A 64 km loop out to Friday Harbour on Lake Simcoe, home to Canada's largest inland marina, through the farm country around Cookstown and back along the lakeshore.
Distance
64 km
Elevation
408 m
Ride time
2.5–3.5 hr
Difficulty
Moderate
The route
About this ride
Farm roads out to a marina at the halfway, then the lakeshore and a few punchy hills for the way home.
The destination is Friday Harbour, a 600-acre resort community built on Big Bay Point that has quietly become one of the more surprising places to arrive by bike in Ontario. Its centrepiece is a 1,000-slip marina, the largest inland marina in Canada, wrapped by a European-style boardwalk of restaurants, cafes and shops looking out over the boats. Rolling in off farm roads to find that much water, and that much going on, is the whole reason we made this loop. It's the natural halfway stop: refuel on the promenade, take in the harbour, then point the bike back inland.
The back half is the better half. The route hugs the lakeshore out of Big Bay Point and past Innisfil's beaches before turning back onto farm roads for the run home. The riding is mostly gentle, but this is not a pancake-flat loop: the 408 m of climbing comes in short, punchy rises on the concession roads, the kind that spike your heart rate and are over before you've settled in. String them together on a warm afternoon and the last third has some bite. From the final hill it's a straight run back to where you started.
Stops along the way
6 of 6 showing
0 km · loop start/finish
We parked at the Tanger Outlets in Cookstown, right off Highway 400 at County Road 89, where there's a big free lot and it's easy to roll straight out onto the concession roads. A simple, low-stress place to start and finish a country loop.
Open in Maps →~0–30 km · Cookstown to the lake
The first half winds through open farm fields with a couple of quick hills to wake the legs up. These concession roads are shared with cars and, compared with our other rides, carry a fair bit of traffic that builds as the day goes on, so we'd recommend heading out early to get ahead of it.
Open in Maps →~32 km · halfway
The reason for the ride. Friday Harbour's boardwalk wraps Canada's largest inland marina, so you get big harbour views, a promenade of places to eat, and a genuinely surreal amount of water for a spot in the middle of farm country. The perfect place to stop, refuel and turn around.
Open in Maps →~32 km · Friday Harbour boardwalk
We opted for the Parisienne and weren't disappointed. It's an independent French patisserie and bistro right on the boardwalk, doing pastries, espresso and lunch with a view over the marina. A proper halfway treat rather than a gas-station snack. Hours shift by season, so it's worth a quick check before you count on it.
Open in Maps →~35–45 km · back half
The back half was our favourite. Leaving Big Bay Point you follow the lake and pass Innisfil's beaches (Innisfil Beach Park is right on the line if you want sand and water and a washroom) before the route turns back inland toward the farm roads. A great place to soft-pedal and take it in.
Open in Maps →~45–60 km · farm roads home
Turning back onto the farm roads, you hit a few punchy little climbs that might make you question your life choices this late in the ride. They're short but they bite. We promise it's worth it: from the last of them it's a straight run back to where you started.
Open in Maps →From the ride
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