I help growing families buy and sell homes in Barrie, Innisfil, Orillia, Angus, Essa Township, Springwater, Midhurst, Bradford, Elmvale, Collingwood and Wasaga Beach. My office is in Barrie.
Barrie
I grew up in Barrie and I’ve left twice, once for a college co-op in Hamilton and once to teach English in Florence, Italy. I came back both times, and I’ve been here since 2014. My husband and I have our friends, our family and our work here, and I couldn’t imagine living somewhere without a waterfront now. It’s just home. Not sure which Barrie neighbourhood fits you? Take my Barrie neighbourhood quiz.
South end of Barrie
This is where you’ll find more new builds, plus Park Place and Yonge Street for shopping. Mapleview Drive is probably the busiest street in Barrie. If you commute, this is the end I’d recommend, especially the southeast around Mapleview and Yonge, close to the GO station. The Park Place area on Mapleview also has easy highway access if you’re heading south.
A warning about the new developments behind Mapleview: they’re mostly townhouses and semi-detached homes with very small yards. A lot of new builds in Barrie also have a third bedroom so small it’s basically a crib room. That might be an upsize from a condo or a really small house, but it won’t cut it if you want to spend time in your own backyard.
North end of Barrie
This is the older side of Barrie. Bayfield Street is also very busy, and it’s where you’ll find Georgian Mall and lots of restaurants and food spots.
East end of Barrie
Georgian College and the hospital are here, so it’s a popular choice if you work at either one. The streets right around the college have a lot of student rentals and foot traffic. If you’d like something quieter, there are still some really nice areas farther from the college with more owner-occupied homes.
Commuting from Barrie to Toronto
Barrie doesn’t look that far from Toronto, but the drive can be pretty bad. From the south end to downtown, it’s about an hour and 15 minutes in the middle of the night. On a weekday morning, plan on 2 hours, and sometimes up to 2 hours and 20 minutes. Rush hour on the 400 and 401 lasts more like 3 hours, and the drive home is heavy from about 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The GO train lets you read, work or nap and forget about the traffic, though you’ll walk a bit once you’re downtown. If you drive, you’ll be hunting for a parking garage anyway. Some people park at Yorkdale and take the subway in.
Family doctors in Barrie
Yes, they’re hard to find. A lot of offices say right on their voicemail that they’re not taking new patients. If you know anyone in Barrie, ask who their doctor is, and if you have family here, ask whether their doctor would take you too. It’s worth trying. You can also sign up for Health Care Connect, Ontario’s program that looks for a doctor or nurse practitioner taking new patients. Try nearby communities like Innisfil too, and call first to ask whether they take patients from outside town.
Getting around Barrie
I’d recommend at least one car. Transit isn’t the best, and going across town can mean switching buses at the downtown station. Barrie isn’t very walkable or bikeable either, because it’s full of hills. I biked to work as a teenager, and some of them are steep! Downtown is the exception, and it’s much more walkable.
Traffic in Barrie
Bayfield Street and Mapleview Drive are the two busiest streets in Barrie. Lakeshore and Yonge Street also get a lot of traffic. Cundles, Livingstone, Ferndale and Dunlop can get busy too. Downtown and Lakeshore get especially busy in the summer, because that’s where the beaches are.
Parking in Barrie
Parking downtown is free on evenings, weekends and holidays. You only pay from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. The waterfront has its own rules. Barrie residents can get a free waterfront parking permit through the HotSpot app or website, or in person at Service Barrie, and it’s worth doing as soon as you move here.
It gets you free parking at the Johnson’s Beach, Minet’s Point Park, Centennial Beach, Centennial Boat Launch, Will Dwyer Park, Southshore Centre, Tiffin Boat Launch, Tyndale Park, Dock Road Park, Gable’s Park and White Oaks Road lots, plus some street parking along the water. Check the City’s waterfront parking map before you park, because some nearby lots don’t accept the permit.
