June
12, 2006
Hello from Ontario - A Southern Ontario
tour: Creemore, Collingwood and Orillia
Late spring is the perfect time for a driving tour, so yesterday
my co-workers Vanessa, Khurram and I set off to check out the countryside
around Toronto. Neither one of my co-explorers has lived in Canada
for very long, so they haven’t really had a chance to discover
areas outside the Big Smoke. So this was their first opportunity
to venture forth into the hinterland that surrounds our big city.
After leaving the 16-lane frenzy of Highway 401 and a brief ride
on the 410 we drove into Ontario’s countryside north of Brampton.
The landscape started to open up - farms, fields and forest started
to appear. The serene rolling hills north of Ontario’s capital
have a subtle beauty to them and I started hearing comments like
“this is like a picture book”, “this would be
a great place for spending a weekend” etc. The scenery around
Hockley Valley and the hilly moraines further north offer quite
breath-taking views over Ontario farm country.
The quaint village of Creemore
Our first stop was in the village
of Creemore, a little village tucked away in the Mad River Valley,
surrounded by the Purple Hills. The village’s history dates
back more than a century, originally supplying Toronto with much
needed lumber and later supplying hogs. One of the main attractions
today is the Creemore
Springs Brewery, a very popular Ontario micro-brewery. After
a local breakfast with tea and scones we crossed the street to check
out the brewery, and even though two of us are not beer-drinkers,
we still had fun learning about the brewing process, combining hops,
barley and various other ingredients. We admired the large brewing
kettles, two made of stainless steel and one made of copper. Creemore
Springs makes a premium lager and during the winter season the brew
masters also come up with an “UrBock” version for the
festive season.
Waterwheel
With our knowledge of beer appropriately augmented we continued
on with our country drive, slowly approaching the Niagara Escarpment
area, Southern Ontario’s highest geological feature. We stopped
in the tiny hamlet of Glen Huron (population 51) where we admired
the ancient feed mill of the Hamilton Brothers, dating back all
the way to 1874. Just a few steps away was a picturesque water wheel
(cheekily fed by a water hose instead of a real river...).
Farm landscapes north of Toronto
On a hilly area just south of Collingwood we stopped to enjoy the
sweeping view that stretched all the way to Georgian Bay and then
we continued into the Town
of Collingwood, a place that has really become popular over
the last few years. Collingwood, its adjacent Blue Mountains Ski
Hill, Ontario’s largest ski resort, and its location on Georgian
Bay make it a four-season recreational destination. In recent years,
the ski facilities have been upgraded and a whole European-style
village awaits at the bottom of the ski hill. Downtown Collingwood
itself features more than 300 shops and restaurants, waiting to
serve discerning travelers.
Downtown Collingwood
Our day was short so we continued our drive eastwards towards Wasaga
Beach, with a length of 14 km the world’s longest freshwater
beach. Surrounding this white sandy beach are many kilometers of
hiking, cycling, cross-country and snowmobiling trails. In addition,
Wasaga Beach is also a favourite destination of beach volleyball
players. We got out of the car, and on this breezy blustery day
(it couldn't have been more than 12 degrees Celsius) you definitely
needed a warm wind-proof jacket. I admired the para-sailers, daredevils
who braved the cold waves of Georgian Bay.
Wasage Beach: the world's longest freshwater beach
The highlight of our day was yet to come: after a veritable traffic
jam in the city of Barrie, we squeaked
into the Town of Orillia just in time to make it onto the Island
Princess, Orillia’s famous double-decked river-style cruise
vessel, capable of holding 230 passengers. On this cold and increasingly
rainy-looking day there were only about a dozen of us, but we enjoyed
the narrated tour around Lake Couchiching. Lake-front living is
popular, and we found out that most of the houses around the lake
now sell for C$750,000 and up.
The Island Princess
After our hour-long exploration by boat we disembarked and went
on a relaxing walk through the parklands right next to the shores
of Lake Couchiching. An imposing monument to Samuel de Champlain
graces the waterfront parks. Several young children were actually
swimming in the cold lake waters, proving again that Canadians do
indeed have anti-freeze flowing through their veins.
The Ossawippi Express
Our brief waterfront walk was followed by a much-needed stop for
ice-cream in one of the lakefront sales trailers. Close by and right
across from the Island Princess’ dock is another Orillia attraction:
the Ossawippi
Express, a seafood restaurant featuring several fully-restored,
turn-of-the-century railway cars dating back to 1896 with an outdoor
patio overlooking Orillia's Lake Couchiching. We had a sneak peek
at this unique dining concept and all agreed that the Ossawippi
Express would be the perfect restaurant for a special event.
Fine dining in an old railway car
Off we were back in the car, driving back towards Toronto on the
east side of Lake Simcoe. South of the lake we were back in the
hilly moraines and we stopped briefly at a local country store called
Hy-Hope Farms to pick up some gooseberry and rhubarb-strawberry
pies, a sweat treat to remember our country drive…..
Getting ready to buy the pie
Related Articles:
Kayaking on the Ottawa River: How
the River Kicked My Butt
Camping by the Ottawa River: Reflections
on City Life
Camping by the Ottawa River: Mating
in the Wild and Other Diversions
Ontario's Waterfront Trail: Exploring
Pickering and Ajax
A country excursion through the Kawartha
Lakes
A fall driving tour through Belfountain,
Fergus and Elora
Exploring downtown Barrie and making
a German-Trinidadian-Austrian connection
Our beautiful winter getaway at Nicholyn
Farms Bed and Breakfast
Snowtubing at Horseshoe Valley
and an overview of Ontario's winter getaways and activities
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