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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
As a place to stay you might also wish to consider the nearby small town of Wiarton which lies on the Bruce Peninsula to the north of Owen Sound.
Inglis Falls is reached by going South on 2nd Avenue East. The Sydenham River defines East vs West, so don't confuse this with 2nd Avenue West which is on the other side of the River. The falls is very pretty, about 60 ft high and quite wide. There is a steel grating footbridge (allowing you to look down) right over the edge of the falls so you have access to vistas from both sides of the river.
Harrison Park (off 2nd Ave. East and 1st St.) is pleasant and has an Inn where the food is good and reasonably priced. The Broccoli soup and Cranberry Orange Chicken were particularly good.
The Tom Thompson Memorial Art Gallery disappointed me. Thompson was the only centre of promise in the "Group of Seven" which actually formed after his early death. The building and the people were very nice, but the paintings were not. There was a strange exhibit based on a curator's dream linking Thompson to a hockey player who also died young years later in the same area.
Two other Falls in the area also offered short walks in the woods and the music of gentle rapids and falling water. Jones Falls (49 feet high) is off Hwy 6, as you leave Owen Sound Westbound. Indian Falls is off Hwy 26 well north of town on the west side (take 3rd Ave. West). At the time we saw it, one could take one's shoes off and ford the river virtually at the edge of the falls. Nice walk, though.
Well out of Owen Sound are two interesting points, Feversham Gorge and Eugenia Falls. Feversham Gorge is about 50 km (about 30 miles) SE. The Beaver River at the bottom of the gorge looks far too tame to have cut the 100 foot sheer rock walls, but it did. Decent hike down to water level and back. Eugenia Falls is a little west of Feversham. A very short walk brings you to a view of the narrow and delicate falls. Again, there is a sheer 100 foot drop. There is a stone wall you can look over, then as you walk along it is replaced by a steel mesh fence and this peters out to nothing but sheer drop.
While doing research for my mother who still lives in Owen Sound, at age 93 (and born there), I came upon your description of the central area of the town. Being born and raised there until I was l7, I have to agree that it was rather rundown for many years, and I noticed that as I returned frequently to see family. However, your description as unpleasant and rundown must be updated! Perhaps you could call the visitor's bureau for a full description. The main street has been completely redone within the last two years, with new underground utilities and replacement of the old wooden (probably l00 years old or more) water main. The road, sidewalks, parking meters, street fronts and beautiful arching street lights make it a lovely place to be. I was pleasantly surprised at the "redo". We from large cities (I live in North Hollywood), do not understand the lack of funds to repair these little towns. It is a struggle for them.
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Most recently modified 29-Sep-02