Sauble Beach, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Sauble Beach, Ontario
, Canada
(pop. 2000) is a resort community and unincorporated area in the town of South Bruce Peninsula
, Bruce County
in southwestern
Ontario
, Canada
. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Huron
, on the north edge of the Saugeen Nation
. The beach takes its name from that given by early French
explorers to the sandy Sauble River
, originally Riviere aux Saubles, that empties into the lake at the beach. The first settler is reported to have been John Eldridge, who built a cottage nearby in 1877, although most of the resort development of the modern beach area dates from about 1948, including still-surviving attractions like the Driftwood Cafe, Sauble Lodge Motel and the Crowd Inn hot-dog stand. The main street has remained relatively untouched in the past 50 years.
At over seven miles long (11 km), Sauble Beach is said to be the second longest freshwater beach in the world after Wasaga Beach. A unique phenomenon of sandbar deposits building out along the Huron shore keep the beach at Sauble very shallow and warm.
Recreational activities include swimming, windsurfing
, water-skiing, fishing
, golfing, lawn bowling, tennis
, street dances, beach volleyball
, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing
, birding, an annual Winterfest and an annual sandcastle
contest. The Canadian National (Beach) Volleyball Championships have been held there, and the local Steelback Sauble Speedway is on the CASCAR professional racing circuit. The Sauble Beach Festival of the Classical Guitar has been held there since 2007. The area is a popular destination among young people for their annual May 2–4 campsite revelries.
While a hot summer long-weekend can see the resident count soar to over 100,000, Sauble Beach is the permanent year-round home to approximately 2,000 people. The cottage owners add thousands of seasonal community members, some who stay through the spring to fall time period and others who retreat to Sauble on weekends. Cottage owners are uniquely split between owners who own property outright and cottages that are located on the Native lands. A lease relationship between the Saugeen Nation and these cottagers have allowed for almost 3,000 seasonal homes to be built. The Saugeen Nation benefits from this land lease rental and cost sharing for services and is administered through the Band and Indian Affairs in Ottawa.
Local businesses offer retail and services for hardware, appliance and grocery shopping, restaurants and hotels, fire and police services, daycare and a medical clinic. High speed internet is available for free at a number of the eateries.
. Amabel-Sauble Community School was built in 1995 as an experiment in joint ownership between the board and the Township of Amabel (now part of South Bruce Peninsula); the school provides primary curriculum from Jr. Kindergarten to Grade 8. The closest secondary school is Saugeen District Secondary School in Port Elgin, Ontario
. There are no Roman Catholic schools in town, the closest schools with the Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board
are in Port Elgin, Ontario
and Owen Sound, Ontario
.
The closest post secondary institution is Georgian College
's Owen Sound, Ontario
campus.
.
Provincially and federally, the area is part of the riding of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound
.
A few roads serve the area:
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(pop. 2000) is a resort community and unincorporated area in the town of South Bruce Peninsula
South Bruce Peninsula, Ontario
South Bruce Peninsula is a town at the base of the Bruce Peninsula of Ontario, Canada, in the County of Bruce between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.Recently the cottage industry has become the major industry in the area...
, Bruce County
Bruce County, Ontario
Bruce County is a county in western Ontario, Canada, and includes the Bruce Peninsula. As of 2006, the population was 65,349. The area was . The county seat is Walkerton, Ontario. It is located at ....
in southwestern
Southwestern Ontario
Southwestern Ontario is a subregion of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, centred on the city of London. It extends north to south from the Bruce Peninsula on Lake Huron to the Lake Erie shoreline, and east to south-west roughly from Guelph to Windsor. The region had a population...
Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
, on the north edge of the Saugeen Nation
Chippewas of Saugeen Ojibway Territory
Saugeen First Nation is an Ojibway First Nation located along the Saugeen River and Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada. Organized in the mid 1970s, Saugeen First Nation is the primary political successor apparent to the Chippewas of Saugeen Ojibway Territory....
. The beach takes its name from that given by early French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
explorers to the sandy Sauble River
Sauble River (Ontario)
The Sauble River is a river in Bruce County and Grey County in southwestern Ontario, Canada that flows from its headwaters in the township of Chatsworth to Lake Huron at the community of Sauble Beach.-Etymology:...
, originally Riviere aux Saubles, that empties into the lake at the beach. The first settler is reported to have been John Eldridge, who built a cottage nearby in 1877, although most of the resort development of the modern beach area dates from about 1948, including still-surviving attractions like the Driftwood Cafe, Sauble Lodge Motel and the Crowd Inn hot-dog stand. The main street has remained relatively untouched in the past 50 years.
