Barrie is more than the 401

There are communities which sometimes just surprise you. I mean this in a very good way. By surprising I would be referring to how a community does well with what they have to work with.

Barrie is one such community. Barrie is located on Highway 401. It is THE monster highway in Ontario. For this small town boy it was a handful – with 8 lanes wide, the constant exits going to who knows where, the semi trucks hitching a ride on my bumper and the odd idiot who must be on steroids zigging, zagging in & out of traffic – Highway 401 is like a theme park

The community of Barrie is on the 401. On each side of the monster are a whole lot of box stores. The image burns an unfair first impression into the head of travelers.  It is a concrete commercial haven.. if you like that sort of thing.

But when you take some time and get off the beaten track, Barrie has some greenery and lake front. The waterfront region in downtown Barrie was a nice surprise for an outdoor guy like me. There is a waterfront path which provides marine scenery, is within walking distance of downtown, connects with some parks and beaches.

The walking path is a very popular walkway used heavily by the locals. There were joggers, walkers, bikers, roller bladders, bird watchers, boaters and fishing. It seemed to be THE spot to go for activity and people watching. There was not a factory in sight. No cement tower in your face. Just the downtown skyline (Main BLOG Photo)

People walking the waterfront

The waterfront walkway begins just after Minet’s Point and follows the shoreline for many kilometres connecting with Johnsons Beach. It is  good bike ride for many on a daily basis as bikes were in high numbers. Myself, I am a hiking man when researching. So I suited up and walked it waterfront – slowly and leisurely. Even did some people watching as people can do odd things.

In the centre of the waterfront was a marina, a water fountain and a funky statue (I think the statue  was an eagle or it could of been a hawk). It was way too artsy for me to tell. The fountain was just that, a fountain. It acted like a whales blow hole constantly spewing water high up into the air.

Misting Shower at Waterfront Fountain

I stood for what seemed like days under the falling mist. It was a hot day and loved every second of it. The fountain doubled as an open shower for us people who are not so shy. I was not alone in my mist worshiping either. There were others. A dad and his son and a group of girls. I think the people watching tables turned on me from that moment on.

Refreshed, dripping with water,  I continued along the waterfront. As I got further away from the fountain I saw less people and more greenery. The trail was no longer full of sights of boats, people and downtown shops. Nope, the farther away I got the louder my walkman became and  there were  less people around.

The following day I continued exploring. A park here and a trail there, but it was the waterfront which exceeded my expectations.