Travel in Canada

[milmom6]

Hello !
We moved to Michigan this past August (30 minutes from Detroit in Macomb) and I'd liked to do some travel in Canada. I thought this was probably the best place to ask for suggestions. When we lived in Washington State, we travelled into Vancouver a lot and loved it.
I am married with 2 boys, 9 and 5. They love hockey (one is a player and the other a goalie), ice skating and want to try ice fishing and watching dog sled competitions. They have skied once, but besides my husband, we are beginners.
Any suggestions for both cold and warm times would be greatly appreciated. We love the outdoors, camping, sports, etc. However, I also like relaxing places. We will only be here for about 2.5 years, so we like to always see as much as we can. And, yes, we are putting in for our passports this weekend.

Thanks !

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

Hello !
We moved to Michigan this past August (30 minutes from Detroit in Macomb) and I'd liked to do some travel in Canada. I thought this was probably the best place to ask for suggestions. When we lived in Washington State, we travelled into Vancouver a lot and loved it.
I am married with 2 boys, 9 and 5. They love hockey (one is a player and the other a goalie), ice skating and want to try ice fishing and watching dog sled competitions. They have skied once, but besides my husband, we are beginners.
Any suggestions for both cold and warm times would be greatly appreciated. We love the outdoors, camping, sports, etc. However, I also like relaxing places. We will only be here for about 2.5 years, so we like to always see as much as we can. And, yes, we are putting in for our passports this weekend.

Thanks !

I hope you get some good suggestions! We're near Toronto so don't know the Windsor area that well.

 

[MoserFamily]

I grew up in Windsor, but I'm now living in Ottawa. There aren't too many places I can direct you to in Windsor, since we actually spent most of our time travelling through Michigan. I'm sure there are tourist things to do, but we never did them - isn't that always the case in your own home town?

But, there are a lot of things to do up here in Ottawa. It's about an 8 hour drive from Windsor, depending on how you drive, traffic, accidents and traffic through Toronto (can be anywhere from 7-10 hour trip). Ottawa is also about 2 hours from Montreal, so you could always plan a road trip through Toronto, up to Ottawa and on to Montreal and back. And if you wanted to plan a really long vacation, you can continue on to Quebec City and over to the Maritimes fairly easily (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI).

In winter, Ottawa has skiing and ice fishing. We also have an NHL team, so you could also do a pro hockey tour and see the Red Wings, Maple Leafs, Senators and Canadiens in one trip, if the schedules work out right.

The best time to come in Winter is during Winterlude, the winter festival. The canal freezes over and becomes the world's largest outdoor skating rink. The canal is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Winterlude also hosts snow and ice carving competitions, and, of course, you can eat yummy Beavertails and drink hot chocolate while you're skating.

In summer, we have lots of bike paths and hiking trails. There's also the tulip festival in May, where we plant millions of tulips (gift from Holland for providing refuge for the Royal family during WWII). It's quite pretty and they have some pretty good concerts. There's also the huge Canada Day celebrations, which are always fun.

Plus, being Canada's capital, there are lots of good museums. For more tourist info, go to capcan.ca

I hope that gives a few ideas that aren't too far away.

 

[milmom6]

Thanks for the ideas so far !!! We really do not mind driving a few hours, we are driving 18 hours to Disney this March. I think we could maybe do 2 weeks in the summer to explore Canada and the Michigan UP?

Ottawa sounds neat, are they "real" beavertails you eat? I hope not, but I guess I would try, lol. I've had sushi in Japan and German beer and schnitzel in Germany, so I guess if that is what is the "norm". My boys would love the hockey trip, not sure my wallet could handle it though. Tickets in Detroit are expensive!!

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

Beaver tails are like churros, yummy sugar sprinkled fried dough. This is making me crave a funnel cake.

 

[ferris198]

I know you can go dog sledding in Algonquin Park, but I don't know if they havr competions up there.
My mother looked into it just a couple of weeks ago, as she is thinking of taking my son on the March break.

