |
103 | 144 | Gonyou Rd (W) | Upsala | Map Zoom |
108 | 139 | Inwood Township Rd, access to Inwood PP, information center | | Map Zoom |
110 | 137 | Mille Lakes Rd, access to Thousand Lakes Resort (10 km, Upsala, ON P0T 2Y0 Tel: (877) 986-1633 | | Map Zoom |
114 | 133 | Rd crossing, to Lac des Mille Lac Indian Resrvation | | Map Zoom |
119 | 128 | Sawmill Bay Rd, access to Cap Sawmill Bay (General Delivery, Upsala, ON P0T 2Y0, Tel: (807) 986-2427 _ | | Map Zoom |
122 | 125 | Little Savanne River crossing | Savanne | Map Zoom |
122 | 125 | Exit to Savanne River Resort | Savanne | Map Zoom |
127 | 120 | Services N side of hwy | | Map Zoom |
141 | 106 | Dog River Rd (N) | | Map Zoom |
142 | 105 | Spencer Rd, and view of Florence Lake | | Map Zoom |
146 | 101 | Time Zone Change, east bound traffic, put watches ahead 1 hour, west bound traffic, set watches 1 hour back | | Map Zoom |
148 | 99 | Lake Rd, town of Raith | Raith | Map Zoom |
151 | 96 | Roadside Turnout with viewpoint on south side | Raith | Map Zoom |
177 | 70 | Junction Hwy 11 (to Fort Frances), & 17 | | Map Zoom |
177 | 70 | East Oskandaga River crossing | | Map Zoom |
195 | 52 | Shebandowan River Crossing, Sunshine Loop (S) western exit | | Map Zoom |
188 | 59 | Finmark Rd, town of Finmark, OPP detachment | Finmark | Map Zoom |
195 | 52 | Shebandowan River Crossing | | Map Zoom |
197 | 50 | Sunshine Loop, east exit | | Map Zoom |
198 | 49 | Junction 102, E alternate route to Thunder Bay | | Map Zoom |
200 | 47 | Wiljala Dr (W) | | Map Zoom |
204 | 43 | Mokomon Rd crossing | | Map Zoom |
207 | 40 | Lundstrom Rd crossing | | Map Zoom |
211 | 36 | Hunt Rd (W), pass Lake to E | | Map Zoom |
213 | 34 | Junction Hwy 590 (W) to Bible Camp & camping, crossing river above falls | | Map Zoom |
214 | 33 | Exit to Kakabeka Falls viewpoint | Kakabeka Falls | Map Zoom |
228 | 19 | Clergue St (N) | | Map Zoom |
219 | 28 | Hwy 588 (S) Junction | Kakabeka Falls | Map Zoom |
222 | 25 | McFarlane Rd crossing | | Map Zoom |
224 | 23 | Railway underpass | | Map Zoom |
226 | 21 | Fraser Rd crossing | | Map Zoom |
228 | 19 | Vibert Rd crossing | | Map Zoom |
230 | 17 | Twin City Crossroads (Hwy 130) crossing | | Map Zoom |
232 | 15 | 25th Sideroad (S) junction, Hwy 17 to E is also Artur St W | | Map Zoom |
233 | 14 | 25th Sideroad (N) | | Map Zoom |
234 | 13 | Overpass Motel (2410 Arthur Street West , Thunder Bay, ON P7K 1E6 , (807) 475 7758) | | Map Zoom |
235 | 12 | 20th Sideroad (S) | | Map Zoom |
235 | 12 | Mapleward Rd (N) | | Map Zoom |
236 | 11 | Garden Ave | | Map Zoom |
237 | 10 | Vanguard Ave (N), Thunder Bay Airport boundary to S | Thunder Bay | Map Zoom |
238 | 9 | Parkdale Blvd (N) access to shopping, Morgan Ave (S), Thunder Bay Airport boundary | Thunder Bay | Map Zoom |
239 | 8 | Arthur Street Market (N) | Thunder Bay | Map Zoom |
239 | 8 | Neebing Ave (N) Valhalla Inn Rd (S), access to service and accommodation | Thunder Bay | Map Zoom |
239 | 8 | Neebing River crossing | Thunder Bay | Map Zoom |
242 | 5 | Harbour Expressway (E) to Intercity shopping & services | Thunder Bay | Map Zoom |
245 | 2 | Oliver Rd , access to Downtown North (Port Arthur), Casino, Marina | Thunder Bay | Map Zoom |
246 | 1 | Junction John St, access to Downtown North (Port Arthur), Casino, Marina | Thunder Bay | Map Zoom |
247 | 0 | Junction Hwy 102, Dawson Rd (W), Red River Rd (E) | Thunder Bay | Map Zoom |
249 | -2 | Crossing McVicar Creek, Shuniah Park to W of hwy | Thunder Bay | Map Zoom |
249 | -2 | EB Exit for Huron Ave | Thunder Bay | Map Zoom |
249 | -2 | Junction Balsam Ave | Thunder Bay | Map Zoom |
255 | -8 | Current River crossing,. Blvd Park to E | Thunder Bay | Map Zoom |
255 | -8 | Hodder Ave (S) to downtown Port Arthur | Thunder Bay | Map Zoom |
KM from Start | Highway Point Description | Municipality | GPS and
Map Zoom |
EB | WB |
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