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Sault Ste Marie, Ontario Real Estate & Community Overview

Sault Ste Marie is located between the two largest Great Lakes: Lake Huron and Lake Superior. The city overlooks the St Mary's River with rapids that used to be portaged by the early fur traders, which now has a canal with locks for the Great Lakes freighters.

The city, called the "Soo" by its 85,000 residents, lies on the border with the United Sates (Sault Ste Marie, Michigan is on the other side), and provides easy access to major American cities including Detroit.

The city is home to major industries, including Algoma Steel, and is a major railway centre for northern Ontario. Sault Ste Marie is also a major shipping point with locks on the St Mary's River that are part of the St Lawrence Seaway. The oldest and historical locks are on the Canadian side, while the ones in current use are on the American side. Sault Ste Marie is also on the Trans-Canada Highway, which marks its geographical mid-point just north of the community.

Sault Ste Marie is unusual because it is a cross-border town. There is the Canadian side, and there is the American side. Each has different laws (drinking ages, for example), different stores and product selections (liquor in grocery stores, Sunday shopping), and different statutory holidays. Because locals mix and mingle with those on the other side of the border, so a lot of families have relatives living on the other side of the border.

Sault Ste Marie gives you all the excitement of the city with the adventure of the Canadian wilderness just minutes away! Head into the famous and picturesque Algoma Country aboard the Agawa Canyon Tour, where the Group of Seven painters drew many of their famous landscape paintings. Stroll along the St. Mary's River Boardwalk, take a lock tour of the world's busiest locks and enjoy a spectacular view of the city. The St. Mary's River also has some of the best sport fishing in North America. For boaters, there are many lakes, but most impressively the open waters of Lake Superior are to the west, and Lake Huron to the east, with its North Channel protected by Manitoulin Island. The countryside and wildernesses on both sides of the border are popular havens for winter snowmobiling.

Link to City of Sault Ste. Marie

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