Durham Ontario: Vacation Region
Immediately to the east of Toronto, Durham Ontario is a region of small cities, towns and townships, farms, lakes and, most importantly for this website, many recreation areas. Officially, its proper name is the Regional Municipality of Durham or, for short, Durham Region. Where the rest of the Greater Toronto Area is heavily modern developed, Durham still has many fine old examples of Ontario main streets. Buildings like this one from the late Victorian or early Twentieth Century. In the southern part of the Region are the larger urban areas,
such as Oshawa, Whitby, Pickering, and Ajax, and while all these
have places to visit, they're working and living spaces rather
than vacation destinations.
It's in the northern part of Durham Ontario that the holiday opportunities lie. Municipalities like Uxbridge, Scugog and Brock and places like Cannington (with its Dog Sled Races in February), Beaverton on Lake Simcoe or Port Perry on Lake Scugog. The Trent Severn Waterway too can be accessed in Durham from Lakes Simcoe and Scugog. More about this below, next to the Port Perry picture. Boat rentals in Port Perry allow visitors to make their way north through the Trent river sytem to the main east-west waterway.
The Oakridges Moraine Trail also runs through the Region from near Goodwood in the west to Burketon in the east and it's ideal for hiking and cycling over most of its length. I say 'most' because some parts are on roads and even though these are quieter rural roads, they need to be traveled carefully.
Along the Moraine Trail, is Purple Woods just north of Oshawa where the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Areas (CLOCA) organization runs an annual Maple Syrup Pancake Breakfast during the Ontario schools' March Break. The photo shows the Purple Woods Sugar Shack where the sap is being evaporated to syrup. Speaking of trails, the Lake Ontario
Waterfront Trail
runs along the Region's southern boundary and it's a great way
to sample the different parts of Durham from Pickering in the west, right on the border with Greater Toronto, to Clarington in the east, bordering on Northumberland County.
Across Lake Scugog from Port Perry, on land belonging to the local native people, is the Great Blue Heron Casino. Native peoples, because they own the land as sovereign peoples, were able to sell 'sin' attractions, like gambling and tobacco, without all the hassle regular citizens faced. Lately, since the rules have changed about gambling, they've had competition from the Corporate world. Durham Ontario has a lot to offer visitors, particularly for short 'getaway' breaks and here's a site to help you make the most of your visit --
Durham Tourism.
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Some of the larger lakes in the Region, include Simcoe, named for Ontario's first Governor-General John Simcoe, and Scugog. The image shows Port Perry main street, looking from the tour boat on Lake Scugog on a misty autumn day.
