Lake Simcoe or Lake Couchiching? It's not easy to choose! Orillia's stunning waterfront the perfect place to call home

Orillia, located on the shores of both Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching, is a great little city with all the charm you would expect to find in a community where ordinary citizens are only too happy to pitch in to keep miles and miles of parks and trails beautiful.  

Home of the Stephen Leacock Museum, a National Historic Site, Orillia is known for its quaint heritage-themed downtown and its lively waterfront. Even in these tough times, the city is enjoying a construction boom as developers try to keep up with rapid growth that is expected to see the local population of 31,129 increase by one-third over the next 20 years.  

Creating the most buzz, however, is construction on Phase 1 of Lakehead University’s $40-million project that will see the Thunder Bay-based institution dramatically expand its presence in Orillia with a brand new facility — including a student residence — in the city’s growing west end. When completed, the campus will employ about 800 and give more young people the opportunity for a university education without leaving Orillia. Georgian College also has a campus here.  

Growing by leaps and bounds

The west end is also the site of a major new subdivision, for which draft plan approval has been given for more than 2,000 dwellings — single-family homes, semis and townhouses — over the next few years. In September 2010, Orillia opened a new sportsplex in the west end  — complete with twin ice pads, soccer pitches and tennis courts — a new child-care centre has recently opened its doors in the neighbourhood and eight new commercial buildings are about to join a new WalMart SuperCentre servicing that part of Orillia.

Elsewhere, the focus is on the waterfront, with construction already under way on townhomes, apartment condos and rental highrises on both Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching. Among the new planned residential developments on the downtown waterfront are a retirement lodge and affordable housing.  

Barrie-Orillia is No. 3 on the list of Ontario’s “Top Investment Towns” compiled by the Real Estate Investment Network, behind only Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge and Hamilton. And according to the Ontario government, Orillia will join Barrie as the growth leaders in the Simcoe County area, where population and employment targets are dictated by the province’s 2006 Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.  

Height restrictions aim to preserve those stunning water views

The population of the Greater Simcoe County Area has nearly doubled since 1981, growing from about 240,000 to almost 440,000 in 2006. By 2031, the province estimates that figure will climb to 667,000. According to the growth report, Orillia’s population will mushroom to 41,000 by 2031.  

According to the province’s intensification targets, 40 per cent of all new residential units must be accommodated within the built-up area after 2015, with limits on scattered rural development.  

While Orillia is not opposed to development along the waterfront — recognized as the city’s chief asset — the new Official Plan puts restrictions on density by limiting the height of new buildings to eight storeys from the 12 storeys originally proposed. Council also voted to designate a 1.5-acre parcel of land it owns on Tecumseth Street near Lake Couchiching as future parkland, rather than as part of the downtown intensification zone. A developer with plans to build a $55-million hotel and convention centre overlooking the lake has said the project isn’t feasible without the city land, which is currently being used as a parking lot for boat trailers.  

The city, which takes great pride in its wealth of public spaces that take advantage “of the natural and tranquil splendor of the lakes,” is currently reviewing its main waterfront parks — Centennial and Couchiching Beach — in order to come up with a design plan for the area that will address everything from parking to boat launches to development of the former rail lands.  

Port of Orillia city's most popular spot all summer long

Council would love to see a developer move on five-year-old plans to redevelop a 9.3-hectare property near the shore of Lake Couchiching steps from the downtown. Currently a swath of undeveloped grass, the brownfield property was once the site of a factory that manufactured baby carriages.  

Every summer, thousands of boaters dock at the historic Port of Orillia, labelled the “Jewel of the Trent.” Located on the west shore of Lake Couchiching in Centennial Park, the facility is a leading port-of-call on the Trent-Severn Waterway System, a 385-kilometre recreational waterway linking Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay. From the docks, it’s just a short walk to shopping and dining in downtown Orillia.  

But a warning: there’s so much going on at the waterfront that it might take you a while to get downtown!  

The summer festivals calendar begins in Centennial Park in June with the Spring Boat, Cottage & Outdoor Show, where you can come out and buy a used boat and check out the latest must-haves for the cottage. If you hear music, that’s the Orillia Spring Blues Festival going on downtown in the streets and at various pubs and restaurants. June is also when one day is set aside for Christmas — all boaters with a slip must decorate their boat in a Christmas theme and show them off to a waiting public.  

The theme for the August Orillia Waterfront Festival is boats again — there’s space in the water for 250 new, used and select brokerage models to gawk at. There’s also boat paraphernalia for sale, live entertainment, a beer garden and water ski shows.  

Take a cruise of two waterways for the scenery and a slice of history

The Port of Orillia boasts 206 fully serviced transient slips — with room for yachts up to 80 feet — a launch ramp, fishing pier, barbecue and free wireless Internet. There’s also a free shuttle that will take you to nearby Casino Rama.  

