Bracebridge
Straddling the Muskoka River, BRACEBRIDGE, a quick 20km north of Gravenhurst, boasts of its location on the 45th Parallel, halfway between the North Pole and the equator, which isn’t perhaps very much to get excited about, but it does for starters. The town’s most distinctive feature is the waterfall at the foot of the main street and it was this ready source of energy that attracted the town’s first settlers in the 1860s. Otherwise, the prettiest part of Bracebridge is the short main drag, Manitoba Street, which is flanked by a pleasant ensemble of Victorian red-bricks. Bracebridge is also within comfortable striking distance of both Algonquin Provincial Park, about 100km away, and the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary.
Gravenhurst
Sandwiched between two lakes, the gridiron streets of downtown GRAVENHURST, some 170km north of Toronto, are surprisingly leafy, but the busiest part of town is down by the harbour, where cottagers whizz in and out to collect supplies. In its early days, the town prospered from logging and for a while it was even called “Sawdust City”, until the local council had second thoughts.
Bethune Memorial House National Historic Site
Gravenhurst’s prime historical attraction is the recently upgraded Bethune Memorial House National Historic Site, the birthplace of the remarkable Norman Bethune (1890–1939), a doctor who introduced Western medicine to the Chinese in the 1930s and invented mobile blood-transfusion units. The house has been restored to its appearance in 1890 and has displays on Bethune’s considerable accomplishments – he was even praised by Chairman Mao – all detailed in English, French and Chinese.