Orillia sits on the narrows between Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching, and that narrow stretch of water explains almost everything about it. People have gathered here to fish for thousands of years, French and Wendat travellers passed through in 1615, and a humorist turned the small town into the fictional Mariposa. Today it is a compact, walkable city with a lively main street and a long public waterfront.

Mnjikaning: the place of the fish fence

Start with the oldest story. At the Atherley Narrows, where Highway 12 crosses between the two lakes, lie the remains of wooden fish weirs: lines of stakes driven into the lake bed that once held fences used to channel and catch fish. Parks Canada describes them as the largest and best-preserved wooden fish weirs known in eastern North America, used from about 3300 B.C. until the recent past, roughly 5,000 years.

The site was designated the Mnjikaning Fish Weirs National Historic Site in 1982. Mnjikaning is often translated as "the place of the fish fence". The Chippewas of Rama First Nation, whose community is just across the narrows, are its stewards through the Mnjikaning Fish Fence Circle.

What you can and cannot see. The weirs are underwater, preserved in silt, so there is nothing dramatic to photograph. The posts many visitors notice near the bridge are bridge footings, not the weirs. What you can do is stand at the narrows, read the interpretive panels, and take in how long people have depended on this spot. Treat it with respect: it is a sacred place.

The Leacock Museum National Historic Site

Stephen Leacock (1869–1944) was one of the best-known humorists in the English-speaking world, and Orillia was the model for Mariposa in his 1912 book Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town. His summer home at Old Brewery Bay, 50 Museum Drive on Lake Couchiching, was built in 1928 and is now the Leacock Museum National Historic Site, with the world's largest archive of his manuscripts.

  • 2026 autumn hours: August 31 to December 18, Thursday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (last entry 3 p.m.).
  • Winter: the museum closes to drop-in visitors over the winter and reopens in spring; in 2026 it reopened on March 7. Special programming sometimes continues, so check the City's page.
  • Admission: $5.25 plus HST per person, or a $15.75 plus HST family rate.

The grounds and boathouse are lovely in autumn colour, so the coming weeks are a good time to go.

Downtown: the Opera House and Mississaga Street

The Orillia Opera House on Mississaga Street West was built in 1895 and has served as a theatre, town offices, a jail and a market over the years. Its auditorium is named for Orillia's best-known musician, Gordon Lightfoot. Check what is on; a holiday show is a good reason to come in December.

From there, walk Mississaga Street toward the lake for independent shops and cafés. The Mariposa Market, a bakery and gift shop named for Leacock's town, is a local institution.

The waterfront

At the foot of Mississaga Street, Couchiching Beach Park and the Port of Orillia join into one long public waterfront with a boardwalk, docks and a sandy beach. It is the city's main gathering place in summer and a quiet, often misty walk in winter.

The park's large Samuel de Champlain monument, long debated for its depiction of Indigenous figures, was removed from the park in June 2026, so you will not find it there.

Seasons and events

Where to stay

Options include the Champlain Waterfront, a short walk from the boardwalk, the Lakeside Inn, The Bayview and the Stone Gate Inn. Browse the Simcoe County directory for more.

For the wider history of the region's First Nations and treaties, read our introduction to Indigenous Central Ontario.