You can also climb aboard the Island Princess here for sighteesing tours of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe — you can book everything from a one-hour cruise to a 2.5-hour steak barbecue and dance tour in the evening. If you’ve got time, don’t miss the Twin Lakes Cruise — a 135-minute tour on Lake Couchiching that combines a passage to Lake Simcoe through the Atherley Narrows, where you’ll pass by the Mnjikaning fish weirs, a National Historic Site that dates back at least 5,000 years.  

The aboriginal Mnjikaning fishermen drove wooden stakes called weirs into the channel and weaved brush and vegetation among them to create an underwater “fence” that would guide nearby fish into areas for immediate harvesting or for later use. Preserved by layers of protective silt, the wooden weirs at Atherley are among the few known in Canada, and were in use until about 100 years ago.  

From Centennial Park, walk over to the adjoining Couchiching Beach Park, where you’ll find a great swimming beach, concession, picnic tables and washroom facilities. There’s also a children’s play area, nice flower gardens and a greenhouse. This park is also home to the Rotary Aqua Theatre, an outdoor entertainment centre with stage and hillside bench seating. And that giant 36-foot high bronze Champlain monument? That was erected in 1925 to honour the French explorer who came ashore at Orillia in 1615.  

Lake Simcoe shore has its share of beautiful parks, too

On the other side of Centennial, Veterans’ Memorial Park features more flower gardens and a nice pergola. If you’re feeling wild and crazy, you can try out the parks skateboard facility.  

You’ll find the J.B. Tudhope Memorial Park nestled between Atherley Road and Highway 12 — with the north and south bordered by Lake Couchiching. You’ll find the rowing clubhouse here, along with more flower gardens, walking path, and the Barnfield Point Recreation Centre, with its six-sheet curling surface, rock climbing wall and Bayside restaurant.  

Next door is the popular Moose Beach Park, a great spot for swimming and beach volleyball. And yes, more flower gardens, picnic tables and walking path.  
For a change of scenery, check out Lake Simcoe from Kitchener Park, which extends south to the north shore of the lake. The mandatory flower gardens are here, along with picnic tables, washroom facilities, concession stand and fantastic views. The park also features lighted ball diamonds, soccer pitches and tennis courts, along with horseshoe pits. In the winter, there’s an outdoor rink.  

Maple Leaf Park, located on the east shore of Shannon Bay, offers more stunning Lake Simcoe vistas. This park boasts a swimming beach, picnic tables and playground equipment.  

Have lunch with a view after a visit to Leacock Museum

You can enjoy lunch, views and history at the Leacock Museum, a National Historic Site at Old Brewery Bay, where Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching join. This was the summer home of famed Canadian humourist Stephen Leacock. The sprawling 9.5-acre property is the site each July of the Leacock Summer Festival, billed as Ontario’s largest literary event. 

Tour the house, check out the gift shop and stroll the beautiful grounds, then relax at the Shoreline Café, which boasts Orillia’s only waterfront terrace.  

Orillia is keen on history and strives to preserve its heritage buildings. You’ll find the Orillia Museum of Art and History, located downtown not far from the waterfront, in the old Sir Sam Steele Memorial Building. Built in 1894, this red brick and limestone clock tower building was a federal customs house and post office until it was purchased by the City of Orillia in 1956, serving for years as a police station, courthouse, jail and office space. In 2004, the building underwent a $1.1-million restoration, with the museum taking up residence. Along with artifacts from Orillia’s past, the museum serves up local and national art exhibitions, including works by the Group of Seven.  

Another building not to be missed is the Orillia Opera House, built in 1895 for $25,000, and rebuilt after a fire in 1915. Theatre, concerts and other events are held here year-round. The main 700-seat auditorium is named after Gordon Lightfoot, Orillia’s most famous son.  

Lightfoot Trail System makes it easy to get to know this great city

Orillia’s 9.5-kilometre recreational trail system is also named after the singer. What began as a millennium project is now the Lightfoot Trail System, a 12-foot wide paved path that stretches from one end of the city to the other. It’s a shared-use path where you can walk, bike or roller skate. The route hooks up with the Trans Canada Trail.  

On the real estate front, recently listed waterfront property in Orillia included a 20-year-old two-bedroom, two-bath apartment condo with 1,335 square feet of space for $289,900 — complete with views over Lake Simcoe and a shared inground pool and dock. For $329,900, you could get an older three-bedroom, one-bath bungalow cottage on the shores of Smith’s Bay on Lake Simcoe, or newer three-bedroom, two-bath apartment condo on Lake Couchiching next to a downtown waterfront park.

At the upper end of the budget, a five-bedroom brick executive home on Lake Simcoe was priced at $1,249,000 — complete with 70-foot dock for fabulous water views.