Collingwood 2022: Winter and Summer Visits

Rich and I have visited the towns of Meaford and Thornbury on the shores of Georgian Bay several times in the past.  Yet, until 2022, we never really explored the town of Collingwood, even though it is a mere 33 minutes away from Meaford and only 23 minutes from Thornbury.  Not being skiers, there was never any reason to be around the Blue Mountain area.  While we have ridden our bikes the 26km round trip between Meaford and Thornbury, the 70km to get to Collingwood and back was farther than we wanted to cycle.

In February of 2022, we were invited by our friends Larry and Anita to join them for an extended weekend at their beautiful custom-built log cabin ski chalet on the Osler properties in Blue Mountain.  It was the perfect rustic winter wonderland getaway location.  We spent evenings here enjoying good food and good conversation with our friends, as well as playing ping pong, air hockey, cards and board games.  One evening, Larry serenaded us with his fine fiddling skills.  During the day, our friends could go skiing at their Osler ski club while we explored Collingwood one morning, and watched Larry take part in a ski race the second morning.  In the afternoons, we would get together to go snowshoeing or hiking.

Rich and I first bought snowshoes in the summer of 2021, in preparation for some outdoor fun that coming winter.  We originally tried to purchase them for the winter of 2020/2021, to help us get outdoors during the COVID lockdowns.  But like most other outdoor sports equipment, there was no stock.  After the first big snowfall of 2022, we set out with great ambitions about how far we would trek along the Kay Gardiner Trail, just north of our Toronto condo.  Very quickly, we tamped down our expectations when after the trudge through deep, heavy snow from Yonge Street to Mount Pleasant Road (a mere 1km!) exhausted us and introduced us to muscles on our legs that we were quite unfamiliar with!  I actually asked others on the trail whether this was hard work, or we were just out of shape.  I felt a bit vindicated when every one of them confirmed that this was indeed hard work!

After a few more trips out, we started building up our stamina, so by the time we went on a snowshoe hike with Anita and Larry, we were ready!  There were cross-country skiing and snowshoe trails that were a short distance from our friends’ chalet, so we were able to strap on our snowshoes and walk from there.  Based on our past attempts at snowshoeing, Rich and I found that if we each used one of my adjustable walking poles, it would not only help propel us forward as we walked in the snow, but we could also use it to judge the depth of snowbanks ahead of us. For the most part, we didn’t really need this as long as we stayed on the trodden parts of the paths.  Just prior to the end of our excursion, Rich decided that he wanted to walk on deeper snow.  I guess he did not test the depth with his pole, since next thing we knew, we heard a yell and turned around to see him sunken waist-deep into the snow with his arms flailing about.  We were laughing too hard to get a photo as he struggled to get out again.  The idea that snowshoes will allow you to walk on top of deep snow is obviously a fallacy!

The next afternoon, we were driven to the Castle Glen Trail, a part public/part private trail that led to the ruins of a castle!  Luckily the private part belonged to the Osler ski club of which our friends were members, so we were not trespassing.  There was some debate as to whether we should try to snowshoe again or merely hike.  It was decided that the trail was a bit too steep and difficult to navigate with snowshoes, so hiking was the wiser choice.  In fact, to help the newbies, Larry lent us their clamp-on cleats for better traction.  We were grateful for the “Cramp-ons” as we started to climb up some slopes and were even happier that we did not snowshoe when we arrived at a small stream that we needed to leap across.

The Castle Glen Trail is named after Osler Castle, a 15-room “summer house”, made of stone that featured large windows, tall chimneys and an arched entry way.  It was built in 1894 by lawyer Britton Osler as a place where his wheelchair-bound wife Caroline could come and convalesce in the warmer months.  Unfortunately, she died shortly after the castle was completed and never got to spend her summers here.  Following Britton’s death a few years later, the castle fell into disrepair.  I seem to recall that Sir Henry Pellatt's wife also died shortly after he built Casa Loma, so I never want Rich to build me a castle!  Continuing on from the ruins, we saw some gorgeous winter scenes including snow-capped tree stumps that looked like mushrooms, striped patterns formed by shadows stretched across pristine snow, and the amazing vistas of the Georgian Bay area that we saw at the apex of our climb.

Before entering the forested part of the trail, we walked across a huge, flat, open field covered with snow.  On the way back to the car, while crossing this open field again the wind picked up and swirled around us.  Looking out over the white terrain with the blistering wind, dressed in my hooded parka while propelling myself forward with my hiking pole, I felt like I was Peter Finch in the final scene of the 1973 musical Lost Horizon, trying to get back to Shangri-La.  I actually hummed the Lost Horizon theme song to encourage myself forward, as we trudged across this vast open field.

On the morning that Rich and I visited Collingwood, there was a snow blizzard with bone-chilling temperatures, blistering winds and swirling snow.  We began our visit by driving up Heritage Drive on a long spit to reach Millennium Overlook Park.  Once there, we walked gingerly across the icy parking lot and the shoreline of the park to take a look at the broken ice sheets bobbing in the rough waves of Georgian Bay.  Despite our fears of slipping on the ice or being blown into the waters, we were still appreciative of the rugged beauty of this area in winter.

