Explore the real-world places that appear in Every Summer After by Carley Fortune. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Barry's Bay Town Centre, Barry's Bay Waterfront and Public Beach, Kamaniskeg Lake, The Fraser Family Cottage, Florek Family Restaurant and 6 more.
Highway 60 — The lakeside town at the heart of the story
Barry's Bay is the small Ontario town where Percy's family spends every summer and where she is drawn back after a decade away. It is where she first meets Sam Florek as teenagers and where the story's present-day weekend unfolds. Percy returns when she hears that Sam's mother, Wendy, has died, and the town's familiar streets stir up every old memory.
Barry's Bay is a village in Renfrew County in the Madawaska Valley, founded in the 19th century around the lumber trade. It grew with its Polish-Canadian community, which settled the area in large numbers.
The town is a popular cottage-country hub on Highway 60 near Algonquin Park, with shops, restaurants, and lake access. It draws summer visitors and fans of the novel.
Visit: Barry's Bay Town Centre (landmark)
Kamaniskeg Lake shore — Where summer days begin
Percy and Sam spend countless hazy summer afternoons on the water, swimming, boating, and talking for hours. The lake is the backdrop to their friendship and the slow turn toward romance, and the place Percy associates most with joy and loss.
Kamaniskeg Lake has long been the centre of life in Barry's Bay, serving first the logging industry and later summer cottagers. Its name comes from an Algonquin word associated with the region's waters.
The waterfront offers swimming, boating, and views across the lake. It is a gathering place for locals and visitors in summer.
Visit: Barry's Bay Waterfront (park)
Madawaska Valley — The lake that anchors the novel
The lake is the heart of the novel's six summers. Percy and Sam spend long days boating and swimming, and nights beside the water as their bond deepens. The lake's calm surface contrasts with the emotional upheaval that ends their relationship.
Kamaniskeg Lake is a large lake in the Madawaska River system, shaped by glaciation and later used for log transport. It became a cottage destination in the 20th century.
The lake is lined with cottages and resorts, and it is used for boating, fishing, and swimming. Public access points around Barry's Bay make it easy to enjoy.
Visit: Kamaniskeg Lake (park)
Lakeshore — Percy's childhood summer home
The Frasers' lakeside cottage is where Percy spends every summer growing up, and where she first meets Sam. It is the place of her happiest memories and, later, of the avoidance that follows her mistake. Returning to the lake means facing what the cottage represents.
Cottages like this line the shores of Kamaniskeg Lake, many of which have been owned by city families since the mid-20th century. The location here is an approximation of the type of private lakeside property the book describes.
Lakeside cottages in the area remain private residences and rentals. The exact fictional cottage cannot be visited.
Main Street — Where Sam and Percy work summer nights
The Florek family restaurant is where Sam and Percy work together on warm summer nights, serving customers and stealing moments between shifts. Sam's mother, Wendy, runs the place with warmth, treating Percy like family. After Wendy's death, the restaurant becomes a focal point of grief during the funeral weekend.
Family-run restaurants have long been a staple of Barry's Bay, reflecting the town's Polish heritage and tourism economy. The restaurant in the novel is fictional.
Local restaurants in Barry's Bay serve pierogi, comfort food, and lakeside fare. Visitors can enjoy a similar meal at the town's eateries.
Visit: Barry's Bay local restaurants (restaurant)
Near the lake — Sam's family home
Sam's family home is where Percy gathers with the Floreks for Wendy's funeral. It holds years of shared history, including nights spent with books and the quiet closeness between Percy and Sam. The house is where old wounds are reopened and the possibility of reconciliation emerges.
Homes in the Madawaska Valley often belong to families who have lived there for generations, many of them descended from Polish settlers. This location is a representative placement for the fictional home.
Private homes line the streets and lake roads near Barry's Bay. They are not open to the public.
Barry's Bay — A place for books and quiet
Books are central to Percy and Sam's bond: his medical textbooks and her horror short stories. Quiet reading spaces like the town library echo the afternoons they spend studying and writing side by side. The library stands for the shared ambitions that shaped their friendship.
The Madawaska Valley Public Library serves Barry's Bay and surrounding townships, supporting community learning and local history.
The library offers books, programs, and public computers for residents and visitors.
Visit: Madawaska Valley Public Library (library)
Highway 60 corridor — Wilderness nearby
The wilderness surrounding Barry's Bay shapes the novel's atmosphere, with forests, trails, and starry nights offering Percy and Sam places to escape. Nature provides the setting for the quiet moments where their friendship becomes something more.
Algonquin Provincial Park was established in 1893 and is Ontario's oldest provincial park. It inspired painters like Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven.
The park offers hiking, canoeing, and camping and is a major attraction in the region.
Visit: Algonquin Provincial Park (park)
Madawaska Valley — Woodland walks
Percy and Sam wander wooded trails and shoreline paths around the lake, talking about their futures, her writing, and his dream of becoming a doctor. These walks mark the gradual shift from friendship to love.
The Madawaska River has been a transport route for Indigenous peoples and later for loggers who floated timber downstream. Trails along its banks now serve recreation.
Hiking and paddling routes along the Madawaska Valley offer views of forest and water.
Visit: Madawaska Valley trails (park)
Barry's Bay — Polish heritage and community mourning
The funeral for Sam's mother draws the community together, reflecting the Florek family's deep roots in the town. Percy returns and confronts the grief and guilt she has carried for ten years, seeing Sam again in the midst of mourning.
Barry's Bay has a strong Polish Catholic heritage, and its churches reflect the community that settled the valley in the 19th century.
The parish remains an active place of worship and community life.
Downtown Toronto — Percy's adult life away from the lake
Percy's stylish apartment in the city is where she spends her summers after the mistake, going out with friends and keeping everyone at a distance. It is from here that she receives the call about Wendy's death and races back to Barry's Bay.
Toronto is Canada's largest city and a hub for media, finance, and culture. Its downtown condominium boom reshaped the skyline over recent decades.
Downtown Toronto is filled with apartments, restaurants, and cultural attractions. Percy's apartment is fictional and is not a public site.
More by Carley Fortune: All Carley Fortune books
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