The Great Canadian Towns and Villages Thread

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

So, here it is, my August in Nelson, BC.

Nelson is perhaps the pitch perfect Pacific Northwest small town.

Its active, full of outdoor enthusiasts, has a historic core, is snug in the mountains next to a lake, is climatically a mix of both the Pacific Rainforest and the drier Montane forests, and has four well defined seasons.

Nelson featured in a mid-1980s Steve Martin film, the name was kept but it was playing a town in the U.S. The fire hall was prominent in the film.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093886/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxanne_(film)

• Video Link

No idea if the real town council picked up on this idea though:
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/06a81d6...8-265257a5d75e

It looked really nice back then on screen, but it's even nicer through your lens.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

It is so bizarre that there are fucking pot shops on every street (London must have at least 4 trillion places selling weed...including places within several hundred metres of schools), and that there is still so much control over alcohol sales.

When my best friend and I visited Kitchener-Waterloo in May there was at least two dozen or more on the King St. spine alone.

My friend had never seen one, we went into what looked to be the fanciest one and I bought a small bag of gummies just because as Canadians we can. He's not for marijuana even though NYS is going to legalize it soon (if they haven't already) but was impressed everything was behind lock and key out of sight unless you ask the "bud tender" for assistance.

The clerk was actually from London and he remarked how there's way too many pot shops in K-W and even with a huge student population (Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier, Conestoga college) that they can't possibly support all of them.

(I asked him about thoughts on London compared to K-W and he said while London was much larger when he was growing up he now feels like K-W is growing faster than London and both downtown Kitchener and uptown Waterloo keep improving in part due to the tech jobs and new light rail line)

Edit: the shop we visited 'Hyerlove' already closed down in July and apparently they stiffed the landlord lol
A clear victim of Canada's marijuana retail crisis of 2022

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by niwell

Nelson looks incredible! No idea it had a streetcar. Will need to make it out there at some point.

Alluded to this before but we bought a house in Napanee this spring and are in the process of getting it fixed up to use as a secondary / vacation home. Walking distance to downtown in a place built in 1900. The town is quite nice if a bit sleepy, and I think has a lot of potential, particularly given it’s proximity to Prince Edward county.

8pm on a Friday:

Some really nice bones!
How far/how long of a drive is it from where you guys live in Toronto?

[urbandreamer]

Napanee is about 2.5hrs east of High Park, possibly 3 in poor traffic. I like it as well as nearby Newburgh.

[Innsertnamehere]

Simcoe’s downtown is huge for a town it’s size but completely void of activity, almost entirely full of marginal restaurants and stores catering to the people in poverty living around the core and temporary foreign workers who work in the Norfolk County tobacco fields. All the popular restaurants in the area are in Dover instead, and most retail in Simcoe has moved out to highway 3 in strip plazas, including local retailers.

It has some beautiful historic structures, it’s a huge shame the core has been allowed to decay to the extent it has. Feels very American in that sense.

Port Dover comparatively is a very attractive little town full of nice restaurants, shops, etc.

[megadude]

Before going to Simcoe and Norfolk County, as posted on the last page, made some Niagara stops first. Some are cities, some are towns. Some already covered here so won't go into too much detail.

St. Catharines - Downtown has good and bad. Wednesday morning and hardly anyone on the street and not much traffic. I'd imagine 2.5 years ago there'd be more activity. But I do like being able to cross a street at any point without having to play Frogger like when I go to the office Downtown TO. Like when I was in Kingston about 10 years ago. No need to wait at a light. And it's why I prefer walking around or parking in small downtowns like Oakville, etc. A downtown I can cover completely on foot on any given day or find cheap/free parking instantly.

There was one street person in front of the BMO and one guy asked me for change at the Montebello Park washroom. My bro lives next to that park. That is definitely not surprising. I really want St. Kitts to blossom. Their main street is nice enough as it is but can take it up a level and be beautiful if they get more activity downtown.

My bro used to work in this building on the other side of the park. Here's an example of how downtown can be improved. It closed down five years ago. It still is boarded up. Not sure how this isn't knocked down already and replaced with a condo or apt. Bro heard the owner was trying to renovate and open as office space again. Not sure what office vacancy in St. Kitts was five years ago but it seems like it would have been win-win for the owner and city to get people moved in there as multi-family?

And this empty heritage building burned down recently. Of course, rumours say it was intentional since the owner didn't want to restore or partially restore it and just build something new.


https://niagaracanada.com/st-cathari...ocal-business/



https://goodtimes.ca/canadas-top-ret...catharines-on/














Niagara Falls - Been a long time since I drove through Downtown. By the bus terminal could easily stand in for the US. And I love their gateway signs. Queen St. was more bustling than I thought. Was busier than St. Kitts. Nice to see. Again, I want this area to really take off. Would be so cool to make DT a stop along the way when doing a day trip to the Falls.




