Now it was time to get serious about seeing some local sights. We got to Ontario without any issues, we had an entire down day, and next we needed something fun. Everyone in the family has a different version of fun but I had an idea. But before we started all that I still wanted to take my early morning walk around town while the rest of the family slept.
Port of Collingwood
So I slipped out as the sun rose and I continued my ongoing exploration of Collingwood, focusing this time on its port. Historically this was a busy place. Agricultural and industrial commodities moved through there continuously, serviced by piers, warehouses and rail yards. It also offered an important shipbuilding site with key access to the Great Lakes.
Little of that remains today, having been replaced by waterfront residential development, wonderfully landscaped parks and marinas for privately-owned pleasure craft. That makes for better scenery and walking, and the town seems to be doing fine financially as a tourist destination, so I I take all the tradeoffs as a plus.
Collingwood Grain Terminals
However, there’s one vestige of the town’s workmanlike past that continues to remain as an historical reminder, the massive Collingwood grain terminals (map). It’s almost impossible to take a photo anywhere in the area without finding the enormous grain terminals looming in the background. That annoyed me initially but eventually their watchful presence grew on me and felt comforting.
Freighters arrived from around the Great Lakes and unloaded grain into the terminals from 1929 until the 1980’s. From there, trains handled overland transport. The silos held a couple million bushels at full capacity. Now they sit empty and hiking trails have replaced the railroads.
Supposedly there are discussions underway to convert the complex into a hotel. That would be interesting but I hope they manage to retain the historic charm.
Nottawasaga Lighthouse
Less visible and further along the horizon loomed the Nottawasaga Lighthouse. The Grain Terminals sat towards the end of a man-made peninsula, with the very tip occupied by Millennium Overlook Park. And from there I got a decent glimpse of the lighthouse on distant Nottawasaga Island (map). I needed a steady hand and a decent zoom to get this particular shot.
The lighthouse marks the approach to the Port of Collingwood. Unfortunately, freighters don’t come here anymore and regardless there are global positioning systems available today. So the lighthouse became a decoration once the Canadian Coast Guard shut it down in 2003 after about 150 years of continuous service. Fortunately preservation efforts are underway.
Blue Mountain Village
I returned to the house a little later and we began the intended activity for the day. This involved a short drive to Blue Mountain Village (map). Normally it’s a ski resort on the northern slope of the Niagara Escarpment but any hint of snow was long gone by June. So Blue Mountain Village followed the model of a lot of other ski resorts during the off-season and offered a bunch of summertime activities. We’ve done this before in other places (Park City, Utah and Angel Fire, New Mexico come to mind) and I knew the family would enjoy it.
We spent most of the day there.
Open-Air Gondola
Without skiers the chairlifts don’t have much of a purpose so they stuck open-air gondolas on one of them. Once atop the hill, people could hike down, or ride mountain bikes down, or just enjoy the scenery and take a return gondola when ready.
Nobody is going to mistake this for the Rockies or even the Appalachians, but it’s pretty impressive for the Great Lakes. So I chose to appreciate it from that context.
Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster
We rode the gondola back down because we wanted more time for the rest of the activities. The mountain coaster looked like a good place to start. I took my phone out for a second and snapped this photo as the machinery pulled me uphill, slowly. Then I noticed the “no photos” sign and I put the camera away. I guess they don’t want people losing their phones, which makes perfect sense although I wasn’t planning to use it on the downhill part anyway. It was a pretty fun little ride back down and someone would totally lose a phone on the hairpin twists and turns, by the way.
Net Adventure Canopy Climb
We also tried some activities that required a bit more fitness. All of the passageways in the canopy climb were enclosed in pliable rope mesh that bounced like a trampoline. So that’s what we did as we moved from room to room, hopping around comically.
Timber Challenge High Ropes
We reserved the most physically challenging activity for last, a ropes course through the treetops. We were always harnessed to wires so it was impossible to fall and it was perfectly safe, but sometimes it felt a little daunting. Nonetheless we made it through just fine.
We started at the beginner level. People had to demonstrate basic skills and fitness if they wanted to try any of the more complex courses. However we were completely wiped-out after the first one so we didn’t even bother. Beginner was plenty enough for me!
We did some other things like the paddle boats and such but that’s probably not worth writing about.
More Breweries
Alright, first the disclaimer, and then onward to the main event:
Brewery #3: Northwinds Brew Pub
There was a brewery at Blue Mountain Village! And of course we had lunch there, sitting on the back patio overlooking the paddle boats. I did my research ahead of time — I knew it was there. But I do love the notion of a brew pub hidden deep within a ski resort.
Brewery #4: Black Bellows Brewing
That evening, once we returned home, we went to another brewery for dinner. I mean, you have to eat somewhere, right? So why not at another brewpub? Black Bellows Brewing was right in Collingwood and a quick walk away from our temporary home.
Articles in the Ontario Series
- Choices
- Downtime
- Lake and Mountain
- Penetanguishene and Beyond
- Lake and Caves
- Owen Sound
- Toronto Orientation
- Toronto Tourist
- Bonus Days
See Also: The Complete Photo Album on Flickr.
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