The sights stand out for their splendour or quirkiness. Some are natural wonders, others are man-made. They might be tricky to find, or perched so close that you’ll wonder how you missed them.

What really unites each spot in author Ron Brown’s new book, Top 115 Unusual Things to See in Ontario, is what they don’t have. No parking lots, no admission booths, nor much in the way of typical tourist promotion.

“But they are fascinating little features that are part of our heritage,” says Brown, geographer, inveterate explorer and chronicler of the weird and wonderful.

To qualify, his unusual picks must be “a bit of an eye-popper” or have a strange story behind them. They may be first of a kind, last of a kind or one of a kind.

“I try to say to people, there are these things out there on our back roads, go find them.”

Thumb through the 248-page book and you may be tempted to quickly start hunting for the “painted desert” in the Caledon Hills, the intriguing potholes of Rockwood, or Ontario’s “biggest sandpile” near Lake Erie.

There are historic “corduroy roads” — logs laid side-by-side in bogs back in pioneer days to allow horses and wagons to pass through, Peterborough County’s disappearing river, and the mysterious Pukaskwa pits, made by early inhabitants on the shores of Lake Superior.

Brown — who was born in Kingston and grew up in north Toronto and Scarborough — highlights each site with written history and photographs. The book is the latest version of the original, which was launched in the 1980s with just 50 Unusual Things.

It might yet expand beyond 115, according to Brown, who says he discovers new unusual things all the time. “The landscape has many stories to tell.”

Many of those stories are told by humans, through history or art.

The Sharon Temple, built by the Quakers north of Toronto, is a prominent but simple landmark distinguished by its multiple windows. Orangeville’s Tree Spirits were created when carvers came to adorn old maple tree stumps with memorable creatures like eagles, bears and fiddlers.

Brown, 67, has found his extraordinary destinations through years of reading, trekking through the province and cultivating a keen eye.

If your holidays are over and the budget is maxed out, the dog days of summer may be a perfect time to go exploring unusual spots close by.

Here are a few in the Toronto area:

• The Guild Inn’s Garden of Ruins: Located behind the inn on the Scarborough Bluffs, the garden boasts remnants of heritage properties saved and carted away during demolition. Wander through this public park overlooking Lake Ontario and find nearly 60 ruins from a variety of sites.

• The Yorkville Rock: No, this billion-year-old hunk of granite has not always been part of the chic shopping district. In fact, it was transported from Gravenhurst in cottage country to create a park reflecting the ecology of the province. On Cumberland Ave. between Bay St. and Avenue Rd.

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• Markham Heritage Estates: Century-old farmhouses managed to escape the wrecking ball in this unusual subdivision. Homes here (at 16th Ave. west of Hwy 48) are historic, dating back as far as 1840. Instead of being torn down, they were relocated as part of the urban expansion.

• Camp 30 and the Battle of Bowmanville: It opened as a boys’ training school in 1925 and was converted to a prisoner of war camp during World War II, housing 800 high-ranking German prisoners. In 1942, guards battled the prisoners in a three-day standoff. The site later reverted to its previous use until 1979 but is now vacant.

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