Massie Adventour

Grey-Bruce Adventours: Massie

By Sandra J. Howe for Mar/14 Mosaic

Welcome to a new year of Grey-Bruce Adventours! I am excited to be back at my computer sharing stories and explorations with you. It has been a very wintery winter with lots of opportunities for fun in the snow. I hope you have been out playing. A wonderful place to head out with your cross-country skis is the Massie Hills Ski Trail. Owen Sound Cross Country Ski Club grooms and sets track three times weekly on this beautiful forest tract near Massie. To virtual ski or get details on the club, visit their website at www.owensound.org/ski.

On March 30 at 1pm, I invite you to join me in cross-country skiing these excellent loop trails. Meet at the front trail entrance on 6^th concession south, and bring $5 per person for trail fee. We will explore upland and lowland deciduous forest, as well as mature pine plantations. Trails are suited to a range of abilities. Pets are not welcome on the ski trails in winter. Snowshoes are welcome but please stay off set ski tracks. In spring, summer and fall, the Massie Trails are multi-use, for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. The Bruce Trail and Spey River Forest Side Trail run through this property, and it is part of the Sydenham Bruce Trail Club’s Looping through Sydenham Challenge.

Continuing south from Massie Hills Ski Trail brings you to the scenic Hamlet of Massie. According to W.W. Smith’s Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Grey, 1865-66, Massie contained “a post-office, gristmill, sawmill, blacksmith shop, horseshoe nail factory, and school house”. “There is an air of thrift and enterprise about the place, which promises well for its future growth and prosperity.” Today there remains a strong community spirit, an active church, several homes, and Massie Hall where a wonderful concert series is held annually.

Massie, like most pioneer settlements, is situated on a river for access to waterpower. The Big Head River flows through the hamlet with the mill dam and pond still in place. The Historical Society of Holland Township’s fascinating book, “The Paths that Led to Holland” features several pages on Massie. Apparently fishing was very good on the Big Head in early years: “People along the Big Head didn’t require any meat in summer as they could get all the trout that they needed. A man could go down to the river at noon hour while the oxen were feeding, and in an hour’s time he could get enough trout to do his family for two days.” I don’t know about the fishing now but it might be worth a try.

Gary Running Ski Trail Groomer

Downtown Massie

Big Head River

Massie Millpond

Map of Massie Hills Ski Trail

No matter the season, Grey-Bruce offers endless opportunities to learn and explore. Grey-Bruce Adventours encourages you to take a tour today. Have fun!