At over seven miles long (11 km), Sauble Beach is said to be the second longest freshwater beach in the world after Wasaga Beach. A unique phenomenon of sandbar deposits building out along the Huron shore keep the beach at Sauble very shallow and warm.
Recreational activities include swimming, windsurfing
Windsurfing
Windsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
, water-skiing, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, golfing, lawn bowling, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, street dances, beach volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
, birding, an annual Winterfest and an annual sandcastle
SandCastle
Sandcastle is a documentation generator from Microsoft that automatically produces MSDN style reference documentation out of reflection information of .NET assemblies and XML documentation comments found in the source code of these assemblies...
contest. The Canadian National (Beach) Volleyball Championships have been held there, and the local Steelback Sauble Speedway is on the CASCAR professional racing circuit. The Sauble Beach Festival of the Classical Guitar has been held there since 2007. The area is a popular destination among young people for their annual May 2–4 campsite revelries.
While a hot summer long-weekend can see the resident count soar to over 100,000, Sauble Beach is the permanent year-round home to approximately 2,000 people. The cottage owners add thousands of seasonal community members, some who stay through the spring to fall time period and others who retreat to Sauble on weekends. Cottage owners are uniquely split between owners who own property outright and cottages that are located on the Native lands. A lease relationship between the Saugeen Nation and these cottagers have allowed for almost 3,000 seasonal homes to be built. The Saugeen Nation benefits from this land lease rental and cost sharing for services and is administered through the Band and Indian Affairs in Ottawa.
Local businesses offer retail and services for hardware, appliance and grocery shopping, restaurants and hotels, fire and police services, daycare and a medical clinic. High speed internet is available for free at a number of the eateries.
Education
There is only one school in town under the Bluewater District School BoardBluewater District School Board
The Bluewater District School Board is a school board in the Canadian province of Ontario, with jurisdiction for the operation of schools in Bruce and Grey counties....
. Amabel-Sauble Community School was built in 1995 as an experiment in joint ownership between the board and the Township of Amabel (now part of South Bruce Peninsula); the school provides primary curriculum from Jr. Kindergarten to Grade 8. The closest secondary school is Saugeen District Secondary School in Port Elgin, Ontario
Port Elgin, Ontario
Port Elgin is a community in the Ontario municipality of Saugeen Shores. Close to MacGregor Point Provincial Park in Bruce County, the community has several beaches on Lake Huron....
. There are no Roman Catholic schools in town, the closest schools with the Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board
Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board
The Bruce-Grey Catholic School Board manages several elementary and secondary schools located in Bruce/Grey Counties including the Owen Sound area.-Schools governed by BGCDSB:*Holy Family School Hanover*Immaculate Conception School Formosa...
are in Port Elgin, Ontario
Port Elgin, Ontario
Port Elgin is a community in the Ontario municipality of Saugeen Shores. Close to MacGregor Point Provincial Park in Bruce County, the community has several beaches on Lake Huron....
and Owen Sound, Ontario
Owen Sound, Ontario
Owen Sound , the county seat of Grey County, is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada...
.
The closest post secondary institution is Georgian College
Georgian College
Georgian College is an Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology. Its primary campus is in Barrie, Ontario, with satellite campuses in Orillia, Midland, Collingwood, Bracebridge, Port Colborne, Orangeville, and Owen Sound....
's Owen Sound, Ontario
Owen Sound, Ontario
Owen Sound , the county seat of Grey County, is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada...
campus.
Politics
Sauble Beach is represented by two councillors for Wards 1 and 3 on the Town Council for South Bruce in Wiarton, OntarioWiarton, Ontario
Wiarton is a community in Bruce County, Ontario, at the western end of Colpoys Bay, an inlet off Georgian Bay, on the Bruce Peninsula. The community is part of the town of South Bruce Peninsula, Ontario....
.
Provincially and federally, the area is part of the riding of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound
Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound
Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound is a federal electoral district that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1935....
.
Transportation
There is no public transit in Sauble Beach and residents are car dependent.A few roads serve the area:
- Main Street/Bruce County Road 8
- Lakeshore Boulevard North
- Sauble Falls Parkway/Southhampton Parkway
External links
- Sauble Beach Chamber of Commerce
- Sauble Beach at Explore the Bruce, the official travel site of Bruce County