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Top 31 Places to Visit in

Parry Sound | Ontario

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The page was created with the support of  groups – Parry Sound and Beyond | Parry Sound District Business | Photo by Divya Thakur – Parry Sound, Wikimedia Commons

Parry Sound | Ontario Classified

Find local news, events, services, etc., that would interest you or someone you know.

‘Trestle of Parry Sound’ by Tom Thomson

You can compare the view of the unique Parry Sound trestle with a painting by legendary artist Tom Thomson on his visit in 1914.

 

Visit the first Artist’s Station located under the shelter of the Seguin River Parkette gazebo, on McIsaac Way, near Chippewa III ship.

 

In mid-July, travelling back to Algonquin Park, Thomson paddled into the mouth of the Seguin River, stopping to stay in the South Channel for a few days. Thomson painted two images during his stay here –

  • Trestle at Parry Sound
  • Parry Sound Harbour
Read more about Tom Thomson | People of Small Towns

 

The trestle bridge crosses the Seguin River, just upstream of the river’s mouth on Georgian Bay. Completed in 1907 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, the trestle is 517 m long and 32 m high. The first scheduled train passed over the span in 1908. It is the longest rail trestle east of the Rocky Mountains.

Today the trestle provides westbound rail traffic for both the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Canadian National Railway while all eastbound traffic uses Canadian National trackage.

The trestle bridge can be seen from almost everywhere downtown, and when you travel to the waterfront you will pass directly beneath it.

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4 (2 votes)

‘Parry Sound Harbour’ by Tom Thomson

You can compare also the view of Parry Sound Harbour with a painting by Tom Thomson on the same visit in 1914.

 

 

The second Artist’s Station is located along the waterfront trail, just past the entrance to the rugged trail.

These stations, unique to Parry Sound were designed by FAD Architects and fabricated by Kropf Industrial.

 

Read more about Tom Thomson | People of Small Towns
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Tower Hill Lookout

Parry Sound’s 30m high lookout Tower provides stunning 360-degree spectacular views of the harbour Georgian Bay. Delight in the views of floatplanes and barges, and the famous Canadian Pacific Railway trestle bridge below you.

 

The tower is situated at 17 George St where you will find the Tower Hill Garden.

 

Recommended by BETTY CASCANETTE

The Tower Hill Garden was constructed in the 1920s, the gardens aren’t just gorgeous, they’re also a historical spot that generations of people have visited and been amazed by. You can still travel down the original flagstone paths. Take in the ponds, the beautiful flowers and greenery, and don’t forget to see the sundial.

 

Recommended by MARK ALLAN

You have to visit the Museum on Tower Hill too. The Museum will connect you to Parry Sound’s past, including shipwrecks, the logging trade, the early days of northern life.

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Home Town of Hockey Legend Bobby Orr

Recommended by KEN TEXMO

Robert Gordon “Bobby” Orr is one of the greatest hockey players of all time. Orr used his ice skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the position of defenseman.

 

 

Bobby Orr was born in Parry Sound in 1948. He began skating at the age of four when he acquired his first pair of skates from a family friend. The Seguin River became Bobby’s rink of choice.

While Bobby was in kindergarten, he began playing in the Parry Sound Minor Squirt Hockey League.

By the age of 9, he had won the MVP in the Pee-Wee Division.

 

“My childhood house in Parry Sound, Ontario, was so cold in the winter you had to flick bits of ice off the light switches in the morning before turning them on.”

Read Bobby Orr’s childhood memories.

See the small house of legendary Canadian just five minutes drive from the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame, at 24 Great North Rd, Parry Sound, ON P2A 2N7

 

Visit Booby Orr Hall of Fame to learn more about Bobby Orr. He visits Parry Sound regularly, for at least once a year to induct new hockey players to the Hall of Fame. The Bobby Orr Hall of Fame Induction has become one of the community’s most treasured events.

 

Read more about Bobby Orr | People of Small Towns
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Rotary & Algonquin Regiment Waterfront Trail

Recommended by BETTY CASCANETTE

Enjoy the fantastic views of Parry Sound Harbour from the waterfront trail near the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame and Charles W. Stockey Centre.

For an up-close-and-personal shoreline experience, walk the 6.5 km waterfront trail hugging the shores of Georgian Bay. The trail is started on Bay Street across the street from the Town Dock.

At the end of the waterfront, the trail is the rugged hiking trail where you can hike on granite shield and rock beaches amongst the windswept pines.