Winter in Barrie
Barrie winters can be really brutal, and we often get more snow than the areas just outside the city. Plows do the busier streets first, so if you’re on a cul-de-sac or a quiet street, it may not be plowed by morning. Expect to clear your driveway, then clear the end of it again after the plow pushes the snow back in. The piles on your lawn can get up to 6 feet high, which makes it hard to see when you’re backing out. The lanes can also feel narrower when the plows don’t clear right to the edges. Get snow tires and a snowblower, because the amount of shovelling here is insane.
There’s plenty to do in all that snow. Snow Valley is the smaller hill close by, and it’s where I learned to ski and snowboard as a kid. Mount St. Louis is nearby too, and Blue Mountain, near Collingwood, is probably the biggest. For skating, the City runs eight outdoor rinks, including Circle at the Centre at City Hall, Will Dwyer Park and the pond at Heritage Park. Winterfest is a free festival every February with ice sculptures. When it’s cold enough for the lake to freeze, people go out on the ice and fish, but check that the ice is safe first.
Downtown Barrie
You can walk Dunlop Street for shops, restaurants and pubs, and there are things to do with the family. It’s also where the bars are. The homes are mostly older detached houses with a lot of character, and some need a lot of work. Homelessness and addiction are very visible downtown, and it’s something all of Barrie talks about. If you’re looking for a quiet residential street to raise kids on, I’d usually start your search somewhere else.
The Barrie waterfront
It’s really nice, and there’s a trail along the water out to Johnson’s Beach. There aren’t really homes right on Lakeshore, since it isn’t a residential area, but it has good restaurants and bars with a view of the lake. Centennial Beach gets really busy in the summer. Johnson’s Beach in the east end and Minet’s Point Beach are both quieter, and the City also has Tyndale Beach. Downtown, Will Dwyer Park has volleyball courts where you bring your own net, first come, first served, with no sign-up, plus a basketball court right beside them. There’s usually an ice cream truck at the beach in the summer too, which your kids will find on their own.
Kempenfest has been a Barrie summer tradition for more than 50 years, with four days of music, vendors and family activities on the August long weekend. There are cultural celebrations too. In 2026, the waterfront hosted Barrie Fuzion Festival, Afro Tropical Experience and Carnival Barrie. Downtown’s Meridian Place hosted ROOTS, a South Asian festival now in its third year.
Water and septic in Barrie
Barrie has hard water, so you’ll want a water softener if you’re on city water. Some properties on the outskirts are still on a well and septic system, which is worth knowing before you buy.
Springwater
I’ve helped a family move to Springwater to cut a brutal commute and get more room, on 2.5 acres. Springwater is just north of Barrie, and it’s beautiful. Because it’s outside the city, you can get more land and neighbours who are further apart, and property taxes are generally much cheaper than in Barrie. There are still subdivisions if you don’t want acreage. The trade-offs are fewer homes to choose from and fewer amenities than Barrie, because it’s a smaller community.
Innisfil
Innisfil used to be known as a really small town on the outskirts of Barrie. It still has some of that feel, but it has grown a lot over the last 5 to 10 years. If you’re looking for more space, there are a lot of newer detached homes here. Innisfil Beach Road is where you’ll find basically everything, and the Rizzardo Health and Wellness Centre is right beside the town hall. I used to work for the Town of Innisfil, so I know the area well. If you’ve heard of Friday Harbour, that’s the resort area, and I’ve sold condos there too.
Angus and Essa Township
When I was a kid growing up in Barrie, Angus was known as the small town that had basically nothing. Not anymore! It has grown a lot over the last few years, and it keeps adding restaurants and fitness spots. It’s attracting a lot of young families who don’t want to pay Barrie prices, because houses are a little cheaper and property taxes are a lot cheaper. It’s quieter than Barrie and still close: about 10 to 15 minutes to parts of Barrie’s west side, and about 25 minutes to the east side.