Simcoe County Loop Trail - What a weekend!
Some folks may have heard of this loop, some may not, but all should add this to their bucket-list. The Simcoe County Loop Trail is a 160+km Trail around Simcoe County. I must say what the county has done to promote cycling is truly amazing. The Simcoe County Loop trail is mainly gravel based, or paved rail trail, so overall not a lot of elevation gain, but there is some so don't kid yourself.
For our 2-day ride, we decided to start and finish in downtown Barrie. Mark and I were on our fat bikes with gear, Chris was on his plus bike. If I were to have one criticism on the whole trip would be finding a parking spot for an overnight stay. Luckily for us, Chris knows the guys at Tilemaster so we were able to leave our cars there overnight.
With overcast and drizzly sky, we unloaded our bikes from the vehicles, and loaded them up with gear for a couple days of biking. For 2 days of biking, it is much easier to pack everything, as you really only need limited clothing. Heck if you wanted to, you wouldn't need to pack any clothes, people around you may think otherwise, but noone is judging you...
Pretty much for us, between Barrie and Elmvale there were off and on showers the whole time. Everytime the rain jacket would go on, the showers would stop, and then when the jackets came off the showers would start. It was a cruel joke by mother nature. But we still had fun smiling and joking the whole time.
From Elmvale our next goal was Midland, so we had to go through Wyevale, and Penetanguishene. Why Midland you ask, well there is a really nice pub on the water there, and for us we needed a drink. But prior to getting there, right in Penetang there was a festival going on, not sure what it was for, but there were bouncy castles, and people staring at us like we had some sort of fat bike with gear on it... It was the weirdest thing. So like most tourist, we took our time looking at the random things, right until the sky opened up again. We decided to trudge on in the rain to Midland, where we would stop for some food, maybe a beverage and just to get out of the elements for a short while. The Boathouse Eatery is right off the trail and a perfect spot for a break. As we brought our bikes up, there were a lot of other cyclist there as well. Must be a popular spot, but definitely a place to stop for some food.
We waited out the weather and got back on the bikes. We were on route to Port McNicol where Keith was having his bachelor party. Our original plan was to stop and have a couple drinks then continue on our merry way, but plans change.... So we unloaded our bikes and crashed where we could, either in the garage or on the floor somewhere. It was a little over 80km down, and around the same left to get back to Barrie.
Morning hit, and there must have been some weather come through, with the barometric change there were some headaches. No other reason to have a headache other than weather... we will go with that. Loaded our bikes back up and away we go. The morning stop was planned for Coldwater. Mainly to get a spot to refill bottles and get some much needed food into us.
We stopped at a Diner called Autumn's Diner, right on the main street of town. A perfect little spot to grab some food and a coffee. I know at this point we were smelling a little rank, but they didn't seem to mind us which was good!
From Coldwater it was back on the trail on route to Orillia which was our next stop. Between Coldwater and Orillia there were some amazing stretches of trail, going through hardwood forest's. There was also a stretch where it was nicer to have the fat tires, as the trail became very loose with gravel. Cyclocross bikes would be able to do it, just a little tougher than the rest of the trail. But other than that, the trail itself would be ideal for a gravel bike for sure.
We hit Orillia and in need of water. The trail weaves by the beach and right by the lifegaurd station is a bottle fill up. We topped the bottles, poured cold water over the head and away we go again. It is quite funny the looks you get on a fat bike, let alone a fully loaded fat bike. From Orillia to Barrie one thing became clear, the trail is used and used a lot! There were so many hikers and bikers on the trail, it really shows how much these trail systems are needed.
Between Orillia and Barrie, we had to make one last stop for water. Mainly because we were slowing down, and also because it was a constant incline the whole way. Hawkstone is pretty much the middle spot and again right off the side of the trail. There is a nice little corner store there where you can get some water, gatorade, food etc. Really anything you need.
As we hit our final stretch from Hawkstone to Barrie, the rain moved in again, not as bad as the day before, but just enough to get refreshed. The closer we got to Barrie the busier the trail became again, with walkers runners bikers everywhere. We weaved our way downtown, by the beach and then a road jaunt back to the cars.
All in all we logged 170km over the whole trip, riding for 8.5 hours. Could we have gone faster, probably, was the pace okay, very much so, would you do it again, in a heartbeat.
At the end of the day, these bike packing trips are an absolute blast. Mark, Chris and I all had a great time, and well now the plan is to do it again, but do it the other way (Counter Clockwise).
A huge thank you to Cycle Simco for having this trail.
https://cyclesimcoe.ca/explore/simcoe-county-loop-trail/
Thanks to Mark and Chris for doing the ride with me as well.