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4.25 (4 votes)

Francis Pegahmagabow Statue

The statue, commemorating a local First Nations soldier, the most highly decorated First Nations soldier for bravery in Canadian military history and the most effective sniper of World War I.

A bronze likeness of Company Sergeant-Major (CSM) Francis Pegahmagabow was unveiled in 2016, just a short drive from Sgt Pegahmagabow’s birthplace at Wasauksing First Nation.

The monument was created by Tyler Fauvelle, a sculptor based in Sudbury, Ontario. The statue, which stands approximately three metres tall, depicts CSM Pegahmagabow in his wartime uniform with an eagle above and a caribou at his side.

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The Natural Jewel of 30,000 Islands

Recommended by BETTY CASCANETTE

The eastern coast of Georgian Bay where Parry Sound is located is known as the “30,000 Islands”. It is considered the world’s largest freshwater archipelago. UNESCO designated the area in 2004 as the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve.

Our 30,000 Island archipelago is known for its wilderness feeling, natural wonder, and rich cultural history.

It’s one of only 13 UNESCO sites in Canada.

Experience it for yourself by cruising from Parry Sound Marina (Bay Street).
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2.39 (18 votes)

Fountain for Horses

You can drink fresh water at the corner of James and Seguin – at Beatty’s corner. The fountain is one of the most recognized landmarks in Parry Sound.

 

 

Originally, an old drinking fountain was built to refresh weary horses. Now it works mostly for people 🙂

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Parry Sound Books

Recommended by KATHERINE MARY GOVIER

Charlotte Stein and Alan Stein chose Parry Sound to open a book shop because they were cottagers and decided this would be a place where they could raise their family, work for themselves and still get to Queen Street for that urban fix when necessary.

In the spring of 1988, they registered the business and built an addition to their home that housed Parry Sound Books for the first five years.

When the Beatty family restored and renovated the William Beatty Building in downtown, they invited the bookstore to become tenants.

It seemed like a good idea – the children were a little older and more independent.

Alan – he is an artist – was happy to have the book shop location for an enlarged studio, and the move to the downtown meant increased space, staff and increased tourist trade. It has become the home of the business and a fixture in downtown Parry Sound.

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3.5 (2 votes)

Made in Parry Sound

‘Meet your Makers’

Made in Parry Sound is a group of people making and producing locally made products. Wander the downtown and you will find many of the ‘makers’ of these ‘Made in Parry Sound’ products.

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Festival of the Sound

Recommended by BETTY CASCANETTE

July – August

Festival of the Sound is an annual 3-week long classical music festival that occurs from July to August in Parry Sound.

The festival features dozens of concerts in the Charles W. Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts and opportunities to enjoy the natural beauty of the Parry Sound region through scenic cruises on the Island Queen.

Programs range from Latin jazz to big bands to Beethoven — and Canada Weekend features a special floating jazz cruise.

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Bands on the Bay | Free Summer Concerts

Recommended by KATHY CHARD

Bands on the Bay performs in Summer at the Stockey Centre on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm. Bringing you a full evening of music overlooking beautiful Georgian Bay. Bands that perform play classical music.

In the case of rain, the performance continues in the Performance Hall of the Charles W. Stocky Centre. Every concert is different and exciting, with great music and great people.

All summer long, at each Bands on the Bay Concert, you can vote for your favourite band. The band at the end of the summer with the most votes wins a concert date on the Stockey Stage in the Performance Hall.

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3.67 (3 votes)

Waubuno Beach

Recommended by VLADIMIR SHEHOVTSOV

Parry Sound is proud to be the home of a  Blue Flag certified beach known as Waubuno Beach. This is a large sandy beach with volleyball courts.

Waubuno was a side-wheel paddle steamer that conveyed passengers and freight between Collingwood and Parry Sound in the 1860s and 1870s.

There is a sizable old anchor near a Historical Plaque, which reads:

“This anchor, recovered in 1959, belonged to the steamer “Waubuno”, a wooden sidewheeler of some 180 tonnes which was built at Port Robinson in 1865. She carried freight and passengers in the shipping trade which flourished on Lake Huron during the nineteenth century. Commanded by Captain J. Burkett, she sailed from Collingwood on November 22, 1879, bound for Parry Sound. The “Waubuno” encountered a violent gale later that day and sank in Georgian Bay some 32 km south of here. All on board perished, and although some wreckage was later discovered, the bodies of the 24 victims were never found. The specific cause of this disaster has never been determined.”