From where we stood, we could see the towering concrete structure of the Collingwood Terminals grain elevator, built in the 1920s for shipping operations in the harbour and in use until 1993.  It now stands empty, looking stark and barren but with a bold, majestic, Brutalist-styled architecture that appealed to me.  The site is now owned by the town and there have been talks and studies conducted about turning this into some sort of usable space.

Returning to the main drag of Hurontario St., we found the area to be quite deserted.  I guess all the locals had the good sense to stay home.  But even in these adverse conditions, we could see the potential of the shops, eateries, mural and street art, and the historic buildings that housed the town hall and other government services.  We agreed that this was a town that we needed to return to in nicer weather.  I found it interesting that like Toronto and many other cities and towns, Collingwood had a sign with its name on it.  But rather than the entire name, they settled for “CWOOD” which is either a hip nickname for the town, or a cost-saving measure.  In desperate search for shelter, we wandered into a clothing store specializing in hand-knit garments and Rich (of all people!) chatted up the shop owner, pretending to show interest in some bulky sweaters selling for over $400 while we warmed up.

Moving on from the sweater store, we looked for somewhere to have a hot drink and a snack.  We first tried the Mad Dogs Coffee & Vinyl Café which is a very cool, retro shop that sells old LPs, t-shirts, bags and other souvenirs.  Unfortunately, because of COVID restrictions, the main café was closed and there really wasn’t anywhere comfortable to sit. Continuing on, we found the perfect location in the Espresso Post where we chose from a wide selection of pastries, scones and specialty coffees.

We got the chance to return to Collingwood a few months later at the end of July.  My niece had just purchased a vacation property in Blue Mountain and kindly allowed us to stay there for a few days.  The timing worked out such that we completed a 2-day cycling/theatre vacation in Stratford, Ontario and then drove directly to Collingwood early the next morning.  We planned on a half day bike ride to explore the areas a bit further afield from the main drag, as well as scout out some of the longer bicycle trails that started or passed through the town.  We would not have time to ride the trails since we would be meeting our friends Yim and Murray in the afternoon and would spend the rest of the weekend with them exploring Collingwood, Thornbury and Meaford.  It was about a 10-minute car ride from our accommodations to downtown Collingwood.  After dropping off our bags, we drove with our bikes and parked at the Collingwood Arboretum.

The Collingwood Arboretum is a lovely green space with trees, shrubs and flowers and paths for walking and cycling that connect to the Georgian Trail, a 34km bike trail connecting Collingwood to Meaford.  At the entrance of the arboretum is a huge steam boiler belonging to the Smart Brothers Ltd., a farming operation formed in the late 1800s which included orchards, greenhouses, vegetable crops and a cannery.  An interpretive plaque sits in front of the boiler, describing the contributions of the Smart Brothers to the area.  I am always disappointed when arboretums don’t have more varied and interesting trees and this one was of no exception.  But what it does have is a large circular “labyrinth” made of bricks that comes with a description.  The labyrinth should “calm and restore a sense of balance to the body, mind and spirit.”  This apparently should be a personal experience and there is no “correct” way to traverse the labyrinth.  I chose to ride my bicycle slowing around the rings until I became dizzy, but it was fun.

Following the Georgian Trail east along the shoreline, we passed by several signs indicating the presence of snapping turtles in the area.  We did not encounter any live turtles (snapping or otherwise) but did spot a turtle sculpture just off the path, as well as a big congregation of ducks, Canada geese and a swan all milling around a sandy area.  Across the bay, we caught sight of the grain elevator that we saw in the winter and would visit again later during this ride.  In a townhouse-condominium community known as “The Shipyards”, we admired the series of beautiful 3-storey red brick waterfront properties on Wheelhouse Crescent, each with great views of the water.  Just for fun, I googled to see how much one of these homes went for.  I found a listing for a “Seasonal furnished executive rental” that was asking $25,000 per month!!

We road our bicycles up the long pier to get to Millennium Overlook Park and saw many more points of interest than we did when we drove this stretch in the winter.  At the Collingwood Paddling Club, there was a long, ornate planter in the shape of a dragon boat, filled with a variety of colourful flowers.  Further along, we saw a memorial plaque depicting the 1949 launching of the Hochelaga, a bulk carrier built in the Collingwood Shipyards.  There were also multiple examples ship parts that were built in the Shipyards including a steam engine and a steam winch.  We saw a buoy laying on its side and I marveled at how large they actually were, compared to what they look like out in the distance in the water.

This entire area looked so much more scenic and vibrant than when we visited in the winter.  There were boats tied up along the pier and food trucks situated on the grass area next to the Collingwood Terminals with people sitting at picnic tables enjoying the sunshine.  Next to the food trucks, which sold Indian food, fries, poutine and burgers was a cute little “food cart” labeled “Lisa Marie’s Hawaiian Shaved Ice”.  Unfortunately, this little cart was not open since a flavoured shaved ice sno-cone would have really hit the spot on a hot day.  The shaved ice treats come in fruit flavours such as blue raspberry, wild cherry, watermelon and mango, as well as pina colada, cotton candy and root beer. Across the pier, we could see the luxury townhouse condos on the other side of the water.

