Dryden

Dryden is Ontario's smallest incorporated city (population 7,400 in 2021). It is 140 km (90 mi) east of Kenora on the Trans-Canada Highway in northern Ontario.

Understand

Dryden was established in 1895 on the north shore of Wabigoon Lake as the site of an experimental farm. It was named for a minister of government of the era. At the time, access to the community was primarily by rail. From 1910-2008, the city's primary industry was paper manufacturing; the local population reached a peak of just under 8200 people before the mill closed.

An oversized Maximillian the Moose stands at the centre of town at the visitor’s centre.

Dryden and Kenora are the only incorporated Ontario cities to use the Central time zone (GMT-6), due to their location: geographically closer to Winnipeg than to southern Ontario.

Visitor Information

• City of Dryden
• 1 Dryden Tourism Information Centre, 284 Government St. (updated Feb 2023)

Get in

By car

• Highway 17 (Trans-Canada Highway). Within the city, the highway is named Government Street. The highway allows travellers to reach Dryden heading east from Kenora or heading west Thunder Bay.

By bus

• Kasper Bus, ☏ +1 807 699-7200, toll-free: +1-855-566-2378. Operates bus service in Northern Ontario and Manitoba. (updated May 2022) Operates a bus route multiple days per week between Winnipeg and Sioux Lookout including stops in Kenora and Dryden. Travel time to Dryden from Winnipeg is 4½ hours, from Kenora is 1 hr 45 min, and from Sioux Lookout is 1 hr 15 min.
• Ontario Northland, toll-free: +1-800-461-8558. Operates primarily in Northern Ontario. Routes travel as far west as Winnipeg, as far south as Toronto, and as far east as Ottawa. (updated Apr 2022) Operates a bus route multiple days per week between Winnipeg and Sioux Lookout including stops in Kenora and Dryden. Travel time to Dryden from Winnipeg is 4½ hours, from Kenora is 1½ hours, and from Thunder Bay is 3 hr 45 min.

By train

• Via Rail. Service on The Canadian at Richan station, 25 km north of Dryden. 

By plane

• 1 Dryden Regional Airport (YHD  ^IATA). Bearskin Airlines flies to Dryden from Thunder Bay (direct) and Winnipeg (through Red Lake).  

Get around

• George's Taxi, ☏ +1 807 223-6565. 
• Enterprise (+1 807 223-4004) and National (+1 807 223-4477) offer hire cars.

See

Max the moose towers 18 feet

• 1 Dryden & District Museum, 15 Van Horne Avenue (at King Street), ☏ +1 807 223-4671. Museum in historic Hamble House with over ten thousand artefacts, including “Old Copper Culture“ cold-hammered tools dating back 4,000 years. History of Dryden and surrounding area, including “The Dryden Buck“, an Ontario-record whitetail deer shot by a poacher in 2003. By donation. 

Do

• 1 Aaron Provincial Park. On east end of Thunder Lake, 26 km (16 mi) east of Dryden on Hwy 11.  
• 2 Dryden Recreational Complex, 84 Whyte Ave, ☏ +1 807 223-1425. Indoor pool with waterslide, municipal fitness centre. 
• 3 Dryden Ski Club, ☏ +1 807 937-4265. Ski hill, equipment rental and lessons. $35/day (downhill), $8/day (cross-country). 
• 4 Eagle's Landing, 400 Sandy Beach Rd, ☏ +1 807 223-3433. Nine-hole golf course, banquet facility. 
• Hunting, fishing and windsurfing are popular locally; in winter, try snowmobiling, ice fishing, dogsledding and skiing.
• 5 Blue Lake Provincial Park, Blue Lake Road, ☏ +1 807 227-2601. Hiking trails, camping, interpretive centre.  
• Sandy Beach Park, Sandy Beach Road. Playground, large sand beach, soccer field and baseball diamond, walking trails and picnic area. 
• Theatre 17. Amateur community theatre group. 

Events

• Moosefest. late June-early July. Summer festival, includes Canada Day weekend. 
• Dryden Winter Festival. Mid-February, on long weekend. Activities. Ice fishing derby. 

