Wasaga Beach Celebrates a Successful Summer and Kicks Off Fall Festivals
Town continues to drive the largest increase in local tourism in almost a decade; Prepares to welcome visitors for its Hootenanny Fall Festival and first annual Rodeo on October 4-5
“Tourism in Wasaga Beach is up more than 15 per cent over 2024, even with construction happening along Beach Drive. This is no coincidence. Thanks to unprecedented support from the Ontario government, this Council continues investing in improving infrastructure, delivering festivals and events, and promoting local businesses and experiences to position Wasaga Beach as a top destination,” said Mayor Brian Smith. “Our goal is simple: to build a thriving, year-round community—one with more fun things to see and do, a stronger local economy, and a growing commercial tax base that helps keep life affordable for our residents.”
Wasaga Beach – Wasaga Beach is closing out its 2025 summer season on a high note: tourism is up more than 15 per cent over 2024, bringing visitation once again to its strongest level in years, despite construction and infrastructure improvements happening along Beach Drive.
What’s new? As tourism continues to grow, the latest data points to a shift in Wasaga Beach’s seasonal visitation pattern. Peak visitation in 2019 happened in August with 348,156 domestic visitors, while peak visitation in 2025 happened in July with 446,667 domestic visitors. Visitation has been increasing steadily in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Thanks to unprecedented support from the Ontario government in 2025, the Town continues to invest in improving infrastructure, festivals, and events, while promoting local businesses and experiences to position Wasaga Beach as a top tourism destination. To help build a more resilient community and reimagine Wasaga Beach as a four-season destination, the Town is also moving forward with the first community-led waterfront master planning process in the history of Wasaga Beach.
What’s Next? Wasaga Beach is trading in its flip flops for cowboy boots to keep the tourism numbers trending upward. Here are 3 fall festivals and events you won’t want to miss:
- Hootenanny Fall Festival and first annual Mayor’s Charity Rodeo, October 4-5
Preparations for the Town’s annual Hootenanny Fall Festival and first annual Charity Rodeo are in full swing! These two events will take place together, offering two days of non-stop family fun.
This year’s Hootenanny Fall Festival will include a wide range of free activities for families, including inflatable mazes, fun-house slides, hayrides, axe throwing, hover ball archery, and obstacle courses – while the first annual Mayor’s Charity Rodeo will entertain residents and visitors with classic rodeo action, including bareback riding, saddle bronc, barrel racing, bull riding, pole bending, junior competition, and more!
Entry to the Fall Festival is free. Rodeo tickets are available now: adult admission is $39, youth (ages 6-12) $20, children 5 and under are $5. Rodeo ticket proceeds will support the Hospice Georgian Triangle Foundation and Collingwood General Marine Hospital Foundation.
- Olympic Gold Medalist Jennifer Jones kicks off a brand-new WBSE.ca speaker series, October 7
On October 7, Jennifer Jones, one of Canada’s most celebrated curlers, will take the audience behind the scenes of her legendary career, sharing stories from her brand-new book, Rock Star: My Life On and Off the Ice. Guests will hear first-hand about her journey to Olympic gold, the defining moments of her career, and the lessons learned along the way. This new event will take place from 7PM – 9PM in the RE/MAX Room at the Wasaga Stars Arena and tickets are available now at WBSE.ca.
- Pumpkin Trail returns on November 1, turning pre-loved Halloween pumpkins into something magical!
Grab friends and family for an enchanting evening as the Oakview Trail at 1724 Mosley Street comes alive with the glow of hundreds of jack-o-lanterns, shining bright on November 1 from 6PM to 9PM.
Quick facts
- In 2019, considered a pre-pandemic benchmark year for global tourism, Wasaga Beach attracted over 1.5 million visitors. By 2022, the number of visitors to Wasaga Beach was down to 1.1 million, representing a drop of 4.4%.
- In 2023, Wasaga Beach saw a significant increase in tourism with almost 2 million visitors, marking a 20.9% rise compared to the 2019 benchmark. This demonstrates a strong recovery, and visitation continues to increase steadily in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
- Between January and August 2025, with this year’s fall tourism season just beginning, domestic visitor counts to Wasaga Beach were 2,060, 833 people, which represents a 15% increase from 2024.
About Wasaga Beach
For over one hundred years, the Town of Wasaga Beach has been Ontario’s iconic summer playground — a place people come to have fun and create summer memories that will last a lifetime. Today, we’re on a mission to become an iconic, four-season recreation and nature-based destination. Investing in year-round destination events and marketing, building Destination Wasaga, and re-imagining our main commercial area at Beach Area 1 supports Council’s priorities: to create opportunities to diversify the economy, grow tourism, create jobs and build a complete community. It’s part of the Town’s plan to become a leader in sustainability, creativity, innovation and fun. A place with thriving businesses and safe, inclusive and complete neighbourhoods. A place where we celebrate our rich history, diversity of cultures and natural beauty, including the Nottawasaga River, Georgian Bay and the longest freshwater beach in the world.
