Sauble Beach, Ontario

Sauble Beach, Ontario

Sauble Beach, Ontario, Canada (pop. 2000) is a resort community and unincorporated area in the town of South Bruce Peninsula, Bruce County in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, on the north edge of the Saugeen Nation. The beach takes its name from that given by early French explorers to the sandy Sauble River, originally Riviere aux Saubles, that empties into the lake at the beach. The first settler is reported to have been John Eldridge, who built a cottage nearby in 1877, although most of the resort development of the modern beach area dates from about 1948, including still-surviving attractions like the Driftwood Cafe, Sauble Lodge Motel and the Crowd Inn hot-dog stand. The main street has remained relatively untouched in the past 50 years.

At over seven miles long (11 km), Sauble Beach is said to be the second longest freshwater beach in the world after Wasaga Beach. A unique phenomenon of sandbar deposits building out along the Huron shore keep the beach at Sauble very shallow and warm.

Recreational activities include swimming, windsurfing, water-skiing, fishing, golfing, lawn bowling, tennis, street dances, beach volleyball, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, birding, an annual Winterfest and an annual sandcastle contest. The Canadian National (Beach) Volleyball Championships have been held there, and the local Steelback Sauble Speedway is on the CASCAR professional racing circuit. The Sauble Beach Festival of the Classical Guitar has been held there since 2007. The area is a popular destination among young people for their annual May 2–4 campsite revelries.

While a hot summer long-weekend can see the resident count soar to over 100,000, Sauble Beach is the permanent year-round home to approximately 2,000 people. The cottage owners add thousands of seasonal community members, some who stay through the spring to fall time period and others who retreat to Sauble on weekends. Cottage owners are uniquely split between owners who own property outright and cottages that are located on the Native lands. A lease relationship between the Saugeen Nation and these cottagers have allowed for almost 3,000 seasonal homes to be built. The Saugeen Nation benefits from this land lease rental and cost sharing for services and is administered through the Band and Indian Affairs in Ottawa.

Local businesses offer retail and services for hardware, appliance and grocery shopping, restaurants and hotels, fire and police services, daycare and a medical clinic. High speed internet is available for free at a number of the eateries.