Cheers
With overcast and drizzly sky, we unloaded our bikes from the vehicles, and loaded them up with gear for a couple days of biking. For 2 days of biking, it is much easier to pack everything, as you really only need limited clothing. Heck if you wanted to, you wouldn't need to pack any clothes, people around you may think otherwise, but noone is judging you...
Right from the start we had to climb our way out of Barrie, but I must say the signage was perfect. We all knew the streets of Barrie already, but if we didn't it was very easy to find the trail and make your way out of downtown and then instantly into fields.
Our goal for the first night was to make it up to Port McNicol / Victoria Harbour area, putting us about half way around the whole loop. Out of Barrie, the first real main stop was Elmvale. So you had a good distance between Barrie and Elmvale, going through Anton Mills, and Phelpston. In Elmvale, a perfect spot to stop and fill your bottles is the natural spring right off the side of the road, just north of the town. You miss a small section of the trail to get to it, but it is well worth the stop for water. If the spring isn't your thing, that rhymed, there is a McDonalds or Tim Hortons in town to grab a coffee and some much needed sugar.
From Elmvale our next goal was Midland, so we had to go through Wyevale, and Penetanguishene. Why Midland you ask, well there is a really nice pub on the water there, and for us we needed a drink. But prior to getting there, right in Penetang there was a festival going on, not sure what it was for, but there were bouncy castles, and people staring at us like we had some sort of fat bike with gear on it... It was the weirdest thing. So like most tourist, we took our time looking at the random things, right until the sky opened up again. We decided to trudge on in the rain to Midland, where we would stop for some food, maybe a beverage and just to get out of the elements for a short while. The Boathouse Eatery is right off the trail and a perfect spot for a break. As we brought our bikes up, there were a lot of other cyclist there as well. Must be a popular spot, but definitely a place to stop for some food.
We waited out the weather and got back on the bikes. We were on route to Port McNicol where Keith was having his bachelor party. Our original plan was to stop and have a couple drinks then continue on our merry way, but plans change.... So we unloaded our bikes and crashed where we could, either in the garage or on the floor somewhere. It was a little over 80km down, and around the same left to get back to Barrie.
Morning hit, and there must have been some weather come through, with the barometric change there were some headaches. No other reason to have a headache other than weather... we will go with that. Loaded our bikes back up and away we go. The morning stop was planned for Coldwater. Mainly to get a spot to refill bottles and get some much needed food into us.
We stopped at a Diner called Autumn's Diner, right on the main street of town. A perfect little spot to grab some food and a coffee. I know at this point we were smelling a little rank, but they didn't seem to mind us which was good!
From Coldwater it was back on the trail on route to Orillia which was our next stop. Between Coldwater and Orillia there were some amazing stretches of trail, going through hardwood forest's. There was also a stretch where it was nicer to have the fat tires, as the trail became very loose with gravel. Cyclocross bikes would be able to do it, just a little tougher than the rest of the trail. But other than that, the trail itself would be ideal for a gravel bike for sure.
We hit Orillia and in need of water. The trail weaves by the beach and right by the lifegaurd station is a bottle fill up. We topped the bottles, poured cold water over the head and away we go again. It is quite funny the looks you get on a fat bike, let alone a fully loaded fat bike. From Orillia to Barrie one thing became clear, the trail is used and used a lot! There were so many hikers and bikers on the trail, it really shows how much these trail systems are needed.
Between Orillia and Barrie, we had to make one last stop for water. Mainly because we were slowing down, and also because it was a constant incline the whole way. Hawkstone is pretty much the middle spot and again right off the side of the trail. There is a nice little corner store there where you can get some water, gatorade, food etc. Really anything you need.
As we hit our final stretch from Hawkstone to Barrie, the rain moved in again, not as bad as the day before, but just enough to get refreshed. The closer we got to Barrie the busier the trail became again, with walkers runners bikers everywhere. We weaved our way downtown, by the beach and then a road jaunt back to the cars.
All in all we logged 170km over the whole trip, riding for 8.5 hours. Could we have gone faster, probably, was the pace okay, very much so, would you do it again, in a heartbeat.
At the end of the day, these bike packing trips are an absolute blast. Mark, Chris and I all had a great time, and well now the plan is to do it again, but do it the other way (Counter Clockwise).
A huge thank you to Cycle Simco for having this trail.
https://cyclesimcoe.ca/explore/simcoe-county-loop-trail/
Thanks to Mark and Chris for doing the ride with me as well.
Cheers
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