Collingwood, Thornbury and the Blue Mountains – The Georgian Bay’s Popular Outdoor Retreat
One of the most popular attraction in the Georgian bay is certainly the (once) quaint town of Collinwood, a popular resort destination at the base of the Blue Mountain. This chain of hills overlooking the crystalline waters of the Georgian Bay offers a mix of both winter sports and summer activities. Just down the road you will find the (still) quaint village of Thornbury, home to the delicious Thornbury Cider Company.
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Collingwood
The principle settlement in this part of Ontario, Collingwood is a popular waterfront destination for the Toronto crowd, something that has caused somewhat of a development boom along the old city port. This frontier of civilization has much to offer to its visitors. Once home to the Iroquois, it was settled in the 1840’s by freed black slaved and white colonists. It was named after Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood – Lord Nelson’s second in command at the battle of Trafalgar.
The town began to take off as a major industrial center with the completion of the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron (renamed Northern Railway), transforming the town into a major shipping harbor on lake Huron. Since ships sailing into port often needed repair the Collingwood Shipyards, a dry dock, opened in 1883. The town’s shipbuilding exploits would grow from there with the launch of the Huronic, the first steel-hulled ship in Canada and during World War II the shipyard produced of corvettes for the Royal Canadian Navy. From here many industrial industries settled around the shipbuilding center making Collingwood the largest industrial center in this region of Ontario.
In 1986 the shipyard closed due to increased foreign competition. At its peak the yards employed over 10% of the town, so this was a large blow. The government responded by creating incentives to further develop the Collingwood industrial park as well as making the town a cultural center for this part of Ontario. The tourism industry has continued to flourish but in recent year industrial development has continued to struggle. The city has given rise to many renowned athletes, especially professional hockey player but as a fan of NBC dateline, I was also pleased to find out that it was the home of host Andrea Canning (the bid daddy of true crime Keith Morrison is also Canadian!).
On the main street (Hurontario) you will find a beautiful collection of 20th century buildings, including the fabulous masonry town hall. This part of the city along with the shipyards consists of the Collingwood Heritage Conservation District, a collection of 260 preserved buildings, a rather impressive number for a city its size. On Hurontario you will find a large assortment of restaurants, most of them pretty good (although I do recommend a visit to Thornbury for at least one of your meals, preferably lunch). On the side streets you will find the Black Bellows Brewing Co. and the Collingwood Brewing Company, two perfectly serviceable microbrews but for your moneys worth I recommend Side Launch Brewing on the outskirts of town. They are on my top 10 list of my favorite Ontarian beers and have an amazing hibiscus sour. Other buildings of note include the masonry gothic St. Mary’s Roman Catholic, constructed in 1886 as well as the Tremont Art Studios, housed in an ornate multi level 20th century building.
As for the shipyards, they have become the site of a massive new condo development. Yet before walking down its restored quays, i recommend a visit to the Collingwood Museum across the street, on the landward side. Housed in an old train station, this cultural mainstay charts the maritime history of the city.
Now back to the shipyards. At its northernmost extent, where a giant bulkhead awaits, you will find the iconic Collingwood Terminals grain elevator. The most recognizable structure in Collingwood, it was constructed in 1929 and was used to store grain from the Canadian prairies that was transported to Ontario via the Great Lakes. Hopefully Collingwood city council does the right thing and restores this building to its former glory before it is too late!
From this point you will get a fantastic view of the blue maintains in the distance. This landmass serves as a protective breakwater for what is known as the Collingwood Harbour.
From the shipyards, a pathway extend along the waterfront to the west, where a memorial was created to honor the 1996 crossing of the Georgian Bay by way of swimming by a man named John Scott as well as the small lighthouse he departed from.
Blue Mountain Resort
One of the premier “Disney” style resort towns of the Toronto elite, the blue mountains is the Southern Ontario version of Mont-Tremblant, with a much smaller slop.
The lake Tramblant, the resort is well laid out and seeks to emulate the styles of a european mountain town, but comes off as a cheap north american pastiche of the original, yet I cannot help to feel like it does have some charm to it.
Laid round a pond, the the “village” contains many restaurants and bars, as well as a photo taking sign escribed with the words “BLUE”.
In the winter you can ski down the hill and in the summer you can either take the chairlift up to get a fantastic view of the landscape. The chairlift costs money but you can drive up the hill and park at its peak instead. For those like me that are less lazy and want some exercise, you can take the pathway up the mountain for a wonderful hike. For this hike I recommend a start at the south base lodge, near parking P1, where you will find a trailhead heading up the mountain. This is the Blue mountain Cascade Trail (which you can easily find in the All Trails App). It offers a steep, but very direct, path up the mountain for a total of 3.5 kilometers with a 283 meter elevation gain.
Near the top of the hill you will find a beautiful waterfall, probably what gave this trail the name Cascade.
From the top you will get a fantastic view of the Georgian Bay and the village of Collingwood itself. Do notice the previously mentioned iconic grain elevator in the background for the location of this city.
Thornbury
The beautiful roadway 26 hugs the shore of lake Huron, heading towards the Bruce Penensula. From Collingwood you will take that roadway for twenty kilometers until you reach Thornbury, one of my favorite stopoffs in Ontario. This small town hosts an impressive little collection of Victorian brick homes as well as well regarded culinary mainstays. It also hosts a fantastic little harbor, that is particularly popular in the warmer months.
If you are looking for a place to eat, I strongly recommend either The Dam Pub Gastropub & Whisky Bar, The Mill Cafe or the Thornbury Bakery Cafe. Yet my favourite place its the wonderful Thornbury Cidery.
In fact, this is my favourite cidery in Canada and is worth the long drive up to Grey county for a visit. In fact I have already visited the building half a dozen times and have ordered deliveries to my corner of Ontario. Apart from their amazing blood orange cider (among others) they also serve appetizers from the bakery in town – for a two in one stop! I usually stop in after the long drive down the coast or a hike up to the top of the blue mountains.
Additional Day Trips!
Osler Caslte Loop
Located deep in the blue mountains, you will find a ruined stone cottage once belonging to a Canadian Crown Counselor from Toronto named Britton Bath Osler. A man of wealth and taste, a summer cottage for his was famously a 15 room castle! Now but a shadow if its lavish former self, this ruin haunts the landscape drawing hikers to its proximity. To find out more about this wonderful hike, click here.
Old Baldy
This beautiful mountain escarpment offers fantastic view of the Grey County landscape. To learn more about this fantastic conservation area read my article on the subject here.
Conclusion
Although no longer an undiscovered this corner of Ontario offers a little something to everyone. From the resort Village of the Blue Mountains, to the waterfront towns and the rugged hill terrain, you will surely be entertained.
