Parry Sound

Canada

Parry Sound is a city in Northern Ontario.

Parry Sound is a town in Northern Ontario (just barely), on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay in the Heart of the 30,000 Islands. It is located roughly half way between Toronto and Sudbury. Parry sound itself has approximately 6500 residents and 21,150 in the Parry Sound area. The town is a popular summer cottage destination for Torontonians, increasing its seasonal population. It is also the world's deepest natural freshwater port.

Long before the European explorers, Parry Sound was inhabited by the Ojibwe who referred to it by Shining Shore. Captain Henry Bayfield surveyed its waters in the 19th century and named the town after the Arctic explorer Sir William Parry. Years later, rail service made Parry Sound a valued depot along the rail lines to Western Canada.

During the early part of the 20th century, Parry Sound attracted artists such as Tom Thomson and others from the Group of Seven. Historically, the town competed with a nearby rival lake port at Depot Harbour; that community is now a ghost town.

  • Bobby Orr Hall of Fame, Two Bay St, +1 705-746-4466 ext 202. 60 trophies and awards, interactive games. Learn about Bobby's Orr's Legendary Hockey career.
  • West Parry Sound District Museum, 17 George St, +1 705-746-5365.

Bobby Orr Hall of Fame, Two Bay St, +1 705-746-4466 ext 202. 60 trophies and awards, interactive games. Learn about Bobby's Orr's Legendary Hockey career.

West Parry Sound District Museum, 17 George St, +1 705-746-5365.

The Seguin Trails are perfect for a hike or a bike ride. You can also stretch your legs and take in the sites along the Waterfront Fitness Trail.

  • Charles Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts, 2 Bay St. Live performances in a magnificent 480-seat Festival Performance Hall designed by acoustical engineers.
  • Bear Claw Tours, 35 Shoebottom Rd, +1 705 746-9481. ATV guided tours.
  • Georgian Bay Airways, 11A Bay Street, Town Dock. A modern fleet of seaplanes operate from Parry Sound’s downtown waterfront.
  • The Ridge at Manitou Golf Course, 160 Inn Rd, +1 705-389-3978. Golf amidst 300 acres of unspoiled nature.
  • Spirit of the Sound Schooner Company Ltd., RR# 2. M.V. Chippewa III offers several 30,000 Islands cruises and menus.
  • Park to Park Trail, 70 Church St. 230-km multi-use trail connects Killbear to Algonquin Provincial Park and cuts across the Canadian Shield.
  • Seguin Valley Golf Club, 144 Badger, Otter Lake, +1 705-378-2555.
  • Diver's Nook. A fully stocked SCUBA dive shop offering charters and air fills/equipment. They usually dive the shallow wrecks around the Sound, and a charter consists of two dives.

Charles Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts, 2 Bay St. Live performances in a magnificent 480-seat Festival Performance Hall designed by acoustical engineers.

Bear Claw Tours, 35 Shoebottom Rd, +1 705 746-9481. ATV guided tours.

Georgian Bay Airways, 11A Bay Street, Town Dock. A modern fleet of seaplanes operate from Parry Sound’s downtown waterfront.

The Ridge at Manitou Golf Course, 160 Inn Rd, +1 705-389-3978. Golf amidst 300 acres of unspoiled nature.

Spirit of the Sound Schooner Company Ltd., RR# 2. M.V. Chippewa III offers several 30,000 Islands cruises and menus.

Park to Park Trail, 70 Church St. 230-km multi-use trail connects Killbear to Algonquin Provincial Park and cuts across the Canadian Shield.

Seguin Valley Golf Club, 144 Badger, Otter Lake, +1 705-378-2555.

Diver's Nook. A fully stocked SCUBA dive shop offering charters and air fills/equipment. They usually dive the shallow wrecks around the Sound, and a charter consists of two dives.

  • Parry Sound Mall, 70 Joseph St, +1 705-746-9252.
  • WildRose Designs Gallery, 17 Bay Street (Parry Sound, +1 905-242 5498. The art of Ingrid Zschogner, pastel and pencil artist,
  • Hemp Tent, 63 James St, +1 705 746-1549. All-natural, Fair Trade and Canadian-made clothing, accessories, jewellery, body products, hemp foods and house wares.
  • SiSi Georgian Bay, 45 Seguin St, +1 705 774-0642. natural skincare shop, blending bar, refillery station

Parry Sound Mall, 70 Joseph St, +1 705-746-9252.

