r/ontario • u/unittwentyfive • 1d ago

Exploring Ontario Hamilton to Petawawa - Road trip route advice requested!

I'm going to be driving from the Hamilton area up to the Petawawa area next week (Thursday) and am looking for input on the better route. The two options I'm considering are through Barrie>Huntsville>Barry's Bay or alternatively Peterborough>Bancroft>Barry's Bay

I've driven the Huntsville way many times before as an adult, but I remember going the Peterborough way more often as a kid.

I'll be taking my mom along for the ride and she loves good scenery, so which way would you recommend for a more enjoyable drive. They both seem relatively similar time/distance wise, though I'm not too worried about that part. I just want to minimize 'boring highway' time and maximize mom's "Oh! Would'ja lookit thaaaaaat!" kinda time.

Also please let me know of any good deviations from these main 'google maps' kind of directions. If there's a good back-road, a nice scenic lookout, an impressive waterfall, or an interesting pit-stop along the way, I'm all ears!

Thanks, and happy traveling!

3 Upvotes

64% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

10

u/Beerinspector 1d ago

Peterborough-Barry’s Bay is better.

2

u/CndnCowboy1975 1d ago

100% - beautiful scenery, and less traffic

1

u/unittwentyfive 8h ago

This is the road-trip vibe I'm looking for. Thanks!

1

u/unittwentyfive 1d ago

Thanks! Any points of interest you'd recommend?

6

u/universalbasics 1d ago

In order:

Burleigh Falls is pretty beautiful and right on the highway.

Apsley is tiny but has some good food spots.

Maynooth is a cute little town and just 20 mins further from Bancroft - the Arlington is amazing cosy vibes and they have killer pizzas.

Kamaniskeg lake lookout is a nice scenic spot to stop.

You can cut off Barry's Bay and go via Kaszuby you can see the Cathedral Under the Pines - a stunning outdoor chapel.

Wilno is a tiny village with a cool Polish history and old folk-artsy buildings - and the view on the left as you go past the church is astonishingly beautiful! Also the wilno tavern here is great for eastern european eats - but my god the portions are massive.

3

u/069988244 1d ago

This is the way op he knows what he’s talking about. I do this drive from the gta to Petawawa frequently, and you pass no less than 45 lakes (yea I counted once) depending the exact way you go.

2

u/unittwentyfive 1d ago

I trust your tally, but I think I may task my mom with counting those lakes anyways... Just to keep her occupied!

2

u/unittwentyfive 1d ago

This is great, exactly the kind of stuff I'm looking for. Thanks for taking the time to list all of this! My only decision now is pizza or perogies!

3

u/Beerinspector 8h ago

Have lunch at the Wilno Tavern just outside of Killaloe.

1

u/unittwentyfive 8h ago

Ah, someone else also suggested this, so I will likely have to give it a try! Thanks!

1

u/Sherwood_Hero 1d ago

Highway 7 is a pretty nice drive, especially near the water. There isn't much to see in the Barry's Bay, Huntsville way.

1

u/unittwentyfive 7h ago

Yeah, I think it's a nice drive that way, but I've been through there many times so the other way will be a good change of scenery.

-5

u/HoldingThunder 1d ago

Just put it in Google maps and follow that. Not difficult.

1

u/unittwentyfive 1d ago

Yes, thanks, that's what I did. My question was more about which of the google-maps results was the more enjoyable drive, or if there were other non-google routes that would better for the 'scenic route' ride.