Day 2 (October 4, 2025): Orillia, Wasaga Beach, and the 175th Orillia Fall Fair
What to do with two days near Georgian Bay? The choices seemed endless! But we eventually narrowed it down to a plan that included: seeing Orillia, including its well-known fall fair; exploring the famous beach-scene on Georgian Bay; and, beyond the beaches, getting a sense of the coastal Georgian Bay scenery with its thousands of tiny islands. That was the overall framework for the weekend.
After breakfast at the hotel, we set out at 9:30AM to take in downtown Orillia's farmers' market and other sights along Couchiching Lake. Then, it was overland to one of Ontario's most famous beach towns: Wasaga Beach. We ended the day by spending a few hours at Orillia's Fall Fair, where the tractor pull was a new experience for us and a major highlight.
Downtown Orillia
In downtown Orillia, the traffic light poles were nicely decorated in corn stalks.
The former Orillia town hall is now the home of the Orillia Opera House. Nothing is playing there until November, so we weren’t able to take in a show as part of our weekend.
The humble-but-interesting Orillia Farmers’ Market contained more crafts and snacks than farmers’ produce. But it was still enjoyable to walk around.
A colourful dragon in front of the Orillia Public Library. Note the summer garb Pam is wearing: the mercury climbed to 32C today!
Guardian Angels Roman Catholic Church in Orillia was built in 1910 and restored in 1995.
Couchiching Park, Orillia
Orillia is west of Georgian Bay and sits on the shores of Couchiching Lake, which is adjacent to the much larger Lake Simcoe. In the heart of the town you find Couchiching Park, with a nice boardwalk, picnic areas, marina, and a small beach. We enjoyed a 1.5km walk there in the warm Saturday morning sun.
Canada’s most famous humorist, Stephen Leacock, purchased this property in 1908 and named it “Old Brewery Bay”. The house you see above was originally a small cottage, but Leacock expanded it in 1928 to this beautiful home. Here, he fished, sailed, farmed, and entertained family and friends, all the while gleaning inspiration for his famous book, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, published in 1912. Leacock was born in England in 1869 and was educated at Upper Canada College and the universities of Toronto and Chicago. He spent the majority of his career at McGill, where he taught history and political science.
Wasaga Beach
Georgian Bay boasts many stunning sandy beaches. But perhaps none are more stunning than Wasaga Beach, which pulls in over 2 million tourist every year. Its powdery white sounds and shallow Georgian Bay waters make it irresistible to folks from Toronto, all over Ontario, and beyond. It is the longest freshwater beach in the world. In 2007, a devastating fire swept through the town of Wasaga Beach, destroying 21 businesses. The town is now in the midst of a large-scale redevelopment effort as a result.
You’d be hard-pressed to find finer white sand on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
A waterway, known as the Wasaga Beach Passage, lies just inland from the main beach in Wasaga. In the middle of that passage are two small islands, one of which played a major role in the War of 1812.
The Wasaga Beach Passage, with the Nancy Island Museum shown on the right. It tells the story of Nancy Island and role of the schooner, HMS Nancy, in the War of 1812.
The lighthouse on Tower Island, which is the second island in the Wasaga Beach Passage.
This is the HMS Nancy, a schooner commissioned to fight for Britain in the War of 1812. It was sunk by the Americans in August 1814, as it was hiding in the Wasaga Beach Passage.
The charred hull of the Nancy was removed from the bed of the Passage and is now in the Nancy Island Museum.
This 'bateau' was used by the captain and crew of the Nancy to escape the pursuing Americans, after they had sunk the Nancy. The crew rowed this bateau for three weeks until they reached the British fort on the other side of Georgian Bay. From there, with the help of the soldiers at the fort, they were able to take two American ships by surprise in the dead of night. It was one of those two ships that had sunk the Nancy. These ships were on the brink of overcoming the British, and which would have likely seen the Americans win the War. So, although the Nancy's loss was difficult for the British, the event led to a victorious outcome.
We stopped at the Swiss Chalet in Wasaga Beach for a quick lunch, where a robot delivers the meals, playing “Highway to the Danger Zone” when it reaches your table!
The Road Back to Orillia
The 2025 Orillia Fall Fair
Amusement rides, merchandise/food stalls, and exhibitions are all part of the fair.
Even at our ages, we enjoyed the animals in the petting barn — alpacas, ponies, calves, and goats.
For those willing to place a bet, a field was marked into squares, and three cows were released into the field. The person who had purchased the square where the first cow “did its business”, won lots of cash!
Barrel racing.
We had never experienced a "tractor pull" before! We stayed for just the first category -- the 4500-pound tractors. The tractors used in this category were all from 1949-1962. In tractor pulling, farm tractors pull a heavy drag along a track, with the winner being the tractor that pulls the drag the farthest. The guy in the clip below was driving a 1962 Oliver 770 and made it 304’. Apparently, that was pretty impressive!
The crowds for the tractor pull. They really get excited about this sport!
An Edible End of the Day!
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