https://www.niagarafallstourism.com/...niagara-falls/






Niagara Parkway - Driven the scenic route between the Falls and Niagara on the Lake plenty of times. Get to see the gorge, vineyards and mega hydro infrastructure. This was the first time going the opposite way, to Fort Erie. Totally different. At the top of the Niagara River of course, instead of the bottom. I love that no homes back onto the water. They are all on the other side of the street. The water side is full of small parking spots to pull over at every couple of kms. Water was emerald and blue. Very famous in fishing circles for the smallmouth bass population. I must say, I prefer looking across and seeing nature as opposed to when you get closer to Fort Erie and you start looking over at Buffalo.


https://www.zolo.ca/fort-erie-real-e...iagara-parkway


https://bansalteam.com/listing/2021-...-5m4-24925510/


https://andyandjudi.com/2014/08/31/n...e-sightseeing/




Fort Erie - Only stopped there once in my life. Going to the track to play slots on the way back from Buffalo. Checked it out proper this time. Bridgeburg, Ridgeway and Crystal Beach. Basically, a hodge podge of communities.


































https://www.narcity.com/toronto/this...lifornia-vibes








Port Colborne - I like the vibe on the side facing the canal vs. the main street. Would be cool to watch when a ship is passing. Also stopped by Nickel Beach, which is where you're only allowed to access it by tailgating in your car on the beach. Until labour day that is. After that, you can park outside the fence and walk in for no charge.


















https://www.iheartradio.ca/610cktb/n...egy-1.17226481



Welland and Thorold - Last pic is the one of Thorold (pretty small downtown). Some rough aspects and/or people I see every time I pass through. But there's also a lot of good. Welland in particular has the recreational canal and the big canal for ships.


https://www.iheartradio.ca/610cktb/n...ies-1.14979791


https://www.turtlesproperty.com/


https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/do...2720-309131361


https://chrisdelaatphotography.com/downtown-thorold

[niwell]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Some really nice bones!
How far/how long of a drive is it from where you guys live in Toronto?

I've done it in 2 hrs before (6am) but it's usually just under 2.5 hrs. I've gotten pretty good at timing things so we avoid traffic - no Friday afternoons or Sunday evenings if we can swing it.


Was there over the weekend to do a bunch of reno work (fun times over thanksgiving!) and had to head back last night unfortunately. Was predicting over 3 hrs on the 401 with huge backups East of Cobourg so took Hwy 2 between there and Napanee. Took about the same amount of time but is actually a very nice drive. Some gorgeous towns and countryside, particularly with the changing leaves.

[MolsonExport]

It is appalling to see cars parked right on Nickelback beach. Why on earth is this permitted? Can't people haul their carcasses a few extra metres?

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

It is appalling to see cars parked right on Nickelback beach. Why on earth is this permitted? Can't people haul their carcasses a few extra metres?

In full agreement.

It's permitted because this beach and hectares of surrounding property is owned by Inco now Vale and they have an agreement to allow the city of Port Colborne to use this beach. There's no parking lot outside the gates besides a handful of spots. Parking lots seen on satellite shot are Vale employee parking.

They've been allowing this for decades but only recently have idiots parked 10ft from the water.

Another reason to go EV with automobiles. No leaking oil and tranny fluids

[Wigs]

niwell, 2 hours isn't bad. But yeah I bet it can be unpredictable at times.
Please show us some photos if you feel comfortable sharing.

[905er]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

It is appalling to see cars parked right on Nickelback beach. Why on earth is this permitted? Can't people haul their carcasses a few extra metres?

humans are trash.. in flesh and blood.. also, incredibly lazy..generally speaking of course.

[urbandreamer]

Downtown Napanee in the brutal rainstorm of 22 August:
https://imgur.com/a/GTXDaD7
Housing stock varies from late 19th century red brick and stone to rundown wood sided shacks to nice postwar bungalows. Like many towns in Ontario, it has a certain sullen Scots grimness layered with lower income poor white people overtones that ultimately I find depressing vs the cheery social atmosphere you see in Quebec towns.

[megadude]

But did any of you see Avril Lavigne walking around when you were in Napanee?

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by megadude

But did any of you see Avril Lavigne walking around when you were in Napanee?

I saw her and her ex husband, Mr. constipation voice, wandering around Greater Napanee. (which is greater for many reasons).

[niwell]

There's a distinct lack of Avril related iconography in Napanee - the only thing I have noticed is a very faded poster in one of the (surprisingly many) independent pizza places. Stratford is full of Bieber stuff including a small museum - if I ever need to have a side hustle I can see a very distinct market niche to enter!

Originally Posted by Wigs

niwell, 2 hours isn't bad. But yeah I bet it can be unpredictable at times.
Please show us some photos if you feel comfortable sharing.

I'll make sure to take some more pics the next time I'm up and have time. Urbandreamer actually nailed the building stock - lots of stately brick homes contrasted with shacks. Ours is a bit in between as it's wood frame built in 1900 but also quite large. Overall the area is mostly white blue-collar but there also seems to be an increasing overflow of visitors and new residents that are probably PEC overflow.

