5 ghost towns to explore near Toronto

Ontario is sprinkled with ghost towns, places that started with big dreams that were ultimately dashed for one reason or another. These types of places are most common in the northern part of the province, but there are a few within a manageable drive of Toronto. Variously spooky, sad, and beautiful, these towns and camps have stubbornly refused to be erased from history.

Here are five ghost towns and abandonments to explore near Toronto.

Allans Mills
Located outside Perth on the Tay River, this small milling community reached its peak in the late 19th century before many of the original mills shut down or were sold to larger companies. Active milling continued on for decades, but the town itself faded away. What remains today (a mill, general store, and school house) are all extremely well preserved.

Balaclava
It's a bit of a hike to get to Balaclava (located just west of Renfrew), but the gorgeous old mill at the centre of the once thriving community here is worth the trip. The town was founded in the mid 19th century, but eventually faded when the supply of nearby timber was depleted. The mill ran into the 1950s, but the population bottomed out. Buildings like the old General Store are easy to spot.

Camp 30
While not technically a ghost town, this abandoned POW camp near Bowmanville might be the best place to explore on this list. Nazi prisoners were held here during World War II, though the conditions were civilized and almost luxurious. The sprawling complex includes an abandoned gym and swimming pool as well as a dozen other buildings.

Indiana
Only a few buildings remain of this now deserted town near Cayuga, but one of them is open to the public as a museum for those who like their explorations pre-packaged. Indiana's population was once over 300, but the community fell on hard times with the rise of the railway, which rendered canal shipping obsolete and led to the demise of the Grand River Navigation Company.

Cooper's Falls
Built around a sawmill operated by Thomas Cooper, this now abandoned town near Washago was once a thriving community with a general store, cheese factory, blacksmith and school amongst other things. Eventually lumber in the area was depleted and the mill closed. The other businesses followed. A small population remains in private buildings.

Photo of Balaclava via Wikipedia. Photo of Camp 30 by Kevin Lavoie in the blogTO Flickr pool.

by Derek Flack via blogTO