Cochrane is a small railway town in northeastern Ontario, far enough north that the landscape has shifted into boreal forest and long winter. It is not a polished resort town, but it has a clear identity: polar bears, hockey, and trains heading toward the edge of James Bay.
The town's best reason to stop is the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat, a sanctuary for polar bears that cannot live in the wild. Next door, the Heritage Village gives the place some local history, with early-20th-century buildings and displays.
Cochrane is also the southern end of the Polar Bear Express, Ontario Northland's train to Moosonee. If you have the time, that rail trip is the real northern adventure. If you only have a few hours, the town still makes a useful and memorable stop on the long road across northern Ontario.