How to get your kids to love cross-country skiing

Did you know 18 of our parks have cross-country trails, about half of them groomed?

Cross-country skiing is a great way for families to get outdoors and enjoy the winter together! It’s less expensive and safer than alpine skiing, it helps keep kids fit, and it’s a skill they’ll have their entire life.

Here are our top seven tips for getting kids hooked on cross-country skiing:

Continue reading How to get your kids to love cross-country skiing

Where to skate in Ontario Parks

The air is crisp and clean. The evergreens are covered with snow. If you’re lucky – and observant – you might spot a cardinal, a finch, a waxwing or a blue jay as you glide along the ice.

And when the sun goes down, you can huddle around a big bonfire with a cup of hot chocolate and warm up before relacing your skates and heading back out to skate under the stars.

It’s simply magical.

This winter, plan a skating trip to these four provincial parks:

Continue reading Where to skate in Ontario Parks

Frozen falls and other wacky winter water

When most of us picture winter ice, we conjure up mental images of skating rinks and icicles. But did you know there’s a lot of variety in wintry water formations?

From frozen falls to ice volcanoes, winter water is quite a sight to behold:

Continue reading Frozen falls and other wacky winter water

Accessible outdoors at Arrowhead

In today’s post, Patricia Pyrka and her son Finnan share their 2018 visit to Arrowhead Provincial Park

When you love the outdoors and have a child in a wheelchair, things tend to get a bit more complicated.

So complicated that for the first seven years of my son’s life, we never went on hikes. Winter outings were completely off my radar – try to get big and small thin wheels through snow!

At some point, I had had enough. I decided I did want to take my son out into nature. I wanted him to experience places he had never been to before, and share with him what I loved so much: quiet nature, deep forests, mountaintops, rough terrain trails, and changing weather conditions.

Continue reading Accessible outdoors at Arrowhead

First Day Hike destinations

New Year’s Day is coming up fast — have you picked out a park for your First Day Hike on January 1, 2023?

This 10-park list rounds up some hot spots for your first foray into 2023:

Continue reading First Day Hike destinations

March vacancy highlights (roofed accommodation)

Spring will be here before you know it. Get one last winter adventure in this March!

Stay warm in one of our roofed accommodations. We’ve got lots of cabins, cottages, and yurts available all month, especially for midweek visitors!

Accommodations featured below were available as of 11:00 am, February 18, 2020.

Continue reading March vacancy highlights (roofed accommodation)

Romantic winter adventures worth travelling for

A cozy cabin in the woods blanketed with snow. A forested trail leading to your very own frosty adventure. Gliding through the woods by skate or ski.

Sound like something out of a fairy tale? It’s not; it’s winter at Ontario Parks!

Continue reading Romantic winter adventures worth travelling for

January vacancy highlights (roofed accommodation)

Start the year right with a cozy staycation!

Stay warm in one of our roofed accommodations, and enjoy all that winter has to offer! We’ve have cabins, cottages and yurts available, especially for midweek visitors!

Accommodations featured below were available as of 9:00 am, December 18, 2019.

Continue reading January vacancy highlights (roofed accommodation)