Bancroft
Observed Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Mineral-country town on the York River between Hastings highlands and lake country.
3.3 µg/m³
PM2.5 in North Bay right now
AQI 58 · Moderate
AQHI 2 — Low risk (North Bay)
Latest observation Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Build-time readings shown
14 places with a place to stay, ranked by air quality
Haliburton
Observed Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Highlands village surrounded by hundreds of lakes and a large cottage-rental market.
Pembroke
Observed Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Ottawa Valley hub on the wide Ottawa River, the jumping-off point for Whitewater country.
Whitney
Observed Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Hamlet at Algonquin Park’s East Gate, with lodges and cabins on the park’s quieter side.
Mattawa
Observed Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Historic voyageur town where the Mattawa meets the Ottawa River, between two provincial parks.
Temagami
Observed Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Old-growth pine and deep-lake country on Lake Temagami, with classic Northern lodges.
Huntsville
Observed Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Muskoka’s biggest town, ringed by lakes and resorts on the edge of Algonquin Park.
Bracebridge
Observed Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Waterfall town in the heart of Muskoka with a deep bench of cottages and resorts.
Killarney
Observed Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Remote village beside Killarney Park’s white quartzite ridges, on the north channel of Georgian Bay.
Little Current (Manitoulin Island)
Observed Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Manitoulin’s main harbour town — the world’s largest freshwater island, surrounded by Huron’s North Channel.
Gravenhurst
▲ Air is currently worse here than in North Bay
Observed Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Gateway to Muskoka on Lake Muskoka’s steamship wharf, the closest cottage country to the GTA.
Parry Sound
▲ Air is currently worse here than in North Bay
Observed Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Deep-water port on Georgian Bay’s island-studded coast, with open-bay air off the sound.
Orillia
▲ Air is currently worse here than in North Bay
Observed Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Sunshine City between Lakes Couchiching and Simcoe, with a full range of waterfront stays.
Midland
▲ Air is currently worse here than in North Bay
Observed Jul 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Harbour town on Georgian Bay’s 30,000 Islands shore, with bay cruises and shoreline trails.
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 North Bay is smoky, the rankings will say so — sometimes the honest answer is to stay inside with a filter running.