Hotel Directory > Canada Hotels > Ontario Hotels > Orillia, ON Hotels

This is the current conditions weather report for Orillia. The report was made 45 minutes ago, at 12:00 UTC. The wind was blowing at a speed of 18.5 kilometers per hour / 12 miles per hour with gusts up to 18.5 kilometers per hour / 12 miles per hour from the west (270°). The temperature was -4°C / 25°F, with a dew-point at -4°C / 25°F. The temperature felt like -10°C / 14°F. The relative humidity was 86%.

Orillia is a city located in Simcoe County in south-central Ontario, Canada, on Lake Couchiching. It is about 135 kilometres north of Toronto.

While no post-secondary institutions are based in Orillia, two schools operate satellite campuses in the city. The Orillia campus of Georgian College, based in Barrie, offers applied arts and technology programmes to 1600 students. And Lakehead University of Thunder Bay opened a new campus in downtown Orillia in 2006.

Orillia is known as the "Sunshine City", taking the moniker from the Sunshine Sketches by Stephen Leacock. Many local businesses also use "Mariposa" in their names. The city council actively restricts the construction of large buildings downtown and seeks to maintain a certain "small town" look with regard to signs and decorations.

Many tourists and boaters are attracted to the city each year because of its waterfront park and its position as a gateway to Lake Country, cottage country in Muskoka, Algonquin Provincial Park, and other natural attractions. The city's waterfront has an extensive lakeshore boardwalk, a large park with two beaches, several playgrounds, an outdoor theatre, a touring ferry, and a children's' train.

The city of Orillia also is home to a large number of retirement homes (currently 9, with 4 more under construction). As such, it is often characterized as a "retirement community", although less than 18% of the city's population is actually over 65 (see below).

Orillia is home to an annual Perch Fishing Festival. Perch are netted, tagged, and released into the local lake, to be caught for prize money. This event also includes a large social gathering consisting of a "perch fry". Other popular annual festivals include the Leacock Festival, Blues Festival, Jazz Festival and Scottish Festival.

The Port of Orillia has an annual "Christmas in June", which includes a boat decorating contest and turkey buffet, every June 24. Also, boat and cottage shows are held in June and August.

Orillia is the original and current site of the popular Mariposa Folk Festival.

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