When we were there, the trees were reflecting off the water in perfect symmetry.  You can hike right down to the water itself and sit on the rocks while ruminating on the natural splendour.  Recollet Falls is in the French River gorge.  When you are about a kilometre away from the falls, you can hear a distant roar that becomes louder as they come into view.  You can also hear birds along the trail, including the Blackburnian Warbler and the Red-Eyed Vireo.

The French River runs 110 km west from Lake Nipissing to Georgian Bay.  The Restoule and Little French Rivers also connect.  This provides multiple canoe trips for exploring the natural sights and sounds of the park.  It was designated in 1986 as Canada's First Heritage River because of its history as a transportation corridor and logging route from 1615 when Samuel de Champlain arrived through to 1821.  The Indigenous peoples named it French River because it brought French missionaries to their communities along the river.  It was a one day journey for traders bringing European goods and wanting Canadian fur.

You can swim in the river but there are no designated beaches and the 120 foot depth makes it cold.  Fishing is robust, with pike, walleye, bass and muskellunge.  There are 50 lodges and marinas along the river. 

It is known for its undeveloped natural rugged beauty, bays with bull rushes and rock everywhere.  Replete with animals, the river sports moose, bear, wolf, lynx, fisher, mink, beaver, otter, bald eagle, osprey, turtle and rattlesnake.  You cannot canoe or kayak over Recollet Falls in the Spring when the water levels rise as much as 4 meters in spots, when flooding is a worry.

The hike in French River Provincial Park to Recollet Falls is worth the one to two hours it will take you.  The relaxation that you feel while sitting by the falls watching the trees reflect off the water is good for your soul.  The bird song you hear along the pine-needle blanketed forest pathway also elevates your mood.  There is nothing negative about the commune with nature this hike involves.  Embrace it and you will come away calmer and happier.

Parry Sound is a small bay within Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. The town of Parry Sound borders that small bay, and is within the Georgian Bay Biosphere reserve, one of only 13 UNESCO sites in Canada. With 14,000 year-round residents in the area and another 80,000 cottagers, it has an interesting dynamic.

Parry Sound has 30,000 islands, making it the world’s largest freshwater archipelago. It also has the
world’s deepest natural freshwater port, down 750 feet by some accounts. The sound is irregularly
shaped with many deep bays and islands. The weather in town is significantly impacted by the lake,
causing massive and unpredictable swings in temperature and precipitation including incredibly wet weather from September through January.

This town was very popular in the early 20 th century with the Group of Seven artists, particularly Tom Thomson. In a hockey-mad nation, it is also best known as the birthplace of legendary defenseman Bobby Orr and there is a museum in town dedicated to him. Also interestingly, there is a 230 km Park-to-Park trail connecting Killbear Provincial Park in Parry Sound to Algonquin Provincial Park in both Dorset and Kearney.

Deerhurst Resort holds a special place in my heart.  We have been coming here as a family for the past 32 years.  Between us we own a number of timeshare weeks in August.  It is by far and away my children's favourite vacation spot each year.  What makes it so special?

First of all, Peninsula Lake is beautiful.  Sandy in spots, deep enough, lots of water sports, pretty sunsets and sunrises...everything you could ask for in a Muskoka Lake.

Secondly, the children's grandparents, friends, aunt and cousins always show up.  We have mattresses on the floor and the suite is rarely quiet.  It is a party.  Papa takes them fishing a few mornings during the week.  Aunt Wendy takes them out for ice cream.  They golf with their friend and cousin.  The water is always beckoning, whether the indoor pool, one of the many outdoor pools, or the lake at one of the docks or the beach.  There is always something going on.

Thirdly, the place is designed for relaxation.  There is fishing off the dock.  There is lounging on the beach.  There are barbecues by the lake.  There are novels to be read in lounge chairs.  There is golf.  There is boating.  There are restaurants on the water.  There are escape rooms.  The resort highlights northern art on its walls.

We are already looking forward to next year!

Onaping Falls.  A.Y. Jackson painted a landscape highlighting High Falls on the Onaping River in Sudbury.  It was displayed in the local high school for years before it mysteriously disappeared.  It is still missing, but Onaping Falls remains fully present in all its glory.

Sudbury’s landscape brings to mind the Group of Seven on a regular basis, and Onaping Falls was particularly in keeping with their painting style.  It has an abundance of trees reflecting their glorious colours off the water, with an iron bridge spanning the river and permitting views forward and back that take your breath away.  It is no wonder that Sudbury and the north inspired so much artwork from the Group of Seven.

I swim with a woman named Lynn.  She warned me to wear my running shoes because there were a lot of rocks on the Onaping Falls hiking trail.  I heeded her advice but did not appreciate the ruggedness of the terrain until my girlfriend and I were at the lookout admiring the falls trying to figure out how the devil to make it over to them.  It never occurred to us that we had to billy goat our way straight down what appeared to be a treacherous rockslide to the water.  Only the trail markers painted onto the rocks encouraged us to head lower.  Low and behold, we made it without injury and began to walk along the water.

