Huntsville
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Port
Sydney
Port Sydney is a small little town about 20 minutes south of Huntsville. It isn’t on Highway 11, but I’ve included it because it’s close, and I once got lost looking for the Huntsville Swiss Chalet and ended up in Port Sydney instead. (Yeah. I got really really lost.)
The
Port Sydney area has been settled since 1861. Albert Sydney Smith founded
the town ten years later when he took over an abandoned mill and a dam.
A plan for the village was created and it grew with the logging industry,
until the railroad decided to bypass the town for Utterson. Logging
then dwindled in importance and the tourist trade took over.
Port Sydney is really quite cute and is situated on a nice bit of waterfront
along Mary Lake. There is a dam nearby, rapids, and the beach in town
is the largest in the Muskoka area. There are bed and breakfasts and
lodges in and around Port Sydney.
I don’t remember what kind of services or amenities are in town, but I know they hold an annual festival the first weekend in October. There were fireworks, food, some booths/stalls, and a surprising but not overwhelming number of people. If I wasn’t so hungry for Swiss Chalet I would have joined the fun.
Port Sydney also had the oldest church in Muskoka until it was recently destroyed by arson. A new church has been built in its place and there is a plaque commemorating the old one.
Out in the bush there is a sign welcoming you to Port Sydney, the home of “800 families and one old grouch.”
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