Manitoba Attractions (Just) Over the Ontario Border

Planning a trip cross-country or as far at least as the Manitoba border?

Whether your final destination is the land of 100,000 Lakes or parts beyond, check out the following attractions on the way there or back, just over the border in Ontario’s friendly neighbour:

Vacation Destinations with Camps for Your Kids Nearby

Warm summers and thousands of getaway options await day-trippers and provincial staycationers alike this summer in Ontario.

Fretting over shipping the younger versions of yourself off to camp?

Take the sting off by taking them along – at least partially – by hooking up with some of the following adult-friendly getaways with adjacent day or overnight camps for your kids:

Nine Biggest “Wow”’s at Parks Canada Sites, 100 Years Later

Canada’s national parks system – the world’s oldest – was created one century ago this year with Banff, Yoho, Glacier, Waterton Lakes, St Lawrence Islands, and Jasper the first members (Banff itself became a park 125 years ago). More than just a place to go camping, Canada’s national parks and national historic sites are some of the world’s most sought-after travel destinations. 100 years after it all started, here are our picks for the nine most amazing jewels in the Parks Canada crown:

Tangent Triptik: 8 Roadside Stop-Offs Between Toronto and Ottawa

The journey between Canada’s largest city and Canada’s capital is a trek that can be undertaken in less than five hours (in good traffic) for business or as a quick jaunt for a weekend getaway.

It can also be a leisurely day-trip between these two hubs as destinations, or on the way to other targets further afield.

Roadside stop-offs (not full-fledged detours but strictly spots within a few km of the highway) during the trip there or back are one of the true perks of the journey to either destination.

Below are eight of our favourite stops between Toronto and Ottawa that you might not have discovered (or re-discovered) yet:

14 Ontario Stargazing Road-Trips

Just this spring, Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies became the world’s largest astronomy park, known as a dark sky preserve.

The 11,000 square kilometre stargazing sanctuary is also tied for the darkest on earth and is the only one that offers world-class cuisine, four-star hotel accommodations, hot springs, mountain hikes and glacier tours.

The park – and its new dark sky designation – is also one of the first to cater to a new eco-tourism trend known as wilderness astronomy: Destination stargazing more for polar fleecers than the pocket-protector crowd.
With access to fun GPS gadgets and apps for your iPhone replacing the need to pour over hundreds of pages of astronomy manuals to know the night sky, it’s no wonder people are flocking to parks at night (more than 5,000 members of the public attended a star party at Elk Island National park in 2010, a recent Canadian Geographic feature noted.)

Even better news, there are many such destinations – including some dark sky preserves – in North and Eastern Ontario:

Make Your Own Roadside Emergency Kit for Under $50

While there’s no denying that you should have a roadside emergency kit (not just a First Aid kit) in each vehicle you own, there’s some debate as to whether it’s cheaper and more effective to buy a
pre-made kit or put one together yourself.

Scared of going homemade? You might be surprised to find there are many benefits to making your own Tupperware-enclosed contingency plan.

Check out our parts list below for putting together a complete roadside emergency kit for less than $50*

5 Tips for Kid-Friendly Road-Trips

Vacations with kids can be a roller coaster. And while the destination is often well-worth the journey, the journey itself can be a dream or a nightmare.

The thought that you can actually control (or at least moderate) things in the back seat on your next road trip may sound like the stuff of miracles, but it just might be possible, after mastering the following five aspects of life on the road.

12 Types of Idiot Drivers

If you’re cruising down the road and unlucky enough to face something like this - or if you’re really unlucky, that - and still live to tell the tale, then you’ve probably had a conversation soon after with your co-pilot (or yourself) about types of bad drivers.

While we don’t want to see any of these folks on the road, we also don’t want to become any of the following stereotypes:

Eastern Ontario’s Most Dangerous Roads (and What Makes Them So Dangerous)

Highway patrol officers are known for holding that there are more dangerous drivers than dangerous roads.

Want some cold-hard evidence to that effect? In 2009, a report from the Eastern Ontario Health unit revealed that 61% of car accidents in that region of the province happened on dry roads, 62% in broad daylight, 75% in clear weather and 98% on roads in perfectly good condition: http://www.eohu.ca/_files/reports/report58.pdf

While roads are certainly more dangerous to people when they are on those roads, certain roadways in Eastern and Northern Ontario see more people hurt and killed than others.

9 “To-Do’s” Before You Drive This Winter

You’re driving down a single-lane highway alone at night: On to your windshield and under your tires, snow is blowing and swirling over the ice-patched road. Just before every turn and bend, you wonder: Am I safe?

It makes sense to dust the white stuff off your roof and windows each drive in the winter, and get in early for a seasonal maintenance package. But beyond a simple check-up, there are many more things you should do for your car as the unforgiving cold approaches.