Grimsby (Ontario) travel guide

Grimsby is a town of about 27,000 people (2016) in the Niagara Peninsula region of Ontario.

Understand

It is named after the English fishing town of Grimsby in north-east Lincolnshire.

History

The town of Grimsby was founded in 1790 as Township Number 6 after a group of United Empire Loyalists fleeing persecution in the United States settled at the mouth of 40 Mile Creek in 1787. It was later called 'The Forty'. Robert Nelles, a politician and later lieutenant-colonel in the War of 1812, was one of the town's founders. His home on Main Street West was used for many planning sessions during the war. In 1816 the village became known as Grimsby, the name of the surrounding township. Canada's first Chautauqua was established in 1859 in Grimsby Park and Beach, but by 1900 interest had declined, and by 1909 it had ceased.

The town has gone through many changes, from being a small rural village; to a centre for the manufacture of farm machinery, hospital furniture, furnaces and other metal products; and later the hub of the Niagara Peninsula's fruit-growing industry. Grimsby also had a successful fishing industry which lasted until the 1960s. With a number of wineries and distilleries, Grimsby now serves as the starting point for touring the Niagara wine region.

Climate

Grimsby's climate varies throughout the year; 12-15 °C in the spring, 21-33 °C in the summer, and 10-17 °C in the autumn. Temperatures in the winter months vary between 4 °C and −16 °C, with about 190 cm of snow per year.

Get in

By car

Grimsby is on the Queen Elizabeth Way (highway), about halfway between Hamilton and St. Catharines. The QEW has three exchanges in the town, with Casablanca Boulevard in the west, a central exchange for three roads (Christie Street, Ontario Street, and Maple Avenue), and Bartlett Avenue in the east.

By train

• Grimsby railway station, 99 Ontario St. About 400 m (1,300 ft) north of downtown Grimsby.
  Amtrak, ☏ +1-215-856-7924, toll-free: +1-800-872-7245. Operates trains throughout the United States of America. Amtrak operates the Maple Leaf train service daily between Toronto and New York City, in partnership with VIA Rail Canada. Stops between Toronto and New York City include in Oakville, Burlington, Grimsby, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls (Ontario), Niagara Falls (New York), Buffalo, Buffalo (Depew), Rochester, Syracuse, Rome, Utica, Schenectady, Albany (Rensselaer), Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, Croton-on-Hudson, and Yonkers. Border crossing processing takes place in Niagara Falls, where passengers must detrain with their baggage. Train crew members are staffed by VIA Rail within Canada, and by Amtrak within the United States.

By bus

• GO Transit. The bus stops at Casablanca Boulevard, about 3.4 km (2.1 mi) from downtown Grimsby.
  Route 12 bus service from Burlington, Stoney Creek, St. Catharines, and Niagara Falls. Travellers from Toronto on the Lakeshore West line can reach Grimsby by transferring to this route at Burlington GO.
• Route 11 bus service from Aldershot, Hamilton, and St. Catharines. Travellers from Toronto on the Lakeshore West line can reach Grimsby by transferring to this route at Aldershot GO.

Get around

• Niagara Transit. On demand bus service in Grimsby, and service from Port Colborne, St. Catharines, and Welland.

See

Grimsby Beach cottages (Photo: ontario-travel-secrets.com from Canada, CC BY 2.0)

• Grimsby Beach cottages (Gingerbread cottages) (north of QEW near Bartlett Avenue North exit). Private dwellings visible from the street. In a cute neighbourhood of cottages, a few cottages (dubbed "gingerbread cottages") are very colourfully painted giving them a fairytale look. The streets of interest are Fair Avenue between Betts Avenue and Wesley Avenue, Auditorium Circle and Temple Lane.
• Grimsby Museum, 6 Murray St, ☏ +1 905-945-5292. Tue-Fri 10AM-5PM, Sat Sun noon-4PM. Adults $3; seniors, students and children 5 years & older $2, children under 5 years free.
• Grimsby Public Art Gallery, 18 Carnegie Lane, ☏ +1 905-945-3246. Mon Fri 10AM-5PM, Tue Wed Thu 10AM-8PM, Sat Sun 1-5PM. Free.
• 130 Main Street East. This historic house is a good example of an Ontario vernacular version of the Italianate style with its hip roof with deck, balanced facade, eyebrow like arched window cornices, and large cornice brackets. This style of architecture became very popular in the late 1860s due to its practicality for many different buildings and budgets.

Do

• Beamers Falls, 121 Ridge Rd W. This is a lovely hike with attractive rock formations, water flow, and moderately dense vegetation around. Hike from the parking lot off Ridge Road to the edge of the escarpment and on to a tall viewing platform for the “hawk watch”. There is a washroom block without running water. The accessible part of the trail leads right to the edge of the escarpment. A great hike for all ages. The accessible part of the trail does not require athletic wear in good weather: running shoes may be enough. It is a good place for a short walk or a longer hike.
  Hike the Bruce Trail. From Beamer Falls, the Bruce Trail follows the escarpment east to Lincoln or west to Hamilton. A side trail follows Forty Mile Creek north through downtown to Lake Ontario.
• Grimsby Peach King Centre, 162 Livingston Ave, ☏ +1 905-945-1288. Early Sep-mid May: daily 6AM-midnight; mid May-early Sep: Mon-Fri 6AM-10PM, Sat 8AM-3PM, Sun 11AM-3PM. Home of the Grimsby Peach Kings. It would be hard to make this stuff up. 2 indoor ice pads, outdoor rink/summer pad, splash pad, fitness facility, racquetball courts, mini-soccer field.

Buy

• Downtown Grimsby, Main St (between Mountain St & Elm St). Shops and restaurants line the 230-metre length of the downtown retail area.
  The Dutch Shop, 52 Main St W (Downtown Grimsby). Mon-Sat 9AM-6PM. Products from the Netherlands, mainly food items.

Eat

• JJ's on the Docks Eatery, 15 Lake St, Foran's Marina, ☏ +1 289-235-7777. 7AM-9PM. Moderately priced diner food.

Drink

• Judge and Jester Pub, 17 Main St E, ☏ +1 905-945-8744. Mon 11:30AM–11PM, Tue Wed 11:30AM–midnight, Thu-Sat 11:30AM–1AM, Sun noon–10PM. 15 beers on tap, and a large selection of Niagara Region wines available by the glass and the bottle. Traditional pub fare.
• Station 1 Coffeehouse, 28 Main St E, ☏ +1 905-309-4000. Mon-Wed 7AM-6PM, Thu Sat 7AM-8PM, Fri 7AM-9PM, Sun 8AM-5PM. Large, but cozy cafe serving coffee, tea, local beer and wine, along with baked treats, snacks, and sandwiches.

Wineries and distilleries

There are more wineries in nearby Beamsville.

• Forty Creek Distillery, 297 South Service Rd, ☏ +1 905 945 9225 (option 3), toll-free: +1 -800-694-6798 (ext 27). Retail store and tasting: Mon-Sat 10AM-6PM, Sun & holidays 11AM-5PM. Tours Oct-mid May: Sa Su holidays 1PM; mid May-Sep: daily 1PM

Sleep

• The Casablanca Hotel, 4 Windward Dr, toll-free: +1-877-446-5746. Boutique inn with views of the Niagara Escarpment, close to shores of Lake Ontario. 78 guest rooms and suites, from standard double rooms to luxury suites with fully furnished living rooms, dining rooms, en suites and powder rooms. From $135.

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