Art, collections and local history offer different ways to get to know Kenora. The Muse brings together a museum and an art centre on one campus; historic murals and guided tours offer other perspectives. As you plan your stay, you can consider whether you’re especially interested in exhibitions, stories from Kenora’s past or activities on urban trails.

Museum Collection and Rotating Art

The Muse comprises the Lake of the Woods Museum and the Douglas Family Art Centre. The campus is in Memorial Park at the south end of Main Street, at 300 and 224 Main Street South. The museum holds more than 25,000 physical objects and over 100,000 photographs. These figures give an idea of the variety of collection formats; collection totals may change as they are updated.

The Lake of the Woods Museum offers public programs for children and adults throughout the year. Which programs take place and when can vary. This means you can consider the museum not only for its collection but also for its year-round program offering; check specific dates in advance.

Exhibitions at the Douglas Family Art Centre rotate, featuring contemporary and historical Canadian artists as well as international artists. Together with the museum, the campus has two distinct cultural focuses: the museum’s collections and rotating art presentations. If you’d like to discover Kenora through its culture, you can choose between historical collections and current exhibitions.

Kenora’s History: Guided or Self-Guided

Guided tours of the Lake of the Woods Cemetery explore Kenora’s history through stories of famous and infamous people buried there. This offers a different approach from an exhibition: the focus is on people’s stories and the cemetery as their burial place. Tour booking arrangements may change; check in advance for current options.

Eighteen historic cityscape murals also form a self-guided tour. Alongside the guided cemetery tour, they offer a way to explore Kenora’s local history independently through murals. The condition of individual murals may change, so take this into account when planning.

The Lake of the Woods Railroaders Museum offers another guided perspective: its tour covers the railway history of Kenora and Canada. The operating season and tour details may vary; check the information if you’re planning a visit. Taken together, the tours differ both in subject—cemetery and railway history—and in that each is experienced through a guided tour.

Nature and outdoor activities are also among the things to do in Kenora. The Rat Portage Urban Trail connects streets in Kenora with the Laurenson’s Creek nature walk. Kenora’s urban trails offer good chances to spot herons, otters, beavers and foxes, but sightings aren’t guaranteed. If you’re hoping to see wildlife during a visit to the city, the urban trails are a good option to consider when planning. Route information may change, so it’s worth checking current notices.

Garrow Park has a free disc golf course with nine baskets. The park also has an outdoor pickleball facility with eight public courts, fully renovated in 2019. These are different ways to spend time in the park: a round of disc golf or pickleball on public courts. Facility details may change; check the latest information before your visit.

Discover more destinations: Dryden, Taber, Nestor Falls, Sioux Lookout, Pawitik, Kenora, Unorganized, Machin, Minaki.

For the broader travel overview: Kenora District.