Focus on: Sundridge

Story, photo, Sarah Ryeland

As you drive north on Highway 11, the beauty of the landscape is overwhelming. Everywhere you look there are rocky cliffs, fields, trees and lakes that remind us why Almaguin is so great. But as you near the intersection of highways 11 and 124, there’s a certain charming little town with a big heart that’ll catch your eye.

Sundridge sits on the shores of beautiful Lake Bernard. Home to both seasonal and year-round residents, it’s a friendly, tight-knit community that takes pride in offering plenty of restaurants, cafes, shops and activities for the entire family.

The town was incorporated in 1889 but its history dates back even farther. Sundridge’s first settler, James Dunbar, came to the area in 1876 as the Canadian National Railway worked its way into Ontario’s north. Over the next few years, churches and a library were established, with more settlers coming to the region.

Sundridge has a small but loyal community. Both year-round residents and cottagers alike love the town’s welcoming spirit and sense of fun.

Jennifer Thompson, a third-generation resident of Sundridge, says she loves the town because of all the events that bring the community together.

“There’s the Santa Claus parade,” she says. “We take part in that. But there’s also the fall fair, Family First Celebration, fireworks in the summer and tons of other events, too. That brings everyone together.”

Thompson also likes Sundridge’s locally owned businesses. “There are a lot of nice shops like the deli,” she says. “And there are so many restaurants that are all unique.”

Besides shopping and dining in the picturesque downtown area, Sundridge offers a wealth of outdoor activities in both the summer and winter. Thompson’s favourite winter activity is skating, either on the lake or in the arena, but no matter the season, it seems that Lake Bernard is the biggest source of entertainment and fun.

“Ice fishing is our main outdoor sport in the winter,” says Tim Webster, a lifelong Sundridge resident, whose family has lived in the town for close to 100 years. “I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember.”

Webster and his family look forward to heading out on Lake Bernard in the chilly winter months to hang out in the ice-fishing hut – a family tradition.

“I’ve been going ice fishing on the lake with my family since I was four or five,” says Webster, who notes that there are often three generations of his family on the lake at one time.

There are plenty of ice hut communities on the lake and the Websters aren’t the only ones in Sundridge who enjoy the sport.

Webster, his family and other outdoor-loving Sundridge residents are interested in plenty of additional winter pursuits. There is snowmobiling (to get to the ice fishing hut) and sometimes even snowshoeing (to get to the snowmobile, to get to the ice fishing hut), he says.

But whether it’s cold and snowy or warm and sunny, Sundridge is a friendly and welcoming town with a disposition that definitely earns its Sunny Sundridge nickname.