Visiting Port Colborne

Whether you're in Port Colborne for a day, weekend, or a whole week, the city offers a variety of places to rest your head for the evening.

Search the Business Directory for accommodation options in Port Colborne.

Community programs and events ensure that there are always a number of activities to participate in, from arts and culture to theatre to recreational activities to large festivals.

See the Heritage, Arts and Culture page for more information.

Nothing beats a day at the lake. Hot summer days and cool refreshing water make for the perfect day of fun and relaxation in Port Colborne.

See the Beaches page for more information.

Picture perfect best describes Port Colborne's marvelous harbour. Sugarloaf Marina has more than 700 boat slips and provides all the on-shore amenities you need to make your visit enjoyable. For short day-visits, Port Colborne has a well-maintained, extra wide boat ramp that will accommodate most watercraft. Ample parking for trucks and trailers is also available on-site.

Offering year-round, world-class fishing, anglers love Port Colborne. Access to Lake Erie and the Upper Niagara River provides some of the best bass fishing from June to November. Lake Erie, the smallest of the Great Lakes in terms of volume, measures 241 miles from east to west, 57 miles from north to south, and has a depth of 62 feet. Because it warms rapidly in the spring and summer and freezes frequently in the winter, Lake Erie is an ideal location to catch the spring and fall salmon and trout run. It is also recognized as one of the province’s best spots for perch.

See Sugarloaf Marina webpage for more information.

Port Colborne offers easy access to mostly paved trails surrounded by beautiful scenery. Great for walking, cycling and wheeling. Two of the Greater Niagara Circle Route's trails intersect in Port Colborne: Welland Canals Parkway Trail and Friendship Trail. The Niagara Cycling Tourism Centre is an excellent resource for information on bike routes, planning your adventure, and other cycling amenities (bike repair stations, parking, public washrooms, etc.).

The City of Port Colborne is proud of its vibrant culture and marine heritage. Throughout the year we host various events and festivals including Canal Days, Christmas in Port Colborne, New Year's Eve, and Canada Day. These events allow us to engage with the local community, invite visitors to experience the very best of Port Colborne, and partner with various stakeholders. 

See the Events & Festivals page for more information.

The Niagara region has long been known for the quality of its tender fruits and vegetables. And here in Port Colborne, we are no exception. Over 30 vendors from throughout the region provide fresh-from-the-farm local produce as well as meats, honey, baked goods, and a variety of colourful flowers and bedding plants. The Farmers' Market generally runs from late April to the end of October. 
See the Farmers' Market page for more information.

Hit the links at any one of Port Colborne's challenging public and semi-private courses. Every round is a great round when experiencing lakeside golf in balmy, breezy conditions. The golf season typically begins in early April and continues throughout the fall, sometimes into December.

Search the Business Directory for local golf courses.

The Port Colborne Historical & Marine Museum, located at 280 King Street, features a heritage village of century-old buildings in a landscaped setting of historic gardens, pathways, picket fences, and a covered pavilion with picnic tables and park benches. The 1869 Georgian-Revival style of Williams Home serves as the main exhibit gallery, interpreting the history of Port Colborne and the Welland Canal through a variety of ever-changing exhibits. The Heritage Village includes a log schoolhouse, the Sherk-Troup log home, the F.W. Woods Blacksmith Shop, timber frame cabin and Graf Loom, Arabella's Tea Room, and Carriage House. The wheelhouse from the Yvon Dupre tugboat, the lifeboat from the S.S. Hochelaga and Marine Exhibit Lighthouse form a small marine park facing King Street.

Port Colborne is home to 32 beautiful parks, open spaces and natural areas, comprising just over 88 hectares. Each park is unique to its neighbourhood and includes different amenities. 

See the Parks, Pavilions, Trails, Green Spaces and Fields pages for more information.

One of the best ship watching locations in Port Colborne is Lock 8 Gateway Park. Providing a beautifully landscaped fountain and viewing platform, watch as ships pass through the second longest canal lock in the world! Further south towards Bridge 21 and the Promenade on Historic West Street, it is not uncommon to find wooden tall ships quietly moored along the canal wall as they wait for clearance to pass through the canal. Look across the canal towards Lake Erie to see the ship-breaking yards where old ships are dismantled and recycled for their scrap metal.

Shopping in Port Colborne reflects the entrepreneurial spirit of its merchants. Between its five distinct shopping districts — two commercial districts and three plazas — visitors will find a selection of antique and collectable stores, galleries, nurseries, gift ships, fashionable clothing and charming boutique shops, not to mention everyday essentials like grocery and convenience stores.

Port Colborne also boasts a generous selection of cafés and restaurants, serving everything from regional staples to global favourites. No matter the type of cuisine you're craving, you’ll find plenty of flavours to savour.

Search the Business Directory for shopping and dining options.

Our incredible Shrinking Mill is a strange phenomenon produced by the interplay of light, shoreline, water, and trees. The closer you get, the smaller it appears. Take Cement Plant Road south to Lakeshore Road. Turn left and head east on Lakeshore Road, where you will eventually see the mill in the distance. At this point, your view is framed by Sugarloaf Hill on the right and large trees and houses on the left. The mill looks almost close enough to touch, but as you approach Gravelly Bay, it shrinks and appears farther and farther away.

Why does the mill shrink? This is simply an optical illusion, much the same as Magnetic Hill in Moncton, New Brunswick, where parked cars look like they're rollling uphill. Port Colborne's Shrinking Mill appears to stand on a flat horizon with Gravelly Bay in front. Your perspective sees the vertical alignment of the Mill, in conjunction with the refraction of the light off of the shallow water, and creates illusion that the structure has suddenly shrunk.