EXPLORING ONTARIO IN THE WINTER HELLO FROM BARRIE

ur winter getaway over the       high-speed adrenaline-filled
last two days was supposed      activities, we knew that he would
to include a couple of          fall in love with this sport.
different activities: snow-tubing
and outdoor skating. Well, our        Horseshoe Valley is one of
outdoor skating fell through, due     several Ontario winter resorts
to the extraordinarily warm           and in addition to downhill
conditions, however, we had a         skiing, cross-country skiing and
beautiful day yesterday on            skating, it also features a
Kempenfelt Bay in Barrie, where       snow-tubing hill. It's a thrill
we enjoyed some great outdoor         to get pulled up on the hill,
time on frozen Lake Simcoe.           sitting on a refunctioned inner
                                      tube, and then getting linked up
Today, after our delicious            in a group of 2, 3 or 4
filling breakfast at Nicholyn         snow-tubers, who hold on to their
Farms Bed and Breakfast, we           neighbouring tuber's handle and
headed off for another adventure:     then get pushed down the hill by
snowtubing at Horseshoe Valley.       one of the staff members - with a
Unfortunately the weather today       spin and a momentum that feels
was even less cooperative: as the     almost like a roller coaster!
day progressed it went from
freezing rain to rain to a            Snowtubing is just one of the
veritable downpour as we drove        many fun winter activities that
back to Toronto.                      Ontario has to offer.
                                      Snow Valley Resort just on the
Nevertheless the morning was cold     other side of Highway 400 also
enough for our snowtubing             offers snowtubing.
adventure. My 8-year old nephew       Blue Mountain Resort in
had never been snowtubing before,     Collingwood is another place for
and knowing his penchant for          Ontario snowtubing enthusiasts.

                                      Toronto.
Skating:
Obviously hockey is Canada's          Skiing & snowboarding:
national sport and skating runs       Although Ontario certainly
in the veins of many residents of     doesn't have the greatest
this northern country. Virtually      vertical drop compared to
all Ontario cities, towns and         international ski resorts, but it
villages have outdoor skating         does offer 41 resorts for
rinks and indoor arenas. Outdoor      downhill skiers and snowboarders
skating is free in many cases,        at the Ski Ontario website.
and indoor pleasure skating is
generally a very inexpensive          Cross-country skiing &
sport.                                snowshoeing:
                                      Ontario's more than 120
One of the best known skating         cross-country ski areas are
Ontario opportunities exists in       rivalled only by Quebec for sheer
Ottawa, on the 7.8 km long Rideau     number and variety. Ski areas are
Canal, the world's longest            operated by various organizations
skating rink according to the         ranging from parks to clubs and
Guiness Book of Records. The City     resorts. The Ski Ontario website
of Ottawa lists its public            provides an extensive listing of
skating information on the            cross-country opportunities
Internet.                             across Ontario.
                                      Special offers for snowshoeing
Toronto's well-known outdoor          and cross-country getaways are
skating venues include City Hall,     featured on the Ontario Outdoor
Harbourfront and Grenadier Pond       website.
in HIgh Park and the City of
Toronto provides a list of            Snowmobiling:
leisure skating opportunities in      Ontario offers more than 43,000

km (26,000 mi.) of maintained,        Outdoor Website features a
interconnected, uncongested           variety of dog sledding
trails. It is the longest network     adventures and getaways.
of recreational trails in the
world. The 248 member clubs of        Urban Winter Getaways:
the Ontario Federation of             For those who want to enjoy the
Snowmobile Clubs build and            best that Ontario's cities have
maintain this extensive trail         to offer over the winter time,
network. Find more information        there are a variety of special
about snowmobiling in Ontario in      events going on. Many cities and
the Ontario Snowmobiler Magazine.     towns throughout Ontario feature
                                      special winter festivals,
Iceclimbing:                          starting with many festivals of
The north of Ontario is the heart     light, tree lighting ceremonies
of Ontario's iceclimbing country      and New Year's celebrations in
and features ice-clad routes with     November and December, and
heights of more than 90 m.            continuing with a variety of
Special ice-climbing getaways are     special events, trade fairs and
featured on the Ontario Outdoor       restaurant promotions throughout
Website.                              January and February. The Success
                                      with Ontario website features a
Dogsledding:                          listing of Ontario's Festivals
Dog sledding has evolved from a       and events.
utilitarian form of transport in
northern countries to a unique        Major festivals include:
travel experience. Some               Toronto's WinterCity Festival and
dogsledding operators have a          Winterlicious
guide drive the team, where at        Ottawa's Winterlude Winter
other places you may drive the        Festival
sled yourself. The Ontario            Niagara's Icewine Festival

                                      accommodation offers. Ontario
Ontario Accommodation Choices:        Travel's website offers a great
Ontario offers a wide variety of      overview of the accommodation
choices for getaways. From            choices available in Ontario.
all-inclusive feature-packed
resorts, to down-to-earth farm        There is plenty to do in the
vacations, to cozy bed and            winter in Ontario, indoors and
breafasts, secluded cottages and      out. Nature lovers, urban
chalets and inviting country          explorers, adrenaline junkies,
inns, Ontario has a wide              and romantic lovebirds will all
selection of accommodation            find something to choose from to
providers. Unique boutique            brighten up those cold winter
hotels, and centrally located         days.
urban hotels round out the

About the Author:

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of http://www.travelandtransitions.com, a web portal for unconventional travel & cross-cultural connections. Check out our brand new FREE ebooks about travel.

Exploring Ontario In The Winter Hello From Barrie