WildRose Designs Gallery, 17 Bay Street (Parry Sound, +1 905-242 5498. The art of Ingrid Zschogner, pastel and pencil artist,

Hemp Tent, 63 James St, +1 705 746-1549. All-natural, Fair Trade and Canadian-made clothing, accessories, jewellery, body products, hemp foods and house wares.

SiSi Georgian Bay, 45 Seguin St, +1 705 774-0642. natural skincare shop, blending bar, refillery station

  • Bay Street Café, 22 Bay St, +1 705-746-2882. Friendly service, view of the Georgian Bay.
  • Log Cabin Fine Dining, 9 Little Beaver Blvd, Seguin (3 km south of Parry Sound, Exit 220, Hunter Drive, 1 km south on Oastler Park Drive, +1 705-746-7122. Rustic decor, varied menu, good seafood.
  • Trappers Choice Restaurant, 50 Joseph St, +1 705-746-9491. Daily from 8AM. Appetizers and light meals, including salads, sandwiches and burgers, full main courses specializing in steaks and seafood.
  • The Country Gourmet Cafe and Gallery, 65 James St, +1 705-746-5907. M-F 7AM-3PM, Sa 7AM-3PM, Su 10AM-2PM. Home-made soups, quiche, fresh salads daily, comfort foods, coffee, desserts, wi-fi, art gallery.

Bay Street Café, 22 Bay St, +1 705-746-2882. Friendly service, view of the Georgian Bay.

Log Cabin Fine Dining, 9 Little Beaver Blvd, Seguin (3 km south of Parry Sound, Exit 220, Hunter Drive, 1 km south on Oastler Park Drive, +1 705-746-7122. Rustic decor, varied menu, good seafood.

Trappers Choice Restaurant, 50 Joseph St, +1 705-746-9491. Daily from 8AM. Appetizers and light meals, including salads, sandwiches and burgers, full main courses specializing in steaks and seafood.

The Country Gourmet Cafe and Gallery, 65 James St, +1 705-746-5907. M-F 7AM-3PM, Sa 7AM-3PM, Su 10AM-2PM. Home-made soups, quiche, fresh salads daily, comfort foods, coffee, desserts, wi-fi, art gallery.

  • Trestle Brewing Company, 9 Great North Rd, +1 705-751-9108. Taproom and kitchen: M-Th noon-9PM, F Sa noon-10AM, Su noon-7AM; retail M-Sa 10AM-9PM, Su 11AM-7PM. A small, independently owned craft brewery in downtown Parry Sound on the waterfront where the Seguin River flows into the harbour with a spectacular view looking towards the CPR Trestle bridge and Georgian Bay. The brewery includes a taproom serving year-round beer offerings brewed on site and other seasonal special beers. The taproom offers a menu.

Trestle Brewing Company, 9 Great North Rd, +1 705-751-9108. Taproom and kitchen: M-Th noon-9PM, F Sa noon-10AM, Su noon-7AM; retail M-Sa 10AM-9PM, Su 11AM-7PM. A small, independently owned craft brewery in downtown Parry Sound on the waterfront where the Seguin River flows into the harbour with a spectacular view looking towards the CPR Trestle bridge and Georgian Bay. The brewery includes a taproom serving year-round beer offerings brewed on site and other seasonal special beers. The taproom offers a menu.

This abandoned ghost town, of which little remains but ruins and foundations, had been a busy Georgian Bay lake port as the western terminus of the Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway. Ottawa lumberman John Rudolphus Booth established a port and railway roundhouse on expropriated native land, building a railway to send trainloads of western grain through Algonquin Provincial Park to Ottawa on its way east to Atlantic ports. By 1898 the town had a hotel, rail yards, two large grain elevators, a school and three churches. In 1904, Booth sold the line to the Grand Trunk Railway for $14.2 million; in 1923, the bankrupt Grand Trunk became part of Canadian National. CNR closed Depot Harbour's roundhouse. The Welland Canal, a competing transportation route, was rebuilt in 1932. An ice-damaged rail bridge in Algonquin Park severed the line in 1933 and was never repaired. A World War II cordite maker in nearby Nobel stored its wares in the railway's dockside freight sheds; an August 14, 1945 fire and explosion destroyed much of the town. The docks, briefly used for coal shipments in the 1950s, later loaded pelletized iron ore from the Low Phos Mine at Sellwood. The last of the town's homes was abandoned in 1964; the mine closed in 1979 and the railway tracks were removed in 1989. The Anishinaabe natives reclaimed their lands in 1987, but little remains of the town except the loading docks, a bank vault and the foundations of what was once a village. One building remains in use as a cottage.