LOCAL FOCUS: Collingwood & Wasaga Beach

By NextHome Staff
May 29, 2018
by Gale Beeby

Four-season playground

HOUSING OPTIONSWith Collingwood's industrial past and the Wasaga Beach area known as a summer playground, housing stock is generally single-family homes and cottages, although there are now many condo developments catering to seasonal visitors.Click here to see a list of homes for sale in Collingwood.Click here to see a list of homes for sale in Wasaga Beach.LEISURE PURSUITSCollingwood is home to many events and festivals. One of its most famous is certainly the Elvis Presley Festival, which attracts Elvis impersonators from all over the world.Other events include the Jazz & Blues Festival, Art on the Street, Culture Days and Art in Town Hall, while Theatre Collingwood produces live performances of plays and musicals. The town is also home to many art galleries and studios, a fabulous farmers' market and the Collingwood Museum.If you don't feel up to strolling the galleries, however, you can simply enjoy lying on the beach, throwing a line into the water at one of the area's many great fishing spots, or paddle the area in a canoe or kayak. If you're feeling more adventurous, Wasaga Beach — the world's longest freshwater beach — awaits.PARKS & RECCollingwood and Wasaga Beach are located on the southern shore of Georgian Bay, next to Blue Mountain, a promontory of the Niagara Escarpment. The region is a major recreational area, noted for skiing, water sports and incredible beaches. There is large network of trails for walking, hiking, cycling, horseback riding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling.The Collingwood Arboretum has both paved and natural trails and is a vital botanical park. Collingwood's Scenic Caves offer a variety of activities, including cave tours, a treetop canopy walk, nature trails, a suspension bridge, a zip line, gemstone mining, a trout pond and mini golf.And speaking of golf, the area is home to many great championship golf courses, including Cobble Beach, Lora Bay, Monterra at Blue Mountain Resort, Cranberry Golf Resort, Georgian Bay Club, Batteaux Creek, OslerBrook, and Horseshoe Resort's Valley and Highlands courses.Wasaga Beach Provincial Park offers a myriad of activities, including canoeing, swimming, boating, fishing, biking, birding, hiking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.RETAIL THERAPYThere are many lovely shopping areas in both Collingwood and Wasaga Beach, offering a fine assortment of boutiques, arts and crafts stores, independent retailers, cafés, restaurants and pubs. The nearest shopping mall is Georgian Mall in Barrie, where you can find many chain stors and big box outlets.EASY ACCESSWasaga Beach and Collingwood are served by Highway 26, which runs along the shore of the Nottawasaga Bay, and County Road 124. The towns are also served by a rail link connecting them to the towns of Owen Sound and Barrie. There is a spur heading north through Collingwood to the large grain elevators at the downtown wharf, where trains would formerly load and unload into lake ships. Collingwood has its own transit service, as does Wasaga Beach. Collingwood also boasts an airport, a medium-sized facility about seven kilometres south of the town.BY THE NUMBERSCollingwood Population: 21,800Wasaga Beach Population: 20,675Collingwood Walk Score: 46Wasaga Beach Walk Score: 25Motto: The Beach is just the beginningCollingwood.caWasagaBeach.com

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