From exploring charming small towns and seeing frozen waterfalls to enjoying outdoor winter activities, there's tons to explore this season, and you don't have to travel far to do it.
Here are seven winter day trips from Toronto to check out, all less than three hours from the city.
Arrowhead Provincial Park
Price: $10.84+ per vehicle
Address: 451 Arrowhead Park Rd., Huntsville, ON
Why You Need To Go: You don't have to wait until spring or summer to explore Ontario Parks. Many offer tons of winter activities that'll warm you up in no time.
About 2 hours and 30 minutes from Toronto, Arrowhead Provincial Park in Huntsville offers many classic winter activities, including 33 kilometres of ski trails, snowshoeing and hiking.
The park also has a unique 1.3-kilometre skating trail that winds its way through a forest, and even offers fire and ice evening skates where the trail is lit by torches.
While the park is open all year, the availability of some winter activities is weather-dependent, with skating usually beginning in January.
Arrowhead Provincial Park website
Niagara Falls
Address: Niagara Falls, ON
Why You Need To Go: Niagara Falls is beautiful to visit all year, but in winter, the iconic falls transform into a winter wonder.
In the depths of the season, the falls appear to freeze over. According to Niagara Parks, the falls don't actually completely freeze -- instead, when it's particularly cold, the mist and spray of the falls begin to form a crust of ice over the rushing water. Because of this, it appears as though the falls have stopped flowing, making for a spectacular display.
Ice buildup along the falls also creates icicles that frame the edges of the falls, as well as a phenomenon known as the ice bridge, transforming the area into a winter wonderland.
You can take in the falls at night to see the ice illuminated by colourful lights. While you're here, you can enjoy the Winter Festival of Lights, a free outdoor light festival with millions of lights and larger-than-life displays on now until January 7.
Niagara Falls Tourism website
Crawford Lake Conservation Area
Price: $10.50 per adult
Address: 3115 Conservation Rd., Milton, ON
Why You Need To Go: Located about 1 hour from Toronto in Milton, Crawford Lake Conservation Area is a 94-hectare nature preserve that’s part of the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve.
The conservation area is a beautiful spot to visit year-round, but is especially lovely in winter. Here, you can enjoy cross-country skiing and snowshoeing (rentals are available), as well as winter hiking.
Notably, the conservation area is home to a rare meromictic lake in which, unlike most bodies of water, the water layers do not mix, keeping the lake bed undisturbed for centuries.
For a picturesque winter activity, you can take a scenic walk on a 1.4-kilometre elevated boardwalk that wraps around the lake and keep an eye out for wildlife.
Crawford Lake Conservation Area website
Blue Mountain resort
Price: Prices vary
Address: 190 Gord Canning Dr., Blue Mountains, ON
Why You Need To Go: Blue Mountain Resort is a great place for winter activities, and is close enough that you could visit for a day trip.
The resort offers skiing and snowboarding along 43 named trails and 364 total skiable acres, even offering 30 lit night trails.
The resort also offers snowshoeing, with rentals available, and outdoor skating along the Woodview Mountaintop skating trail, a 1.1-kilometre ice skating loop that offers stunning views along the Niagara Escarpment.
You can visit several attractions at the resort in one day by purchasing a Play A Day pass, or just hit the slopes with lift tickets.
If relaxing is more your thing, at the resort you'll also find the Scandinave Spa, a Nordic spa offering thermal baths and massages.
Blue Mountain Resort website
Scenic Caves Nature Adventures
Price: $27.50+ per adult
Address: 260 Scenic Caves Rd., The Blue Mountains, ON
Why You Need To Go: The Scenic Caves Nordic Centre is home to tons of winter activities, including cross-country skiing on a 27-kilometre trail network and snowshoeing on 12 kilometres of trails.
The centre is also home to southern Ontario's longest suspension bridge, where you can take in 360-degree wintry views and see all the way to the far side of Georgian Bay on a clear day.
You can purchase a day trail pass to get access to snowshoe trails, the suspension bridge, lookout points, and more, as well as complimentary ice cleats.
There are also snowshoe equipment rentals, hot and cold food services and a gift shop available at an additional cost.
Passes are $31 per adult if visiting on a weekend, or $27.50 from Monday to Friday.
On select nights, you can also go on a guided night snowshoe hike, where you can listen for local nocturnal wildlife and look for constellations on clear nights.
Scenic Caves Nature Adventures
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Address: Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
Why You Need To Go: There's so much to do in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and the small town is a true winter wonderland when it snows.
You can wander the charming streets and peruse the quaint shops and boutiques or even go on a horse-drawn carriage ride through town.
Be sure to check out Just Christmas, Canada's oldest year-round Christmas emporium, where you'll find things like ornaments, advent calendars, and more holiday gifts and goods.
January in Niagara is also icewine season. During the month, you can experience the Icewine Festivals of Niagara and enjoy tastings, music, and an Icewine Village.
While you're in NOTL, be sure to check out the iconic Prince of Wales Hotel, where you can stop in for afternoon tea or book room to extend your stay.
Visit Niagara website
Spencer Gorge Conservation Area
Price: $16 per vehicle and driver
Address: 607 Harvest Rd., Dundas, ON
Why You Need To Go: You may know the Spencer Gorge Conservation Area as a fall destination, but it's also a beautiful spot to visit in winter.
You'll find the well-known lookout spot Dundas Peak here, as well as two majestic waterfalls that freeze in winter.
Webster Falls is a stunning 22-metre curtain waterfall with a short hike and an accessible viewing platform. Tew Falls is a bigger cascade, towering at 41 metres (only a few metres shorter than Niagara Falls) and reached on a longer walk. Both, however, offer spectacular vistas of the gorge.
There's also a wheelchair-accessible lookout and paved trail area available at Webster Falls.
Head to the conservation area on a cold day to catch sight of the frozen falls or take in wintry views from Dundas Peak.
Spencer Gorge Conservation Area website
Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your adventure.
