"The 400" is a busy, six- to eight-lane scenic highway, which takes you north from Toronto to Barrie. Along the one-hour drive, you will pass turn-offs to several small cities and towns, so-called bedroom communities of Toronto.
You will also pass turn-offs for a variety of other popular attractions: The McMichael Art Gallery which houses the collection of Canada's most well-known artists, the Group of Seven; for the thrill-seekers, Canada's Wonderland amusement park; for the shop-a-holic, the wonderful Tanger Cookstown outlet mall in Innisfil, with more than 70 brand name outlet stores.
Barrie itself is a growing city of more than 147,000 (its metro area is about 212,000). The city is set along Lake Simcoe's Kempenfelt Bay, and is the largest city between Toronto and Sudbury.
Barrie is home to the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, a 466-bed hospital, which provides tertiary-care services to a large geographical area.
The city is also home to Georgian College, which offers more than 130 programs.
Cultural hubs include the MacLaren Art Centre, which has a permanent collection of contemporary Canadian art and presents a year-round programme of world-class exhibitions, education activities and special events and the Five Points Theatre a fully-equipped theatre offering theatre, music, and dance performances.
The city's 4,195-seat, multi-purpose Sadlon Arena not only hosts international concerts, but is home to the Ontario Hockey League's Barrie Colts. The Colts came in second in the 2024-25 season.
Speaking skating, Barrie is also home to Mariposa School of Skating, which provides both figure skating and hockey lessons. The school was home to famous skaters, including Brian Orser, Elvis Stojko, Jeff Buttle, and Jennifer Robinson. In fact, their Pre-CanSkate program takes kids as young as 2 years old!
Personally, I believe that watching your young children or grandchildren develop their skating and hockey skills is one of the great pleasures of having children. We start the young in Canada. I will never forget the two-year-old, with her soother in her mouth, skating confidently down the ice!
And from Barrie, "The 400" divides into several branches into the spectacular hill and lake area of "cottage country."
The surrounding area is spectacular, with plenty of opportunities for golfing, hiking, boating, fishing, and skiing. There are three small ski hills within an hour's drive. One of these is Blue Mountain, the province's largest ski resort, which offers cross-country and downhill skiing and snowboarding. Their "5x7" (i.e., five days, seven nights) adult season ski pass costs C$334 (US$234/£180). These are small hills, i.e., not like Vail or Whistler-Blackcomb, but they will keep you in shape!