Continuing east along the shoreline, we arrived at Sunset Point Park and Beach, a beautiful waterfront location with vast green space that includes a playground, volleyball courts, access to walking and biking trails, and a rocky beachfront with a few accessible swimming areas and a rocky pier with a large Inukshuk at the end of it.  We would return to this beach later in the evening with our friends to see if the sunset lived up to the location's name.

As we started to head back west towards our car, we spotted a sign for the “Collingwood Station Museum”, situated in a beautiful old railway depot built in 1873 by the Grand Trunk Railway, which was later bought by Canadian National Railway.  The station was in use until 1955 and in 1965, the town purchased the building to house a museum whose collection includes artifacts depicting Collingwood’s history and early industry including shipbuilding.  We did not have time to go into the museum, so we just admired its pretty architectural design of the building. Surrounding the museum is Veteran’s Circle with many plaques and other memorials to war veterans from various wars.  A bronze sculpture titled “The Last Post”, depicting a soldier blowing a bugle, was erected in 1923 to honour fallen soldiers from WWI.  Plaques were added later to include WWII and the Korean War.  Next to the cenotaph are two lovely metal benches whose backs consist of cut-outs of soldiers on patrol as well as red poppies.  I found a website for a company who makes such benches, and it says that they are “made for Veterans by Veterans”.

When we arrived back to our starting point at the Arboretum, we were notified by our friends via text that they were still over 30 minutes away.  Since we had some more time, we decided to check out a bit of the Georgian Trail heading towards Thornbury.  We had ridden the Georgian Trail from Meaford to Thornbury in the past, but never road the section between Thornbury and Collingwood.  With only about 20 minutes to spare, we got as far as the Georgian Trail Observation Deck, just over half a kilometer away.  The last stretch consisted of a long wooden-planked boardwalk with some interesting wooden benches that looked like puckered lips when you looked at them head-on.  The circular observation deck stretched out into Georgian Bay and from there, we spotted several herons in the marshy sections near the shore.

Returning to our accommodations to pick up our friends, we dropped off our bikes and headed out again to downtown Collingwood.  Having scouted out the locations of interest on our bike ride, we drove around and showed them the Arboretum, Millennium Park and the Station Museum.  Then we walked up and down the main drag and once again, I took note of how much livelier and fun the streets were in the summer, compared to our blizzard trek in February.  There were colourfully painted Muskoka chairs scattered around, and pianos for pedestrians to show off their skills.  We spotted beautiful architecture on top of buildings that we totally missed on our first visit and wandered into more stores.  We had fun in one shop, playing with the giant, fluffy hand puppets and reading the pithy sayings on the tea towels, such as “There’s no crying in Pickleball”.  We found the metal sculpture called “The Last Shift” which is dedicated to the “men and women of Collingwood who contributed their skills during a lifetime of work building ships at The Yard (1883-1986)”.

That evening, we had dinner at the Peruvian restaurant Al Carbón, featuring bespoke cocktails and dishes cooked over a traditional Argentine “gaucho-styled” wood fire grill.  I don’t usually have a cocktail but there were choices that sounded sweet and fruity, which is just up my alley.  I ordered a Strawberry Basil Caipirinha (rum, syrup, lime juice, strawberries, basil, passionfruit and soda) while Rich had a Paloma (tequila, syrup, lime juice, grapefruit, and soda) and Yim picked the Chilcana (Pisco brandy, lime juice, ginger ale, bitters and mint).  For our meal, we ordered and ate “family style” so that we could try a whole bunch of dishes.  We ordered yuca cassava root fries with black truffle cheese and a sauce, various empanadas with different meat fillings, red snapper ceviche, dry rub baby back ribs with house salad, and chicken pieces marinated in exotic sauces.  For dessert, Rich and I shared a dessert empanada with chocolate/hazelnut filling, dolce de leche topped with fresh berries and icing sugar, while Murray went for the Espresso dessert martini.  We dine out so often both in Toronto and during our travels, so we are always looking for unique dining experiences. This one definitely fit the bill.

After dinner, we drove out to Sunset Beach to watch the sun go down, and the bright red glow in the horizon was everything that we had hoped for.  The aptly named beach lived up to the expectations instilled by its moniker.  The only people with a better view than us may have been the party boat that sailed by.  But with the winds picking up, it was too cold for us to stand there for too long, so we called it a night with this perfect ending to our day.

Having now experienced Collingwood in both the winter and the summer, we definitely recommend this town as somewhere to spend some time at--and we don't even ski!  With the proximity to Blue Mountain, those who do would love it even more.  But hopefully the skiers would take some time to visit Collingwood itself, rather than just stay on the ski hills.