The fall colours were in full blaze and the reds this year were resplendent.  It was postcard worthy.  Every photo was sublimely colourful.  The falls are spectacular, running into rapids then falling 46 meters to the river below.  That portion of the river is called High Falls.  The falls sit at the intersection between the Canadian Shield and the crater caused by the meteor crash millions of years ago.

The falls are in the northwest quadrant of Sudbury’s municipal area.  They were their own town from 1973 to 2000 before being amalgamated into Greater Sudbury.  The area boasts an abundance of fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, cross country skiing and downhill skiing.

Marisa and I felt very fortunate to spend two hours hiking the Onaping Falls trail.  It was Thanksgiving weekend and being immersed in the vibrant beauty of nature around every bend in the path made us feel fully in keeping with the holiday.  Onaping Falls is a hike I would strongly recommend doing…with your running shoes on.

The August long weekend was upon us. Once all the fun and frivolity with my children’s friends ended, we struck out on the Civic Holiday to explore Thunder Beach and environs. I had never been there before and had only just heard of it in the past few years when my brother bought a house fronting the bay. Initially registering Thunder Bay, which is more than 13 hours away, I was happy when he clarified it was the beach, not the bay where he had settled. Thunder Beach likely secured its name due to the ferocity and intensity of the storms that come into the bay.

Thunder Beach is a community of just over 300 owners surrounding and fronting on the bay. My
brother and his family have been enjoying the community for the past few years and have remarked on how sociable, safe and friendly it is. There are no hotels, inns or suites for rent on the beach anymore because everything is privately owned, so unless you know someone with a cottage on the bay, you may have never heard of it. My friend Kevin and his wife Sally had invited me to their cottage in Penetanguishene a few years back and it turns out their cottage is actually a few doors down from my brother’s cottage. Small world. Thunder Beach is the northernmost part of Tiny Township, the township having a population of about 12,000. Thunder Beach revels in its community events. They hold an annual concert and an annual Lobsterfest. This year they also had an art exhibition. Everything is centered around family and friends. Adults are encouraged to compete in tennis, basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball tournaments throughout the summer months. Children attend camp and play baseball, flag football and run cross country.

Setting off from Toronto at 10 am, we encountered some traffic heading north. Highway 400 generally runs well but once you duck off at Bayfield onto Highway 26 turning into 27, you slow down significantly. Although the posted speed limit is 80 km per hour, most folks go a little slower than that. Hence it is a true country drive from Barrie to the Beach.

Arriving around 12:30 pm, we immediately boarded my brother’s speed boat and went zipping around the bay, exploring the coastline, engaging in wakeboarding, and surfing off the back. My eldest daughter is great at wakeboarding and my eldest son gave it a go. After face planting twice, he was able to keep himself up the third time around and enjoy a nice tour around the bay. My niece surfed behind the boat, and everyone jumped in the water at one point or other and swam to shore. The beach is shallow and sandy a fair way out.

We ate cheeseburgers from the Friendly Corner Store and Restaurant. We were starving and the grub hit the spot. We then swam in the water and played in the sand in front of their cottage for a few hours. My youngest daughter drew the beachscape. My two boys went golfing with my brother at the local privately owned five-hole course, which they thoroughly enjoyed. As afternoon turned into evening, we played football in the water and swam to the buoy and back. The water was crisp, temperate and clear, making for an incredibly enjoyable beachfront experience.

Heading home, we stopped in at Wasaga Beach. Wasaga Beach is the longest freshwater beach in the world, stretching 14 kilometers over six beach zones. It is remarkable how rich Ontario is with its many lakes and rivers...over a quarter of a million of them. The water itself is beautiful and there are many sandbars as you wade out. Sunbathing and beach volleyball are popular. Always jammed on long weekends, we caught the tail end of the crowd. Although Wasaga Beach only has a permanent population of approximately 25,000, over 2 million people visit the beach each summer.

Although the sand is smooth and silky, the downtown strip is seedy and squalid. A massive fire wreaked havoc in 2007 and the town has been trying to rebuild without success ever since. There is a casino under construction. The cottages at either end are lovely; the town itself is not. The cottages are not located on the beach but instead sit on narrow lots fronting the streets between the homes and the water. The beach itself is owned by Ontario Parks and is protected. There are over 50 kilometers of hiking trails that can be accessed summer and winter, along with the Nottawasaga River for canoeing and fishing.

We left the beach strip behind and played mini putt at Wasaga 500 on our way out of town, where one of the boys’ hockey friends worked the go-carts. Thereafter we decided to split. En route home and in need of food, we hit Kelsey’s on Bayfield Street in Barrie. The meal was delicious for a late-night dinner. We had broccoli cheddar soup, potato skins, quesadillas, chicken fingers, and Caesar salad, all of which were tasty. We then rolled home with full bellies and sun kissed skin. It was a good northern day trip and a wonderful end to the August long weekend.