One of Derek’s cousins recently moved to a place I’d never heard of. How could “the Venice of Ontario” escape my attention all these years?
The place: Lagoon City. A purpose-built series of canals with several styles of homes, 90% of them backing onto the water. It’s on the eastern shore of Lake Simcoe, a fifteen minute drive from Orillia, and two hours north of Toronto. The only lagoon I’d ever heard of was on Gilligan’s Island.
Lagoon City was conceived in the early 1960s but it took off in the 1970s. Now, it’s home to about 2,000 people and expands in the summer with tourists visiting its sandy beach. You can also rent all types of watercraft and bicycles to get around.
Here’s a quick look.
Homes range from about $400k for a one-bedroom townhouse up to the multi-millions. There are 18 km of canals to travel by boat and wooden bridges to walk over them. There’s no place like it in Canada, as far as I know.
I’ve visited the Orillia area many times. (Hello, Casino Rama!) But if Lagoon City escaped my attention I wondered what else I’ve missed? Are there other gems in this province that could go unnoticed? Please let us all know in the comments. We might be missing out!
Good morning Lisa,
We are currently at a little gem of a place called Mattawa. Its where the Mattawa river and the Ottawa river converge. There is a ATV park that winds through the forest, across bridges and around lakes, not to mention a mica mine, which we will be exploring today. It’s 100s of kms of mud, sand, water and fun….its the place to be for 4×4 fun in the woods.
Hey Al – that sounds like amazing piece of paradise. Boating, Atv riding – I’d skip the mine but hey, you do you! 😆
Hi Lisa,
Well, I had a laugh when I saw this! I have been living in Lagoon City for 4 years now! We moved here during the pandemic. Though, we were not strangers to it, as my in-laws had a cottage close by for many years. Back in those days we would often boat over to Lagoon City. I always enjoyed going thru the canals and seeing all the places. Never dreamed I would live there one day!
Only drawback, for me, is driving to Orillia for shopping and stuff, it’s closer to a half hour to get there, which I do not love. Otherwise, it’s a great place to live.
Well that’s wonderful, Maureen! It looks like a special place. I hope to see it for myself one day.
Hi Lisa,
We are loving living here in Lagoon City!! Boating on the canals is fun, great to see all the beautiful properties here. Family love coming up for a visit, a boat ride, a swim in the lake. It is a beautiful place for retirement. We haven’t been here for a winter yet but luckily we don’t really have to go anywhere if the weather is bad. We look forward to a visit from you and Derek!
Kim
Careful what you wish for! LOL