Hawkestone, Oro Station and the Oro-Medonte shore

Past Shanty Bay, Kempenfelt Bay opens into the main body of Lake Simcoe, and Oro-Medonte's shoreline keeps going: Oro Station, Hawkestone, the stretch around Line 9 and Bayview Memorial Park, Carthew Bay, and finally the Woodland Drive area at the Orillia border. The township counts about 40 km of Lake Simcoe shoreline in all.

This is open-lake waterfront in a rural township. The rossmanteam.com Oro-Medonte area guide covers taxes, schools and the inland township. This page walks the shore.

How is the Oro-Medonte shore laid out?

Think of it as a ladder. The numbered Lines run north–south from Highway 11 and the inland township down toward the lake. Lakeshore Road (West, then East) runs along the shore and links them. Ridge Road runs higher up, parallel to the shore. And the Oro-Medonte Rail Trail follows the old rail corridor between them, parallel to the water.

That layout matters for buyers in two ways. First, most waterfront addresses are on Lakeshore Road or on short lanes off it, so year-round access usually means a township road. Second, the road and the rail trail sit between some homes and the water, so a "lakeshore" address is not always lakefront. Read the survey.

What are the communities along this shore?

Area	Where it is	What to know
Oro Station	Around Line 7, at the rail trail	A Rural Settlement in the Official Plan; rail trail parking on Line 7; Lakeshore Road West runs west of Line 7
Hawkestone	Around Line 11 South	Historic lake village; township Hawkestone Wharf at the foot of Line 11 South
Line 9 and Bayview Memorial Park	Lakeshore Road East	Public boat launch at 871 and the township's main beach park at 687 Lakeshore Road East
Carthew Bay	Around Line 14 South	Township boat launch; Couchiching Conservancy nature reserve and provincially significant wetland
Woodland Drive and Moon Point	Near Line 15 and the Orillia border	Where the rail trail meets the City of Orillia; permit parking on parts of Woodland Drive

Hawkestone has the deepest history of the group. It began as Hodges' Landing and was renamed Hawkestone in 1856, the year a new wharf was built. It was a police village until 1994, when it merged with the townships of Oro and Medonte to form Oro-Medonte. The Huron village of Cahiagué, which Samuel de Champlain described in 1615, was near Hawkestone. Today the Hawkestone Yacht Club operates a private, member-run sailing harbour in the area.

Carthew Bay is worth a walk before you buy nearby. The Couchiching Conservancy's 22-acre (9-hectare) Carthew Bay Nature Reserve, protected since 2002, has a 500 m loop trail through mixed forest with views of the wetland, an active beaver pond and an old boulder beach, and part of it lies within the provincially significant Carthew Bay wetland. Wetland next door means protected green space, and it can also mean more regulated land near the shore.

For the Orillia end of the lake past this point, see Atherley and the Orillia end.

Where is the public access on this shore?

Oro-Medonte's public waterfront is a handful of sites, all on permit parking:

Site	Location	Parking
Bayview Memorial Park	687 Lakeshore Road East	Permit lot, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Line 9 Boat Launch	871 Lakeshore Road East	Permit lot, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Hawkestone Wharf	Foot of Line 11 South	Permit parking from the wharf gate north
Carthew Bay Boat Launch	Lakeshore Road East (north side) at Line 14 South	Permit lot, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Line 6 and Line 7 South road ends	Near the lake	Permit parking areas

Bayview Memorial Park has a beach, an accessible playground, picnic tables, a rentable pavilion and an accessible washroom building open from Victoria Day weekend to just after Labour Day. Dogs are not allowed in the park at any time.

Permits are required year-round. Residents get two free digital permits, one per vehicle; non-residents buy annual, summer or winter permits online. If you are looking at a home beside one of these sites or a permit parking stretch of Lakeshore Road, expect summer traffic and launch activity. For routes once you are on the water, see boating on Lake Simcoe.

What does the rail trail mean for nearby homes?

The Oro-Medonte Rail Trail runs 28 km across the township between Barrie and Orillia on flat crushed gravel. It has parking lots at Lines 1, 2, 7 and 15, it is part of the 160 km Simcoe County Loop Trail, and it passes the Carthew Bay Nature Reserve.

It is open year-round: walking and cycling in the warm months, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in winter, and it is groomed and used for snowmobiling. For many buyers, a trail at the back of the lot is a selling point. For others, winter sled traffic is a deal-breaker. Stand on the property on a January weekend if you can.

Are homes here on wells and septic?

Mostly, yes. The township says most Oro-Medonte residents are on private wells. It owns and operates 12 small municipal drinking water systems serving about 2,500 properties in pockets across the township, including Harbourwood, Cedarbrook, Shanty Bay and others. There is no municipal sewer along this shore, so homes use septic systems or holding tanks.

What to check on any property here:

• Water source. Township system (ask for the utility bill), drilled or dug well, or a lake intake. See wells and water testing on rossmanteam.com.
• Septic type and age. Conventional tank and bed, or a treatment unit that needs a service contract.
• Septic program status, below.

How does the Oro-Medonte Septic Maintenance Program work on this shore?

Almost every waterfront home from Oro Station to Carthew Bay is in it. Oro-Medonte administers the provincially mandated program for systems within 100 metres of the Lake Simcoe shoreline or a tributary, plus a separate group near municipal wellheads.

Detail	Lake Simcoe group
Systems covered	1,882 within 100 m of the shoreline or a tributary
Last cycle	2021 to 2025, compliance deadline December 31, 2025
Repeats	Every five years, no end date set by the province
Township role	Visual inspection of tank, treatment unit and bed; status card left on site
Owner's role	Submit a septic tank inspection report, or a maintenance agreement (Ecoflo, Eljen, Waterloo Biofilter and similar) or service report (Norweco, Aquarobic) each cycle
Seasonal cottages	Not exempt
If you don't comply	Orders and possible further legal action

Properties outside the 100 m buffer were deemed exempt from future cycles, but if part of a property is inside the boundary, that part stays in.

The township's file tells you the system was documented. It does not tell you it will last. Make your own septic inspection a condition of the offer. The rossmanteam.com septic inspections guide explains what a good one covers.

Is it year-round or cottage country?

Both. The township's Official Plan notes that many seasonal shoreline homes have been converted to year-round use. On any property, confirm:

• The road. Is your section of road maintained year-round by the township, or is it a private lane?
• Winter parking. Oro-Medonte bans overnight and morning parking on township roads in winter and prohibits parking that interferes with snow clearing from mid-October to the end of April. Plan where guests will park.
• The building. Insulation, heat source and a water line that will not freeze.

See ice fishing and winter on Lake Simcoe for the ice side of living here.

What about shoreline permits?

This shore faces the open lake, so docks and shorewalls take more weather than they do in a sheltered bay. Any work on the shoreline can need approvals from the township, the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (which regulates shoreline development under Ontario Regulation 41/24) and sometimes provincial or federal agencies. Ask for permits for every existing structure, and read Lake Simcoe shoreline rules and docks, boathouses and permits before you plan changes. For how exposure, bottom type and road access affect value, see what drives Lake Simcoe prices.

How Jordan can help

Jordan Rossman is a REALTOR® with Real Broker Ontario Ltd., Brokerage, working in Orillia-area real estate since 2014, and the Oro-Medonte shore runs right up to Orillia's doorstep. He can help you check the septic program file, the water source, the road and the shoreline permits on a Hawkestone or Oro shore property before you commit. Call 705-345-0797 to start.