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Wolf Den

Recommended by VLADIMIR SHEHOVTSOV & DANA MARIE & MISSY MOCCASIN

Located on Parry Sound’s main street, the Wolf Den – “Native American Store of Goods” – offers a “selection of native art and crafts – porcupine quill and birch bark baskets, native made leather moccasins, handcrafted pottery and jewellery, clothing, leather goods, carvings and so much more.”

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Town Dock

The town-owned dock at the waterfront is open to the public unless a cruise ship is in port. There is a gazebo with a picnic area at the end as well as a pair of Adirondack chairs.

This is a great place to sit and watch what is going on in Parry Sound Harbour.

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Roof of Treatment Plant

Enjoy the spectacular view offered from the parkette on the roof of the Tony Agnello Water Filtration Plant.

Feel like you’re on the bow of an ocean liner

Relax here with your kids.

It is one of the reasons the Town received the 2003 Award of Excellence from the Consulting Engineers.

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4.5 (2 votes)

Killbear Provincial Park

Recommended by LESLIE DUNPHY

Killbear Provincial Park is located on Georgian Bay, near the town of Nobel. Killbear combines

  • Georgian Bay sunsets
  • sandy beaches typical of the Great Lakes
  • the rock ridges
  • beautiful views of windswept pines on rocky islands
  • 6 km recreational trail for hiking and biking
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Depot Harbour

In 15 minutes from Parry Sound, you can find a unique place. Depot Harbour is the largest town in Ontario to have become a ghost town.

Located on Parry Island, which is part of the Wasauksing First Nation, Depot Harbour was once the western terminus of the Canadian Atlantic Railway and a very busy shipping port on the eastern shores of Georgian Bay. It would go on to become one of the most important Great Lakes shipping ports, along with Collingwood, Midland and Owen Sound. Trains were arriving and departing every twenty minutes.

Depot Harbour was founded in 1892. By 1898 the town had two large grain elevators, a hotel, bank, boarding houses, homes, stores and three churches.

 

 

In the early 1930th, a drop in grain prices brought on by the Great Depression further killed Depot Harbour as a shipping port. The town fell into disrepair.

In 1941, the explosives plant in Nobel, ten kilometres north of Parry Sound, used one of the nearby warehouses to store cordite (used in the production of explosives).

In 1945, it was decided to tear down the old grain elevators. While tearing down the elevators, they caught fire. Sparks from the fire made their way to the cordite warehouse and exploded into a fireball.

Nowadays, the roundhouse is still standing, old car parts can be found inside. Some foundations can be found nearby in the woods. By the shore, you will find the cement steps which lead up the foundations of the old Catholic Church.

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3.58 (12 votes)

Rose Point Trail

Recommended by LESLIE DUNPHY

An 8km trail that follows the final segment of J.R. Booth’s railroad (to Depot Harbour). This historic route connects Rose Point, where a bridge passes over to Wasauksing First Nation and Depot Harbour, the terminus for the railroad, to Forest Hill, adjacent to Oastler Provincial Park.

Hike, bike, horseback ride,  cross-country ski, or snowshoe on the trail and discover the nature and history surrounding it. On a warm sunny day, keep your eyes out for turtles basking in any of the wetlands along the trail.

 

Don’t forget to check the historic Wasauksing Swing Bridge near the trail. It was originally built in 1895 to provide rail access to Depot Harbour. This was replaced by the current structure in 1912.

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Art in the Park

Recommended by BETTY CASCANETTE

This annual venue has been running since 1976 and has become one of the largest tourist destinations. You can find items from clothing, preserves, artworks, pottery, jewellery, soaps & lotions, stained glass and so much more.

Visit Parry Sound in July.

 

Recommended by MARK ALLAN

You can use free WiFi on Market Square for twelve months a year.

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Bearly Used Books

Recommended by KRISTA LEBLANC DENHERTOG & SANDRA PAYNE CHESTER

Bearly Used Books needs to be on the list! A book lover’s paradise! Over 180,000 used books to choose from. Friendly staff & great finds.

“We will periodically post pictures of stock on our Facebook and Instagram pages for people to browse. If you are looking for a particular title or recommendation you can email or message us with your requests.”

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5 (3 votes)

Johnny’s Curbside Grill

Recommended by BETTY CASCANETTE

Great food and the friendliest service.