Buy

• 1 Egli's Sheep Farm, 20232 Hwy 17W, Minnitaki, ☏ +1 807 755-5231, toll-free: +1-800-465-2966, fax: +1 807 755-5246. M-Sa 8AM-5PM. Wide selection of woolen garments, 20 km (12 mi) west of Dryden on Trans-Canada Highway. 
• 2 Railside Sports & Marine, 564 Government St., ☏ +1 807 223-3517, fax: +1 807 223-2388. Boats, campers, ATVs, snowmobiles. 

Eat

• 1 Ho Ho Chinese Restaurant, 64 Van Horne Ave, ☏ +1 807 223-2888. Asian buffet. 
• 2 Hong Kong House, 34F Whyte Ave, ☏ +1 807 223-7411. Asian. 
• 3 Masala Restaurant, 205 Duke St, ☏ +1 807 223-8622. Indian. 
• 4 Ristorante Pizzeria Italia, 53 Princess St, ☏ +1 807 223-8080. Italian. 

Drink

• 1 B & B Roadhouse Bar & Grill, 349 Government St, ☏ +1 807 223-2000. Pizzas, salad, burgers, and larger meals. (updated Sep 2022)
• 2 Central Saloon, 20 King St, ☏ +1 807 223-3735. Dated diner-style restaurant with bar. 

Sleep

Hotels

• 1 Dryden Hotel & Conference Centre, 349 Government St, ☏ +1 807 223-3201, toll-free: +1-800-780-7234. Best Western Plus with restaurant, conference facilities and indoor pool. 
• 2 Riverview Lodge, 148 Earl Ave, ☏ +1 807 223-4320, fax: +1 807 223-5208. Riverside hotel in former paper mill building, restaurant on the banks of the Wabigoon River. 
• There are a 3 Comfort Inn and a 4 Holiday Inn Express on the Trans-Canada Highway.

Motels

• 5 Hide Away Motel, 700 Government St, ☏ +1 807 223-5329, fax: +1 807 223-5519. Breakfast included, Internet, 32" HDTV with Netflix and Apple TV, fridge/microwave, kitchenettes in some rooms. $80+. 
• 6 Trans Canada Motel & Restaurant (The TC), 149 Third St (at Trans-Canada 17), ☏ +1 807 223-2251, fax: +1 807 223-6915. Sixteen-room motel, homestyle restaurant and catering. 

Bed and breakfast

• 7 Pilot's Landing Bed & Breakfast, 110 Claybanks Rd., ☏ +1 807 223-6928. On Wabigoon Lake near water aerodrome, two rooms with private entrance and en suite bath. 

Camps and caravan parks

• 8 Bonny Bay Camp, 222 Bonny Bay Rd, ☏ +1 807 938-6696, toll-free: +1-866-815-5971. Lodge, cabin camp and cottages on the shores of Wabigoon Lake, 15 km (9 mi) east of Dryden. Fishing/hunting outfitter, boat rental. 
• 9 Merkel's Camp, 744 Muskie Merk Rd, Wabigoon, ☏ +1 807 938-6428, toll-free: +1-888-521-3872. Fishing camp 20 km (12 mi) E of Dryden 
• 10 Spring Water Park, 1266 Hwy 594, ☏ +1 807 937-5454. Caravan park with restaurant. 

Connect

• 2 Dryden Public Library, 36 Van Horne Ave, ☏ +1 807 223-1475, fax: +1 807 223-4312. M-Th 10AM-8PM, F Sa 10AM-5PM, closed summer Sundays. (updated May 2015)

Go next

• Kenora — the westernmost city in Ontario on the Trans-Canada Highway, 138 km (86 mi) west of Dryden toward Manitoba. Blue Lake Provincial Park is about half-way.
• Red Lake — a small town 190 km (120 mi) north serving as a hub for a number of fly-in communities and wilderness adventures. It's Ontario's gateway to Pimachiowin Aki, a mixed (natural and cultural) UNESCO World Heritage site shared by Ontario and Manitoba.
• Sioux Lookout — the nearest stop on the cross-country passenger train, The Canadian.
• Thunder Bay — 350 km (220 mi) to the southeast, the northwestern point of the Great Lakes of North America, and the largest community in this corner of Ontario.

Routes through Dryden

Winnipeg ← Kenora ← JCT N ←

W  E

→ JCT N → Thunder Bay → Sault Ste Marie