[urbandreamer]

Two month's ago I explored the Ottawa Valley towns for the first time. Merrickville is cute although a bit too gentrified for my taste; Mississippi Mills was a big construction mess and it was raining so I didn't get a good look around, however interesting

I also liked the continous red brick streetwall in Renfrew (again it was raining ugh) and Perth - I think SHH would love it here

I also enjoy looking at old cemeteries and churches, both living

and dead

Somewhere along the Yellowhead Highway, possibly near the SK/MB border there's a similar abandoned onion dome Ukrainian church - maybe a local knows what I mean? Anyway, lots of cute little churches across the Prairies and Northern Ontario. I came across a very remote rural cemetery near Wallaceburg recently.

In Quebec, of the towns I explored, Ste Agathe-des-Monts interested me the most:


Across the waterfront (Lac des Sables) I liked these wooden townhomes

20th July found me in Russell Manitoba, after spending a very lonely night in Asessippi Provincial Park (I was one of only three campers there that night! Brutal mosquitos) Apparently it's Manitoba's ski resort town which is kind of sad considering the hill is closer in size to Kitchener's Chicopee ski hill than even Blue Mountain resort.

The park itself is part of a dam, very beautiful morning leaving it and extremely isolated from civilization.

[megadude]

On the same day I did Niagara and Norfolk Region/County, I stopped in Dunnville (pop. 6k) for the third time and Downtown Cayuga for the first time.

Dunnville's DT gives the impression of being a bigger town. It's way more known for the famous mudcats caught there in that section of the Grand.

And regarding the use of corrugated steel on storefronts on Main Street, it's a shame, but whaddya gonna do. Whatever material was used in the other pic, wow, looks so much better. And I have a feeling it's not that much more expensive than corrugated steel but who knows.









[IMG][/IMG]
https://dunnvillemudcathome.files.wo...dcat.jpg?w=640


https://shelovestofish.com/2022/05/2...ville-ontario/



Cayuga is know more for its racing scene, as alluded to on the previous page. The DT is really tiny. Interesting how you're driving on a country road and then the massive used car dealership pops up and then you're downtown and one minute later you cross the Grand River and you're back in the country again. Really only one interesting block there.








Caledonia I didn't pass through this time because it's underwhelming. Lots of people know the name Caledonia, and not just because of the road in Toronto. It's not far outside of Hamilton. I have to say, I've seen several places smaller than its 10k that were much better to look at. Cool bridge though, I suppose.


https://historicbridges.org/bridges/...rio/caledonia/






These are all on the Grand River. As are many more cities and towns. Some much bigger and some much more charming. It would be awesome to paddle the length of it and stop off in all towns and scenic points of interest.


https://bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2004/sep/01we.html

[megadude]

And by the way, there's a serious number of rail museums and military museums in small towns that I’ve only started to really notice in the past couple of years. Cities too, of course. Well, a museum or at least one engine/coach or sub/warship or tank or fighter jet, etc.

The obvious ones are Downsview in North York or in Ancaster, Hamilton and the Ottawa one for air museums but there's a tonne more like random single fighter jets that can be seen in whatever town.

Two of the bigger ones that will have a lot of mechanized armour would be the ones in Angus by CFB Borden and in Oshawa.

Then there's Fort York in Toronto, Fort George in Niagara and Fort Henry in Kingston for historic fortifications with re-enactments.

There's a rail/bus musuem in Halton Hills I've been to a couple of times that is pretty cool.

There's many more I'm missing. No time right now to go searching for pics. Gotta wake up early tomorrow. I'm off to bed.

If anyone can name some bigger rail or military museums outside of Ontario, please feel free to chime in. I'm sure Halifax has to have something related to the Navy? It would be cool to see a blog of someone who goes to visit them all.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by megadude

And by the way, there's a serious number of rail museums and military museums in small towns that I’ve only started to really notice in the past couple of years. Cities too, of course. Well, a museum or at least one engine/coach or sub/warship or tank or fighter jet, etc.

The obvious ones are Downsview in North York or in Ancaster, Hamilton for air museums but there's a tonne more like random single fighter jets that can be seen in whatever town.

Two of the bigger ones that will have a lot of mechanized armour would be the ones in Angus by CFB Borden and in Oshawa.

Then there's Fort York in Toronto, Fort George in Niagara and Fort Henry in Kingston for historic fortifications with re-enactments.

There's a rail/bus musuem in Halton Hills I've been to a couple of times that is pretty cool.

There's many more I'm missing. No time right now to go searching for pics. Gotta wake up early tomorrow. I'm off to bed.

If anyone can name some bigger rail or military museums outside of Ontario, please feel free to chime in. I'm sure Halifax has to have something related to the Navy? It would be cool to see a blog of someone who goes to visit them all.

Exporail in St-Constant QC is probably the largest railway museum in Canada. I went a few years ago and loved it. It is South of Montreal. https://exporail.org/en/home/ You are probably best to go in Summer because there are outdoor exhibits and demonstrations but the indoor stuff is great.

I know that Revelstoke BC has a pretty good one but I never got a chance to visit it even though I was there fairly recently. But it's something I can look forward to going to the next time I'm there.

[urbandreamer]

Is Jonny's any good in Fort Macleod AB?
https://imgur.com/a/puw7dYE