Coral Cove Camp

Several buildings have begun to collapse in on themselves, leaving hanging debris, sharp objects and such. Nature has taken over, bringing with it animals and insects (espically wasps).

Hidden along the quiet shores of Lake Simcoe, the abandoned Coral Cove Camp marks one of the former sites of the condemned Huronia Regional Center. This secluded summer camp was once part of Ontario's largest institution for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Coral Cove was owned and operated by the HRC, which functioned from 1876 to 2009. Though its mission was framed as "care", the facility became the subject of a major lawsuit for systemic abuse and neglect.

Set apart from the main institution, Coral Cove gave select residents a rare experience: summer camp - with nature, cabins, and fire pits replacing locked down wards. For some, it was brief escape. For others, it was just a change of scenery, with the same restrictions and abuse.

When the HRC closed in 2009, Coral Cove was forgotten, left to decay with no public plan for resuse. Educators and environmentalists have proposed repurposing it as an outdoor education center and nature learning centre - given its lakefront location, paved trails and ecological setting, but the idea never moved past discussions.

Now in 2025, nature has taken over. Buildings are overgrown. Trails crumbling, roofs collapsing, unable to continue sustaining the harsh winters. The camp remains standing for now, but the buildings owned by the Hurional Regional Centre have been approved for demolition in the coming years. The OPP, who have taken several buildings on the site since it closed in 2009, plan to redevelop the land into a massive training facility. Time will only tell if Coral Cove will surive the demolitions.

The Coral Cove Camp includes a large cook house, two lodges with washrooms, showers, and sleeping quarters, picnic shelters, and various swing sets.