15 Road Trips You Never Knew About in Ontario

From the inspiring to the extreme to the downright bizarre, take a look at some of the coolest road trip destinations in Ontario that you [likely] haven’t heard about. (Drop us a line if you’ve heard of more than two of these OR if you think there’s something else that should be on the list…)

1 Swim with Polar Bears

Jump in and paddle around within an inch of the world’s largest, meanest bears (separated by a pane of bullet-proof glass) The sensation - 4 hours north of Sudbury in Cochrane - has to be experienced to be believed. Call ahead to confirm bears will be in the pool that features the adjacent human side. HINT: ‘Meet the bears’ times scheduled each day provide a better chance the bears will be in the water when you are. Otherwise, splashing around also works…

http://www.polarbearhabitat.ca/

2 Jog around the rim of a meteor crater

Ontario has a few accessible meteor impact sites, but none are more immediately visible than the Holeford Crater, about half-an-hour north of Kingston. At just over 1 km in diameter, the basin looks like a naturally occurring valley, except for a plaque at the south end between two farms, noting the region’s extraterrestrial origins.

http://www.tdc.ca/crater.htm

3 Burn rubber at race car camp

Okay, we’re cheating by a hundred kilometres with the Jim Russel Racing School, but just over the border here at Mont Tremblant awaits the salvation of every speed demon praying for the last of his demerit points to expire. Jump into your own Formula-1-style racer and floor-it to your heart’s content. Courses in defensive and high-performance driving are available.

http://www.jimrussell.com/

4 A truly creepy ghost town

For several decades at the turn of the previous century, the town of Nicholson boasted a healthy population of 250 and included two churches, a hotel, a school, and a mill - the centre of the town’s industry. When the mill burned in 1933, this small town west of Timmons was abandoned, now a wreck, burnt and overgrown.

5 The buildings Toronto forgot

One of the best new jazz festivals in Ontario takes place each summer in this cozy, beautifully-restored corner of Hog Town. Take in a pint and some tasty local eats amongst the vintage brickwork, featured in films such as Chicago and Cinderella Man.
http://www.thedistillerydistrict.com/

6 Canada’s coolest science centre

Innovatively-built into the shattercone of the Canadian Shield, Science North is the little science centre that could…and did: 4D Object Theatres combine 3D screens, animatronics, and famous narrators such as Rick Mercer. A new photorealistic digital planetarium is set to open in the fall. And oh yeah, the facility is also the only in the world to produce its own IMAX films.
http://sciencenorth.ca/

7 Catch a ray on Canada’s best beach

The pristine, expansive sands of Cobourg’s Victoria Park are rarely crowded, always free of big-city pollution, and alive with sporting and cultural festivals (the snowbirds have flown by on more than one Canada Day.) Nestled on the edge of Cobourg’s heritage district, grab a cone from Harbour Delights near the docks before hitting the boardwalk or going for a swim.

8 Ontario’s Stonehenge

Though you can’t drive up to this one, the hike into the bush on the northern shore of Larder Lake, four hours north of Sudbury is well worth it: There, you’ll see an arrangement of 18 refrigerator-sized rocks, placed there by ancient First Nations up to 6,000 years ago. Because of the sensitivity and need for security for the site, directions of the area must be obtained from locals.

9 Pit stop at a two-storey outhouse

Don’t worry about ducking-in to the lower level of this curious respite station in Smiths Falls, south of Ottawa. The plumbing set-up in this one-off piece of architecture allows the person at the top level of the privy to - ahem - conduct business without raining on the parade of their neighbour below.
http://www.smithsfalls.ca/heritagehouse/

10 Look though Canada’s biggest public telescope

Most astronomers these days look at computer monitors hooked up to telescopes, and what few observatories do have actual metal-and-glass eyepieces don’t let the public in to view. Not so with the Helen Sawyer Hogg Observatory at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa. Completely dedicated to public observing, you can look through this hefty device at planets, stars, galaxies and more for less than the cost of a movie ticket.
http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/whatson/hogg_observatory.cfm

11 Go where no one has gone before

http://confluence.org/  OR http://confluence.org/region.php?id=37

12 Lighthouse crawl of Upper Canada

Who knew a province so far from the ocean had so many lighthouses? Start your crawl with the beautiful Greek revival Point Abino lighthouse near Fort Erie and cap things off with the “haunted” Island light house on Gibraltar Point amidst the Toronto Islands.

13 Visit Ontario’s Grand Canyon

Imagine a breathtaking scar in the earth similar to the world-famous one across the U.S. Midwest, but accented with the trees and other greenery north of Superior.Ouimet Canyon is a breathtaking treasure 150 metres wide and 100 metres deep as well as being a local hiking destination.

14 Stand south of Rome…In Canada

Canada’s southernmost point is further south than part of 13 American states and even Rome, Italy. It’s also the smallest of Canada’s national parks and one of the great bird watching Meccas of North America.

15 Soar to the province’s highest point

Though Albertans would call its 300 metre peak the top of a slight hill, Maple Mountain in Temagami is the tallest above its surrounding terrain in Ontario.

You can reach it via several days of interior camping by canoe, followed by a hike to the top, or shorten your trip by driving as far as possible down an abandoned logging road before setting out for one of the sites nearest the base.

If you are considering a road trip of your own, be sure to stop by our Travel Tips and FAQs page.

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