Bayfield, Ontario is another one in a string of beautiful small communities along the Canadian side of Lake Huron. In our opinion, it is also a contender for the title of the prettiest little town in Canada, but it’s technically a village.
The charming streets are lined with larger trees
quaint shops, restaurants, and hotels that reminded us of some of our favourite southern destinations.
photo credit: expedia.ca
A Dutch nobleman purchased large tracts of land from the Canada Company, and founded Bayfield in 1832 by the mouth of Bayfield River.
The plaque below tells a confusing history of prohibition and drunken pigs running amok in town. What a legacy!
Pioneer Park is the site of the first log house in town. The log house is long gone, but the park remains a hub of the community and is home to many events.
But as always, we are drawn to the water. This time, the shores of Bayfield had a special display for us.
The play between the sun and clouds created different canvases,
and the colour of the water kept changing from blue,
to green,
than grey,
to dark grey,
and back to green again.
Down at the harbour, there was again a great display of colour and action. We can’t get enough of these shores!
Bayfield River was the home of the makers of the famous fishing boat, the Huron Boat. We photographed several of them in different posts
but the boats in the harbour were only pleasure boats,
likely belonging to the owners of the manors perched on top of the hill. We imagined the daily displays of spectacular sunsets from these homes with envy,
and moved on. Our next destination: Vanastra. Another town in the series of Are They Still Standing.
Love the fluffy white clouds over water. I call them French painting clouds. They almost look unreal. Thanks for sharing. Allan
That’s a very good name for them! Thanks for joining us!
Looks like a charming place to visit. I love the series of shots showing how the color of the water seems to change due to the light. Fascinating place!
It was really beautiful to watch!
You gotta love a community that is easy going enough to tell their drunken pig stories.
Right? I thought it was hilarious 🙂
Prettiest town in Canada, indeed! The blue and green waters remind me of the Pacific Ocean, strangely enough, close to my home. 🙂
You are right, it reminded us of the ocean as well!
Looks like a quaint and calm little village. Love the velvety clouds above the shade-shifting ocean!
It was! I can watch the shade-shifting for hours!
Another lovely community. There are so many choices along Huron. And the water is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
It was lovely! Thanks for joining us!
And drunken pigs! I’d love to see that!🤣
Haha, right?
What a lovely little town. Thanks for helping us to view it.
We really enjoyed our visit! Thanks for joining us!
I Googled it. Looks like a wonderful little town. I was just across Lake Huron from it on the U.S. side where my husband’s sister had a vacation home.
I would really like to do go around the lake and visit both sides!
Me, too. My husband was from Michigan and so I’ve only been on the U.S. side. It was beautiful there.
Ah! The changing shades of blues and greens and grey. But question! What is the difference between a village and a town?
That’s a very good question, and I am wondering about the designation of village for Bayfield since I believe it does have a town hall…it turns out that Bayfield incorporated as a village in 1876 and dis-incorporated later on to become part of the Bluewater municipality, which is an amalgamation of several villages and townships. As far as I know, the differences between a village and a town is population size, land size, and government: a village is usually less than 1,500 people, with a smaller land tract. A town would usually have a mayor and council, a charter, and bylaws, while a village may have a village head and less in the form of laws and services. A hamlet will be smaller than a village, and a city larger than a town. Clear as mud!
Great post loved the photos. Always like pictures where sky meets water. Enjoy going on these nice adventures with you.
Thanks and we love having you along on our adventures!
You guys should write ‘Prettiest little towns in Canada’ mini books!
Funny that you mentioned that. We are thinking of something along these lines 🙂
those are some wonderful views of the water and clouds. I can see why you would consider a contender for the prettiest town in Canada!
It was a good light and cloud show!
Love the lake shots and hearing about the town’s legacy. This certainly looks like a charming village. Is this on your list of places to potentially move to?
You, at this point everything is on our list, but also seems out of reach…when are you guys closing on the house?
Ugh, sorry to hear that the search continues. While it’s nice to discover new areas and look inside a variety of homes, I found the bidding process so exhausting. We take procession soon, on June 11th.
Exciting! And yeah, it’s exhausting.
Looks absolutely gorgeous. And those fluffy white clouds are pretty special too.
I love it when we are presented with fluffy white clouds over water. Especially around sunset or sunrise 🙂
Beautifully done tour! It reminds me that we have so much natural wonder so close to us, it’s important to appreciate it and protect it as well…thanks for the great tour!
Thanks, John! Every new place we visit reminds me of this very same thing! Thanks for joining us.
Cute town. I hope to get to Ontario some day. Fun story about the drunken pigs.
I hope you do make it to Ontario. There’s lots to do here! Thanks for stopping by!
Finally starting to read blogs again. My move has kept me busy. Love all the water colors!
Keeping up with blogger friends is the most time consuming part of blogging 🙂 Looks like your move went well and I am following your adventures in those magical landscapes. I have to say I wish I was there!
My blog is very delayed! I’m in denver and finished my house closing yesterday. Ready to get on the road again. This time for a longer period!!
Congrats on closing on the house! Can’t wait to see where you go next!
I can see forever from this vantage point. 👀🍃
It’s a gorgeous shoreline! Thanks for stopping by!