A quiet long weekend in cottage country
Highway traffic lighter, fewer noise complaints
ORILLIA, ONT.— After weeks of stay-at-home isolation, Ethan Sager and Robyn Berns were thrilled to spend at least part of the Victoria Day weekend at a cottage in Huntsville, before heading back home to Richmond Hill.
“Stayed on the dock, enjoyed the weather, got burnt,” Sager, 23, said Sunday about his sunny Saturday. The couple was waiting for their burgers at Webers,a Highway 11 landmark usually known for long lineups that didn’t materialize this weekend.
With a state of emergency keeping Ontario beaches, campgrounds and attractions closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, things appeared relatively quiet in cottage country this weekend, considered the unofficial start to summer when people normally open cottages, launch their boats and socialize.
OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said Sunday traffic volume on northbound Highway 400 has been “much less than what would be a typical Victoria Day long weekend. I still did see some boats on trailers and ATVs going north, families going north, but certainly not like a regular Victoria Day.”
For weeks, there has been a big buildup to this long weekend. Premier Doug Ford, local politicians and public officials have weighed in on whether it was advisable and safe to make the annual pilgrimage to Ontario’s many summer playgrounds. Numerous news reports have also captured the concern of some full-time residents that GTA cottage-owners and “daytrippers” might import coronavirus into areas so far largely spared of deadly outbreaks. As of Friday, the total number of cases for the Muskoka area was 19, with 16 recovered. There’s been one recorded death since the pandemic began.
Last week, six cottage country mayors, along with the chair of the District Municipality of Muskoka, released an open letter urging an end to “divisive attitudes or the propagation of negative ‘us versus them’ social commentary relative to seasonal versus permanent residents,” they wrote.
“For that type of behaviour is counterintuitive to our Canadian values and falls far short of reflecting the sentiment of the vast majority of Muskoka residents. We are all in this together.”
The mayors’ letter also reiterated guidelines and directives to potential travellers. “Should you elect to either leave or come to Muskoka,” bring provisions and self quarantine, do not congregate in groups, and “consider face coverings.”
Sager and Berns followed most of that advice during their whirlwind trip from Richmond Hill to Huntsville, bringing “food and everything we needed from the city. We didn’t go to the grocery store in Muskoka,” said Sager. They also cut the visit short.
En route home, they stopped at Webers — where full social distancing protocol was in effect — because it “gives us some form of normalcy ... going out, and not just staying at home cooking,” Sager said. It also helps out a local business, to “make sure it’s still lasting after the pandemic.”
Meanwhile, a Mississauga man who owns a cottage near Parry Sound, reported Sunday that there was little boat traffic on his lake, while “at night there are a few lights on the lake, someone had fireworks but that was it.” He asked to remain anonymous so as not to exacerbate already existing tensions.
“The town is quiet, the Canadian Tire was fairly busy, but I would not say the normal flow of people for this time of year.” The marina was open but also quiet. “I would say most people are staying at their cottages or homes, and not socializing.”
The crowds have also stayed away from Wasaga Beach, located on the shores of Georgian Bay, about a 90-minute drive north of Toronto. On Sunday, the world’s longest freshwater beach was mostly deserted, the bars and restaurants beside “Beach Area 2” closed.
Schmidt said he has reason to believe most Ontarians continue to comply with the provincial edict that gatherings be limited to fewer than five people.
“I haven’t heard of major parties that we’ve had to interrupt or get called to, I’m sure we had a few, but for the most part I think we’re doing pretty well.”