DIANE'S DRIVES
Take a fast, fun drive
Scenery and history combine to provide a day of fun driving and quaint communities

If your travels take you to the Peterborough or Haliburton area, here is a fast, fun and scenic 90-kilometre route that offers an enjoyable driving experience.

Road 45/Highway 503, also known as Monck Road, was constructed between 1866 and 1873 to open the wilderness to settlers and to provide a less vulnerable military route between the upper Great Lakes and the Ottawa Valley. Its location from the vicinity of Lake Couchiching to the junction of the Hastings and Mississippi Colonization Roads at the hamlet of York River (now Bancroft) was surveyed in 1868. It is named after Lord Monck, Governor General between 1861 and 1868.

This historic strip of pavement features fast sweeping turns that bank, climb and descend among lovely pine forests, over and beside glistening lakes and past dramatic and colourful outcroppings of granite.

If you pick it up in Sebright (just east of Orillia) you can drive away from the afternoon sun. By the time you've travelled 15 kilometres along Head River to Uphill, you will have enjoyed interesting forests and swamps, water inlets, slow-flowing rivers and fields of sleepy cows, sheep and horses.

The route is punctuated by fast straightaways, so you won't have to wait long to safely overtake the slowpokes. Occasionally you can see the remnants of the old road passing under or beside your vehicle or converging with you. You pass by a gas station/general store at about the 25-kilometre mark and then Head Lake and a mini golf attraction, entering Norland itself at about the 35-kilometre mark.

The little town of Norland offers visitors a general store, ice cream or a meal at a family restaurant. There is a pleasant place to stop just past the dam.

After Norland you will pass Shadow Lake and go over Burnt River. The road is distinctly more hilly. You might not realize that for brief moments you are elevated perhaps 30 or 40 feet above water level. If you drive too quickly you'll miss seeing the forested and craggy canyons below.

At 52 kilometres you will reach the beautiful and busy town of Kinmount. Slow down to a crawl as you enter and turn right at the T-junction. There is plenty of parking.

Kinmount's history dates from the construction of the Bobcaygeon Road. In the late 1850s it reached the Burnt River and a bridge had to be constructed. The community was called Burnt River until a post office was opened in 1859. It was then named Kinmount after the steep hills prominent in the town.

Kinmount is a lumber town. Six saw mills operated in and around the town, shipping products out on the railway. Also, Kinmount potatoes were famous in the area. The town is developing the historic Austin Sawmill in the Austin Sawmill Heritage Park, which serves as a reminder of the logging history of the area. An old Railway Station has been refurbished into a tourist information kiosk and it has a model train set up for you to view. The park is gorgeous - there is a playground, picnic tables (some under cover) and benches along an intermittently manicured and natural water's edge.

After refreshments and a stroll through the park or in the shops, drive over the blue-painted iron railway bridge (an unlikely presence in this quaint little town) and immediately turn left at the sign pointing to Gooderham.

Here the road surface is superior. You will sail through Furnace Falls and Irondale and unless you pause at the rest stop at the 61 kilometre mark or stop for ice cream 15 kilometres later, you will arrive at the large "Welcome to Gooderham" sign in no time. Apparently, local legend has it that the town was named in honour of a drunken bash resulting from the donation of free whisky from the Gooderham and Worts distillery to local hotels, but this has not been confirmed.

At Gooderham you turn right (south) onto Highway 507, which offers a different kind of driving experience. If you need to be the fastest car on the road, don't embark on 507 unless there is nobody in front of you. There are no opportunities to safely pass for about 35 kilometres. While this slower road is prettier than Monck Road, it is more hilly and has far more snaking corners and double S-turns. Keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel and enjoy the views.

Highway 507 is particularly popular with the motorcycle crowd and is the most picturesque part of the route. You might encounter groups of muddy 4x4s crossing over or travelling along the road temporarily as they get from one wilderness area to another.

Just over two kilometres past Gooderham there is a beautiful view of Salmon Lake. Slow down along this relatively fast segment because the view might distract you. At 5.5 kilometres is the Peterborough County sign, and the road surface magically becomes superb.

At 18 klicks you'll pass by Catchacoma Lake and through the town of Catchacoma and the road gets significantly slower on the way to Mississauga Lake and Mississauga River with several 60 km/h S-bends.

The route ends at Highway 36 (which is also where Highway 507 becomes the same as Road 36, which is a major thoroughfare). There is a gas station and a fruit and vegetable stand, and you will see signs to Buckhorn, Peterborough and Bancroft or turn around and head home.

Diane Tierney is editor of Leisureways, Journey and Going Places, member publications for the Canadian Automobile Association.