Top Autumn Pics From A Central Ontario Roadtrip

There was an old short story by Stephen King back in the 1980’s titled Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut. The story was about a lady obsessed with shortening her daily journey. Her husband became concerned when he noticed the odometer between point A and point B was impossibly low. Mrs. Todd explained that the shortcut she had found was similar to taking a map of the area and folding it in a place that would eliminate part of the journey.

Well, that’s not me. However, I do like to think outside the box and look for a little adventure when travelling often used routes. A week ago or so, I did just that on my way between my home in Orangeville and my in-law’s trailer in Bobcaygeon, Ontario. The journey was definitely longer in distance but the time travelled wasn’t that far off. The bonus was the amazing early autumn colours along the way.

For those that live in the area or will be travelling here, let me explain. The route I normally follow is straight through Newmarket until Davis Drive ends then zig-zagging through the countryside, passing by Little Britain and Lindsay before ending up in Bobcaygeon. The route is one I settled into back in the early 1990’s when I lived in London and went to school at Sir Sanford Fleming College in Lindsay, Ontario.

This time, I got on the 400 at highway 9 and travelled north. Taking the highway 11 split, I then travelled to Orillia before getting off at highway 12. I stayed on 12 for just a short while, turning north on county road 44 (towards Casino Rama). I then took a quick right at county road 45 and followed that east through Norland, Kinmount and Gooderham before taking 507 down towards Buckhorn and Bobcayeon. It would have made more sense to turn south at Kinmount but the drive was just too beautiful. I have to say, though, this route would not be beneficial on a summer weekend – simply due to the traffic on the 400/11.

The image above was taken at a little, no fee, rest stop on highway 45/503. The river is Irondale River and the short waterfall is Furnace Falls. This is a grossly underestimated stop and those with a camera will simply love it. Nearby, rumour has it, are remnants of a defunct town named Furnace Falls that existed in the 1800’s.

This is the scene from Orillia to Buckhorn. Few vehicles. Few stops. Amazing natural beauty.

At our destination, it’s a real treat when there’s unseasonably warm weather in mid to late September in cottage country. It feels like summer yet there are much less bugs, boats and people. Wildlife makes an appearance, not scared away by the constant threat from humans.

It was nice to see more than a few Painted Turtles on a boat ride up Nogies Creek. I am concerned about the turtle population in Ontario as a turtle poaching problem decimates the numbers. The love for turtle soup and exotic pets is causing this and our government doesn’t seem to be concerned at all.

At the trailer on Pigeon Lake. Earlier in the summer, I started messing around with bracketed exposures to try and get a faux HDR effect using Photoshop Elements and its Photomerge Exposure function. The result was not a surreal HDR view but a pretty colourful pic considering the sun had been down for quite some time at it was almost dark.

This was a visit that was full of discovery and scouting out for next year. Highway 507 between Gooderham and Buckhorn borders the new Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park. This is a large park with little vehicular access and camping is only available after at least a token canoe ride.

Typically, we use the park at its southern tip to go swimming in the Mississagua River near Buckhorn. There are two access points along highway 507 that we visited for the first time. The above is a view of Bottle Lake at the terminus of the northern most access road. Below is the same look but looking northwest.

You can hear them all the time but they are a bit shy. It was a bit of a shock to see an American Bullfrog out sunning. We found ourselves back on the Irondale River on the way home and this guy below was sitting right next to Furnace Falls. It’s always impressive to see the size of this loud creatures.

One more shot of Furnace Falls. Not much more than a tough set of rapids, the waterfall is nevertheless quite picturesque. It is located between Kinmount and Gooderham and the park is accessed on the southeast side of the highway bridge.