King's Highway 10, commonly referred to as Highway 10, is a
provincially maintained highway in the
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
province of
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. The highway connects the northern end of
Highway 410
The following highways are numbered 410:
Canada
*Manitoba Provincial Road 410
* Newfoundland and Labrador Route 410
* Ontario Highway 410
* Quebec Autoroute 410
Japan
* Japan National Route 410
Philippines
* N410_highway_(Philippines)
Thailan ...
just north of Brampton with
Owen Sound
Owen Sound (2021 Canadian Census, 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat, seat of government of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi River, Pottawatomi and Sydenham River ...
on the southern shores of
Georgian Bay
The Georgian Bay () is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is t ...
, passing through the towns of
Orangeville and
Shelburne as well as several smaller villages along the way. It historically followed the Toronto–Sydenham Road, the southern part of which later became the southern section of
Hurontario Street
Hurontario Street is a roadway running in Ontario, Canada between Lake Ontario at Mississauga and Lake Huron's Georgian Bay at Collingwood. Within Peel Region, it is a major urban thoroughfare within the cities of Mississauga and Brampton, whi ...
. The section between Orangeville and
Primrose was formerly part of Prince of Wales Road, which continues northwards after the highway turns west.
Between
Chatsworth and Owen Sound, Highway10 is
concurrent
Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to:
Law
* Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea''
* Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
with
Highway 6.
Highway10 was established in 1920 as one of the original provincial highways in Ontario, connecting
Highway 5 in
Cooksville with Owen Sound. It was extended south by 1937 to
Highway 2 in
Port Credit
Port Credit is a neighbourhood in the south-central part of the City of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Its main intersection is Hurontario Street and Lakeshore Road, a ...
. That same year, it became the site of the first highway interchange in Canada at its intersection with
The Middle Road
The Middle Road was the name for a historic highway in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, which served to link the cities of Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton. The name was used between 1931 and 1939, aft ...
. Since the late 1990s, the southern portion has been truncated to its current terminus north of the
Brampton
Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...
–
Caledon border.
Route description

Highway10 begins at the northern end of Highway410 in Caledon, immediately north of Brampton. It follows Hurontario Street, a route originally carved through the virgin forests of
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...
in 1848. Like the pioneer route it supplanted, the modern highway still divides many of the towns it serves. Within the
Regional Municipality of Peel
The Regional Municipality of Peel (informally Peel Region or Region of Peel, also formerly Peel County) is a regional municipality in the Greater Toronto Area, Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of three municipalities to the west and northwest ...
it acts as the meridian of the concession road system, with parallel sidelines described as being east or west of Hurontario (EHS and WHS, respectively) and perpendicular
concession road
In Upper Canada, Upper and Lower Canada, concession roads were laid out by the colonial government through undeveloped Crown land#Canada, Crown land to provide access to rows of newly surveyed Land lot, lots intended for farming by new settlers. T ...
s divided into eastern and western segments.
Passing to the west of Valleywood, a suburban community on the fringe of the
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...
, Highway10 begins as Highway410 transitions from a divided freeway to a four-lane rural route with a
centre turn lane. The highway presses north-northwest through farmland and rises gradually over the
Niagara Escarpment
The Niagara Escarpment is an approximately discontinuous, arc-shaped but generally northward-facing escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States. The escarpment begins south of Lake Ontario and circumscribes the top of the Great Lake ...
, a UNESCO
World Biosphere Reserve
The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) covers internationally designated protected areas, known as biosphere or nature reserves, which are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature (e.g. encourage sust ...
. To the west are the
Forks of the Credit, a deep glacial ravine and
provincial park
Ischigualasto Provincial Park
A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...
renowned for its scenery. It passes between several large quarries and through
Caledon Village before entering Orangeville at
Highway 9, where it diverges from Hurontario Street.
Highway10 passes to the east of Orangeville on a
bypass, switching between Hurontario Street and Prince of Wales Road alignments to avoid the business district. At the north end of the bypass, the highway curves and proceeds northward. It narrows to four lanes immediately north of Orangeville and then to two lanes north of
Camilla, which along with
Elba
Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...
is one of two communities interspersed among the farmland that otherwise occupies the distance between Orangeville and Shelburne. At the hamlet of Primrose, Highway10 turns west and becomes
concurrent
Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to:
Law
* Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea''
* Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
with
Highway 89 into the town of Shelburne. The concurrency ends in the centre of Shelburne, as Highway10 branches north.
From Shelburne to Owen Sound, the road follows the northernmost part of the former Toronto–Sydenham Road, a colonization road that predates the division of the land in the area. As such, the road follows a diagonal path relative to the
survey grid. While it generally passes through farmland, it also bisects the communities of
Melancthon,
Corbetton,
Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...
,
Flesherton
Flesherton (population 584) is a community in the Municipality of Grey Highlands, in Grey County, Ontario, Canada, located at the junction of Highway 10 and Grey County Road 4 (formerly Highway 4). Although the area initially showed a high rate ...
—where it meets a former portion of
Highway 4—
Markdale,
Mount Pleasant,
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
*George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer to ...
and
Arnott before meeting
Highway 6 at Chatsworth. The two highways travel north for approximately through the community of
Rockford. Highway10 ends at 10th Street East, where it meets the western terminus of
Highway 26 as well as the northern terminus of
Highway 21. Highway6 continues northwest, concurrent with Highway21 through Owen Sound.
