Ontario Resorts:
Where and When To Go

Ontario Resorts are great any time of the year! Spring and summer are perfect for water sports and hiking, fall for the autumn colours, and winter is hot for Ontario ski resorts. All-season resorts welcome weary travellers in need of rejuvenation year-round.

WHERE TO GO: BEST RESORT REGIONS

Although you’ll find some properties in urban areas, the majority are located up north in cottage country on the shores of some spectacular lake. To the average resident of southern Ontario, “Cottage Country” or “Up North” usually means two or three hours north of Toronto. This isn’t exactly Northern Ontario, but southerners feel it is!

Transportation Alert: For most of these resorts, you'll need a car, as public transportation in non-urban areas is very rare.

Some popular areas where you'll find Ontario resorts:

Muskoka resorts. This region, also known as Muskoka-Haliburton, is a one-to-two hour drive due north of Toronto. Popular with lake-lovers, especially during the summer

Algonquin Park, another destination for travellers seeking an escape from the city and an encounter with nature. North-east of Toronto.

Collingwood, famous for its ski resorts in winter and golf in summer too (Blue Mountain). North-west of Toronto.

Niagara Falls, with its popular water park resorts right in the heart of the city and steps away from the famous Niagara Falls.

Some resorts only open in summer but a great number are also open year-round.

Spring and summer are busy vacation times. This is the ideal season to enjoy nature and water sports like swimming, water skiing, seadoos, sailing, and so on.

Fall is a gorgeous time of year, and a favourite with city residents who want to take in the Fall Colour season, when the leaves of the trees change to brilliant reds and oranges and yellows. This is a brief brilliant period around the end of September and the early part of October. A few years ago my sister and I spent a lovely weekend at Bonnieview Inn in the Haliburton Highlands, where we also took in the local Haliburton County Studio Tour. If you’ve never been on one of these, they’re great fun! Local artists and artisans open up their studios for the weekend and you can stop by and meet them and learn about the fine creativity and skill that goes into making masterpieces. (It’s also a great time to shop for that unique Christmas gift.)

Winter is more than the season of Christmas --- it’s also skiing season in Ontario! Some of the top ski resorts in Ontario are Blue Mountain Ski Resort near Collingwood, and Snow Valley Ski Resort near Barrie.

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