King's Highway 93, commonly referred to as Highway 93, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Located entirely within Simcoe County, the highway extends from an interchange with Highway 400 in Springwater, just south of the community of Hillsdale, to an intersection with Highway 12 at the town limits of Midland. The route follows the historic Penetanguishene Road, an early colonization road which served to connect Lake Simcoe with Georgian Bay, thus providing an overland route from Lake Huron to Lake Ontario via Yonge Street.
Prior to 1997, the highway was nearly twice as long, extending further south to meet Highway 11 and Highway 400A at Crown Hill, and seven kilometres further north to Penetanguishene. Because the southern leg paralleled Highway 400 just two kilometres to the east, and the northern segment carried primarily municipal traffic in Penetanguishene and Midland, both segments were transferred to Simcoe County that year. They were subsequently designated Simcoe County Road 93. On March 26, 2014, it was announced that the route would be renamed the Sarah Burke Memorial Highway, in memory of freestyle ski pioneer Sarah Burke.
Route description
In its current form, Highway 93 begins at an interchange with Highway 400; Exit 121. The highway previously continued south of there to downtown Barrie, but this is now known as Simcoe County Highway 93. From Highway 400, the route meanders north along the historic Penetanguishene Road through Simcoe County. It bisects the community of Hillsdale and skirts the eastern shoreline of Orr Lake, providing access to numerous cottages located around the lake. Between both Hillsdale and Orr Lake, as well as between Orr Lake and Waverley, the highway is almost entirely surrounded by thick coniferous forests, with occasional farmland and country houses dotting the landscape. Within the community of Waverley, the route encounters the northern terminus of former Highway 27, now Simcoe County Road 27.
North of Waverley, the highway continues to meander north towards Georgian Bay, departing from the old Penetanguishene Road at Mertz's Corner. Rural residences line the route between the two communities, transitioning to a mix of forest and farmland. It curves around the western side of a large hill before entering the community of Wyebridge, where it crosses the Wye River. Several kilometres north of Wyebridge, Highway 93 ends southwest of Midland at Highway 12; the two share northern termini, although provincial maintenance ends north of the intersection. It once continued north into Penetanguishene, ending at the shoreline of Penetanguishene Harbour in Georgian Bay.
History
Highway 93, as well as its former southern extension to Barrie, follows the Penetanguishene Road. The road was initially surveyed by Samuel Street Wilmot in 1808 but no construction commenced. The North West Company had suggested in 1811 for this route again, but it was not until the Fall of Detroit in 1813 that the project was expedited. This road was built between 1814 and 1815, led by Dr. William "Tiger" Dunlop, from the north side of Kempenfelt Bay (east of Barrie), to the townsite and Naval establishment at Penetanguishene on Georgian Bay; it was the first road constructed in what is now Simcoe County. The route was assumed by the Department of Highways (DHO, predecessor to the modern Ministry of Transportation) in 1937.
Penetanguishene Road
For several years the Holland River and Lake Simcoe provided the only means of transportation between York (now Toronto) and the upper Great Lakes; Holland Landing was the northern terminus of Yonge Street. The military route to Georgian Bay prior to, and during the War of 1812, crossed Lake Simcoe to the head of Kempenfelt Bay, then by the Nine Mile Portage to Willow Creek and the Nottawasaga River. The Penetanguishene Military Post was started before the war, however, lacking a suitable overland transport route, passage from York to Lake Huron continued via the Nottawasaga. The Penetanguishene Road replaced this route when the Naval Establishment was opened in 1818.