History
Historically, Highway 10 follows the 19th-century stagecoach route known as the Toronto–Sydenham Road (the southern half of which later became absorbed into Hurontario Street). It travelled north from
Dundas Street
Dundas Street () is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western Greater Toronto Area, suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways—Ontario Highway 2 ...
(later
Highway 5) in Cooksville through Brampton, Orangeville and Shelburne to Owen Sound.
In order to be eligible for federal funding, the Department of Public Highways (DPHO) established a network of provincial highways on February26, 1920.
Portions of the network were then assumed by the DPHO over the following year. The section of Highway10 within Dufferin County between Orangeville and
Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...
was taken over on July8, 1920. This was followed several weeks later by the portion within
Peel County (now
Peel Region) between Cooksville and Orangeville on July22. Finally, the DPHO assumes the portion within Grey County on October6.
It was later extended south from Cooksville when the provincial government assumed the remaining stretch to
Lakeshore Road
Lakeshore Road (originally Lake Shore Road) is a historic roadway in the Canadian province of Ontario, running through the city of Burlington and the town of Oakville in Halton Region, as well as the city of Mississauga in Peel Region. As it ...
(
Highway 2) in
Port Credit
Port Credit is a neighbourhood in the south-central part of the City of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Its main intersection is Hurontario Street and Lakeshore Road, a ...
, on the north shore of
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...
, on March16, 1921.
Until the mid-1920s, highways in Ontario were named rather than numbered. The Sydenham Highway was designated as Provincial Highway10 in the summer of 1925.
While initially unpaved,
construction of a hard surface along Highway10 began in 1923. That year saw completion of paving between Port Credit and Cooksville, as well as between Chatsworth and Owen Sound.
Paving was completed between Cooksville and Brampton in 1925,
and for north of Brampton and northwest of Melancthon in 1926.
Further paving in 1928 and 1929 resulted in the highway having a continuous pavement from Port Credit to Dundalk.
Pavement was laid in and near the villages of Flesherton and Markdale in 1931,
and between Dundalk and Markdale in 1934.
The pavement was extended from Markdale to Berkeley in 1936, leaving an approximately gap between Berkeley and Chatsworth.
This final gravel section was graded and paved in 1937 and 1938.
Highway10 initially entered Owen Sound along 9th Avenue East, before turning west onto 6th Street East, then north along 2nd Avenue East to Highway21 and Highway26 at 10th Avenue East.
The official Ontario road maps published between 1947 and 1967 show the route following 3rd Avenue East instead of 2nd Avenue East. Beginning in 1968, the combined highways followed 9th Avenue East directly to 10th Street East, as they do today.
Within Orangeville, Highway10 formerly turned west onto Highway 9 and ran
concurrently with it through downtown along Broadway, then turned north to follow First Street (the Prince of Wales Road alignment).
In mid-1971, a bypass around Orangeville was completed, bypassing Broadway and the short sections of both Hurontario and First Streets through the town.
As
Mississauga
Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...
was established in 1968 from
Toronto Township (which included Cooksville), and later Port Credit, and began to rapidly urbanize and as Brampton grew during the same period, portions of Highway10 were designated as
connecting links and transferred to municipal maintenance through the two cities. On April1, 1970, a segment of the route, from the Port Credit railway underpass to Burnhamthorpe Road, was designated as such. This was followed on December10, 1970, with the creation of a connecting link between
Steeles Avenue
Steeles Avenue is an east–west street that stretches across the western and central Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Running from Appleby Line in Milton in the west to the Scarborough-Pickering Townline in the east, where it continue ...
to south of Clarence Street near downtown Brampton. In 1997, these connecting links were repealed and the highway designation dropped altogether through those cities, shortening the highway to its present length.
In 2009, a major project to widen two-lane sections of the southern portions of the highway was completed, and the highway is now four lanes wide from Highway 410 north to Camilla. From Shelburne north to Owen Sound, it remains a two-lane highway with several passing lanes in hillier regions.
During winter, the northern stretches of the highway that pass through the
snowbelt
The Snowbelt, Snow Belt, Frostbelt, or Frost Belt is the region near the Great Lakes in North America where heavy snowfall in the form of lake-effect snow is particularly common. Snowbelts are typically found downwind of the lakes, principally off ...
region of
Grey County
Grey County is a county in the province of Ontario. The county is located in the Southwestern Ontario region, and is a part of the Georgian Triangle. At the time of the 2021 Canadian census the population of the county was 100,905. Owen Sound is ...
are subject to poor visibility and road closings during windy conditions or winter storms.
Major intersections
See also
*
Hurontario Street
Hurontario Street is a roadway running in Ontario, Canada between Lake Ontario at Mississauga and Lake Huron's Georgian Bay at Collingwood. Within Peel Region, it is a major urban thoroughfare within the cities of Mississauga and Brampton, whi ...
References
;Sources
;Bibliography
*
External links
Highway 10 pictures and information
{{Ontario King's Highways
010 010 may refer to:
* 10 (number)
* 8 (number) in octal numeral notation
* Motorola 68010, a microprocessor released by Motorola in 1982
* 010, the telephone area code of Beijing
* 010, the Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest ...
Transport in Orangeville, Ontario
Transport in Owen Sound
Transport in Grey County