Wasaga Beach is a town in Central Ontario on the shores of southern Georgian Bay. It is a popular summer tourist destination, featuring the world's longest freshwater beach.
Understand
Visitor Information Centre, 550 River Road West, +1 705 429-2247 or +1-866-292-7242 (toll-free), [1].
Get in
By car
Wasaga Beach is located about 90 minutes north of Toronto. Usually accessed by taking Hwy 400 North and exiting at Hwy 26 in Barrie. Take a right at Sunnidale Corners. The next main road is Mosley St. take a right or left and it will take you parallel to Nottawasaga Bay. Right goes to the "main end".
By bus
Greyhound [2] offers daily bus service to Wasaga Beach from Toronto.
Get around
By taxi
- Teddy Bears Taxi, +1 705 444-4444
- Wasaga Taxi, +1 705 429-5611
See
The 18-km white sand beach is the place to be. Depending on when you go there may be a lot of people there. One excellent thing to do is to go on the beach at night when everything is closed - very relaxing. Watch the sun set over the bay.
Do
Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, 11-22nd Street North, [3]. The main beaches are part of the park. Walk the boardwalk or the beach or hike along the trails. Have a family picnic. Make sand castles. The beach is great for swimming. You can walk out a long way and the water remains warm and shallow. The beaches are numbered 1 to 6 from east to west. Beaches 1 & 2 are the liveliest and most beach events take place there. The other beaches are quieter and some offer better amenities for families (beaches 3-5 have family picnic areas and beaches 4 & 5 have playgrounds). Each beach has washrooms and changing facilities. In the winter, there is cross-country skiing and snowshoeing on the park's trails.
The Nancy Museum, off Mosley Street, +1 705 429-2728, houses the preserved hull of the British schooner HMS Nancy, which was sunk by a lucky shot by the Americans from the bay to the river during the War of 1812. Open late May - early October.
There is an arcade open during the summer months.
Buy
There are several shops open along the beach selling souvenirs, including t-shirts.
Eat
Chain restaurants include McDonalds, Burger King, Tim Horton's and Subway. There's a good Mexican food stand just a block back from the beach and lots of places to eat around the beach.
- Georgian Circle Family Steak & Seafood Restaurant, 1441 Mosley Street, ☏ +1 705-429-2773.
- Mr. Norm's Nephew, 1004 Mosley Street, ☏ +1 705-429-4876. Frozen yoghurt and ice cream
- Tim Hortons, 1271 Mosley Street (north of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park), ☏ +1 705-429-8110.
- Wasaga Dairy, 1056 Mosley Street, ☏ +1 705-429-8238. Ice cream, waffles, frozen yoghurt (Seasonal)
Drink
The Dard, 13 First Street (at Beachfront), +1 705 429-2211.
Sleep
There are many cottages, motels and campgrounds to stay at. For the teenage/early twenty year olds, there's Sunshine Camp located about 2 miles from the beach. It is an easy walk or even easier bike ride.
Go next
To the west, the town of Collingwood is located at the foot of Ontario's highest ski hill and offers lots of outdoor recreational possibilities, including hiking and golf. It also hosts an annual summer Elvis Festival.
The town of Midland is a 30-minute drive north. Midland features Martyr's Shrine, the only national shrine outside of Quebec, and Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, a recreated 17th century French Jesuit mission headquarters.
The quaint town of Creemore, home of the Creemore Springs Brewery, is a 20-minute drive southwest via County Road 9 and Airport Road. Brewery tours are available.