Since opening over 10 years ago, Johnny’s Curbside Grill has been proudly serving the Parry Sound area its many iconic favourites.

From mouth-watering burgers, signature crispy chicken sandwiches, to mountain-high piles of fresh-cut fries and poutines, Johnny’s has it all to satisfy the greatest appetite for you and your family.

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5 (2 votes)

Maurizio’s Pizza

Recommended by VLADIMIR SHEHOVTSOV

Try the best Northern Ontario pizza.

Award-winning Pizza chef Maurizio serves up traditional thin crust 12″ medium-sized pizza’s in an authentic Italian wood-fired oven.

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5 (1 vote)

Di Salvo’s Bella Cucina Italian Eatery

Recommended by VLADIMIR SHEHOVTSOV

Di Salvo’s Bella Cucina is a fine-dining Italian restaurant located by the waterfront in Parry Sound. In October 2020, Carlo Di Salvo won the Diamond award for the best local chef.

Di Salvo’s serves authentic Italian cuisine in modern style, with an emphasis on quality and freshness.

Our menu is prepared in-house with pride and passion, and our service delivers a friendly and casual; yet sophisticated experience.

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3.67 (3 votes)

Norse Brewery

Located in Nobel ON, Norse Brewery is Parry Sound Area favourite brewery.

We are located just north of Parry Sound, within a few meters from the hwy 400 (69).

Should you decide to visit, and we certainly hope you do, take an exit to Woods road following with the next right onto Ritchie Dr.

Stop in for a bite and a pint or take a tour of the Brewery.

Try more | Check Ontario Craft Beer & Brewery Tours
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5 (1 vote)

Trestle Brewing Company

Recommended by VLADIMIR SHEHOVTSOV

Named after Parry Sound’s trestle bridge, Trestle Brewing Company is an independently owned craft brewery located near the harbour (if you’re sitting on the deck you can see the harbour and the trestle bridge). They offer a selection of craft beers and meals.

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Gilly’s Snug Harbour

Recommended by LESLIE DUNPHY

Cozy, harbourfront spot serving local seafood, including fish ’n’ chips, with burgers & steaks. Terry ‘Gilly’ Gilbert and his wife Sarah, along with their five sons, have been living the Snug Harbour dream, providing good, simple, local food, drinks and hospitality.

Gilly’s Snug Harbour Restaurant and Marine is unique in its accessibility by land and water and its proximity to one of the most unique ecological areas of the planet.

The unofficial village of Snug Harbour, if marked by the official lighthouse, was established in 1894. Snug Harbour has always attracted travellers seeking the serenity and natural glory of Georgian Bay and its islands.

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4 (3 votes)

Henry’s Fish Restaurant

Recommended by LESLIE DUNPHY

Located on Frying Pan Island in the Sans Souci area on the coast of Georgian Bay, Henry’s Fish Restaurant is known for its famous fish and chips including battered and pan-fried Pickerel dinners.  Henry’s is a Family Style Fresh Fish Restaurant.

One of the more unusual aspects of Henry’s is that seaplanes fly in throughout the day dropping of hungry tourists so they can get their fill of Henry’s fresh pickerel. At lunch and dinner, the air is full of seaplanes dropping in from Parry Sound and Midland.

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Mrs Wilsons Kitchen

Recommended by David & Maureen Wilson

A Homestead in the Countryside with a licensed and inspected kitchen where we produce lasagna, cabbage rolls and meat pies using our own beef and chicken.

Participate in what the seasons have to offer.

  • Fresh veggies from the Homestead gardens
  • Educational walks for permaculture and environmental studies
  • Pick up frozen dinners
  • Mrs Wilsons Super Fast Homemade Meals
  • Butter Tarts
  • Apple Pies
  • Wild Blueberry Pie.
  • Famous Broken Butter Tart

Our business is fun. Our customers enjoy a tiny taste of the homesteading life.

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4.5 (2 votes)

Northern Swine & Steer

Recommended by STEVE ROSS

Parry Sounds unique meat, bbq and smoker shop right on the water across from the town dock.

Authorized Yoder and Traeger dealer as well as Chilly Moose. Hard to find rubs and sauces such as Meat Church, Five Monkeys, Whiskey Bent and others.

Don’t forget about the excellent selection of meat cuts including Tomahawks and Wagyu! Miller’s Dairy fresh Jersey milk also in stock.

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4 (5 votes)
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Top 31 Places to Visit in

Parry Sound | Ontario