I did it recently, and somehow managed to turn a 160km ride into a 175km ride, and I even got lost and didn't actually complete the whole thing! :)
Executive Summary? I loved the first 1/3, from Orillia to Penetanguishene, I was mostly just hammering south on the western section, and had two mishaps (see below), and on my "cheater" route home on Line 15/16, I was simply hanging on by my fingernails, desperate to make it back to Orillia.
Starting in Orillia, I did the route counter-clockwise.
Three quick observations:
One day or Two days: I did it in one day. I don't recommend this though. I was pretty much just pedaling to try and get home the same day. "Pedaling" as opposed to enjoying the ride as much as I would have, if I'd been taking it easy. I'd recommend two days if you can, and having a more relaxed ride.
Bike: I rode a cyclocross bike with 32mm slick tires. I also had a rack and panniers, carrying a bit of gear. In my opinion you need one of the new(er) "adventure / gravel" style bikes (which are essentially 'cross bikes), or a hybrid. A road bike with narrow tires will be aggravating as hell with all the gravel, and a mountain bike will be too slow.
Fitness: Well, not that I'm fit, but to do it in one day at the very least your butt needs to be able to handle being on a saddle for 160(ish) kms. And to get home before dark you need to be able to hammer pretty decently all that while. Two days you could do a much more recreational ride.
Knowing the Uhthoff Trail and it's sometimes thick and loose gravel pretty well, I decided to use mostly country roads to get to Coldwater, avoiding the rail-trail. All these country roads are quiet and easy to ride, if you want to try this. The rail-trail is nice here is nice though, going through farmland and forest.
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| Trail just south of Coldwater. |
Waubaushene to Penetanguishene is the crown-jewel of this route. Entirely paved, largely right beside Georgian Bay waterfront, and simply gorgeous.
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| Waubaushene |
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| St. Marie among the Hurons |
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| Midland |
Just south of Penetanguishene the trail becomes this really cool series of "rollers". Steep descents to short wooden bridges over meandering creeks. It's really cool - you feel like you're slalomming up and down through deep woods (and you are!). This is the north part of the Tiny Trail. In fact, the west side of the Simcoe County Loop TRail, and the Tiny Trail, are part of the North Simcoe Rail Trail.
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| Tiny Trail |
My first misadventure was that one of the Tiny Trail bridges was closed for repair, and I couldn't get through. I had to turn back to something called Overhead Bridge Road, and Concession 11 E, and thankfully noticed the return of the Tiny Trail while I was cycling along Concession 11 towards County Road 6.
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| North Simcoe Rail Trail |
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| North Simcoe Rail Trail gravel |
The west side of the Loop Trail, for me heading south parallel to County Road 6, I had a blip or two where the trail somewhat disappeared on me. I guess I found my way though. This whole western edge of the trail is not exactly spectacular. There's no water, and it's a long slog through farmer's fields. I also missed some signage somewhere that must have been telling me to get off the North Simcoe Rail Trail, and head east on-road for a bit, because I went at least 10km out of my way further south on the North Simcoe Rail Trail, before I realized that I was no longer actually on the Loop Trail.
At this point, now about 125km into my day, tired, and thrown off by no longer knowing exactly where I was on the trail, I gave up on the idea of navigating back to the trail and heading south down into Barrie, and then home along the Oro-Medonte rail-trail along Lake Simcoe. Instead I went into Midhurst and then back into Orillia via Line 15-16. Line 15-16 is beautiful by the way, but damn the pavement is torn to crap for long stretches, and makes for very rough riding.
While I didn't actually ride the east section of the Loop Trail, which is the Oro-Medonte Trail, I do know this trail between Orillia and Barrie quite well. It's flat, with good traction, and easy to ride. It's also entirely forest (and some fields). You don't get a glimpse of water unless you turn down one of the lines (Line 14 takes you to Carthew Bay which has a good store with ice cream).
So what I didn't see and can't comment on, is the route from Snow Valley Road (near Midhurst) south down into Barrie, and the Barrie waterfront.
Otherwise, here's my cheat-sheet:
Orillia to Penetanguishene: Spectacular fun and scenic!
Penetanguishene to Barrie: Farmer's fields, some wayfinding issues, County Road 6 usually visible off to the side.
Barrie to Orillia: Forest forest and more forest. (Go down to Carthew Bay on Line 14 to see water, and maybe do 8 mile point and up Line 15 back to the trail, in order to mix things up a bit).
And my particular "ride" on this day?
I was in love up until Penetanguishene, and then it started to sour when I got turned back on those Tiny Trail "rollers". It felt like from this point on, I was fighting the trail a little, both with way-finding and with enjoyment of my surroundings. By the time I realized I was off the trail, somewhere above Snow Valley Road, I was pretty much shattered, and no longer in the mood to head down into Barrie.
I absolutely inched along Line 15/16, and would have been an absolute wreck of a cyclist and human being if the helping tailwind that I had on 15/16, had instead been a headwind.
