Diving & Snorkeling.
The J.C. Morrison rests in roughly 30 feet of water off Centennial Beach in downtown Barrie — a 1854 side-wheel steamer built for the Ontario, Simcoe, and Huron Railway Company that caught fire in August 1857, drifted offshore, and burned to the waterline.
The wreck is reachable as a shore dive on a 10-minute swim along a guideline from shore, and the intact paddle wheel still sits about 20 feet across on the port side.
The brief.
The Morrison is a shore dive: gear up at Centennial Beach, follow the guideline out, and return on the same line — no boat required. Boat traffic, jet skis, and shore anglers work the same water in summer, so the site behaves as a virtual overhead environment for surfacing decisions and a dive flag is mandatory.
Visibility is reportedly best in the cooler shoulder months when surface activity drops; June through September is the warmest water window. Beyond the Morrison, Kempenfelt Bay carries Lake Simcoe's deepest cold-water habitat — 41.5 metres at maximum — making the bay a focus area for southern Ontario inland diving outside the wreck itself.
2. places.
- 01
J.C. Morrison wreck
1854 side-wheel steamer; lies in roughly 30 ft (9 m) of water off Centennial Beach; shore-accessible on a 10-minute swim along a guideline; intact paddle wheel ~20 ft in diameter on the port side.
Map ↗ - 02
Kempenfelt Bay deep water
14.5 km long, 41.5 m maximum depth — Lake Simcoe's deepest cold-water habitat.
Map ↗
Today's read.
Temperature (6.0°C) below the typical range and outside the typical season window.
By the book.
- 01The Morrison site sits in active boat-traffic water; surfacing without a dive flag is hazardous, and the site behaves as a virtual overhead environment for surfacing decisions.Source ↗
- 02LSRCA regulates development and shoreline activity within 120 m of the Lake Simcoe shoreline under the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan.Source ↗