As fpr Beaver Tails, my son has one everytime we go to Ontario Place, which is often as we have seasons passes, he often has 2, one to start the day, one to end it.

 

[Ham Ham]

Toronto-Hockey Hall of Fame & Science Centre. Don't bother with Ontario Place or Wonderland.
Ottawa- The Nations Capital. Lot of Museums.
Montreal-Beautiful City, try going during the comedy festival. Old Montreal and the Old Port.

 

[ferris198]

Why would you say not go to Ontario Place

 

[Ham Ham]

I find it old and a little run down and not as interesting it was the first 15 years it was open.

Last time we we there with the kids was 4 years ago it seemed to lost a lot of its WOW factor.

But if you like it go for it.

 

[ferris198]

they have expdanded quite abit, but at yiur kids age, they mind it boring.
Although we have seen seen some awesome movies there.

 

[Ham Ham]

Granted the IMAX is awesome.

1st Permanent IMAX theatre in the word at the Cinesphere.

But we no longer need to head downtown to see an IMAX movie.

After going to Disney Ontario Place and Wonderland just don't seem to cut it.

But they aren't a 24 hour drive away.

 

[mtmbyck]

I lived in Sarnia most of my life (just across the border from Port Huron) and now live north of Toronto. In just 4 hours you can be North of Toronto and on your way to some of the most beautiful areas in Canada. Look up the Muskokas/Gravenhurst for the Summer and Collingwood (Blue Mountain Village) for your winter skiing and tubing. I believe Tom Hanks and Kurt Russel and the likes of all kinds of celebrities have made their way this far just to spend a few relaxing weeks on our lakes. You can rent a cottage or stay at one of the resorts on the water - Deerhurst, Taboo, Cranberry, Clevelands House, Delawana Inn, Hidden Valley.......

 

[pink_tink8i8]

that depends on how far you would like to travel??? I suggest Quebec City during the winter. They have a huge carnival celebration, ice skating, an ice hotel you could stay at, as well as a lot of outdoor stuff to do. for the summer I'd suggest the maritimes. It's beautiful there and there are a lot of outdoor options. Eastern townships in Quebec are good for outdoor activities in the winter.

 

[pink_tink8i8]

Thanks for the ideas so far !!! We really do not mind driving a few hours, we are driving 18 hours to Disney this March. I think we could maybe do 2 weeks in the summer to explore Canada and the Michigan UP?

Ottawa sounds neat, are they "real" beavertails you eat? I hope not, but I guess I would try, lol. I've had sushi in Japan and German beer and schnitzel in Germany, so I guess if that is what is the "norm". My boys would love the hockey trip, not sure my wallet could handle it though. Tickets in Detroit are expensive!!

haha that's so cute! no, they are not real tails. We call them that because that's what they look like. It's almost like a donut that is deep fried and then you can add whatever toppings you like, like you would on a sundae! Banana chocolate is really good!

 

[Madsofa]

Being that close I'd say a trip to Niagara Falls is in order and definately stay on the Canadian side.

There are many great places close to you including Pelee Island - for the nature lover and wine lover ( a great winery there as well). There are many provincial campgrounds near by - Rondeau Park, Wheatley Park plus many private campgrounds.

There is not much skiing, snowmobiling in Southern Ontario - you'll have to venture farther north to enjoy the snow - I think someone mentioned Collingwood and it's great so long as the snow "stays".

If your husband and boys are car enthusiasts there is a fantastic classic car museum in Chatham-Kent, Blenheim to be more specific. It's about an hour away from the Detroit/Windsor border and right off the 401 - easy access. It is called RM Classic Cars. It is world renowned and car lovers Jay Leno & Nicolas Cage have their cars restored there. There is a great hotel in downtown Chatham to stay at called The Retro Suites (www.retrosuites.com). This hotel is owned by the car guys and the was no detail missed when designing it.

Not sure if you are into black history but Southwestern Ontario was the last stop on the underground railway and there are many museums dedicated to the plight, including the world famous Uncle Tom's cabin in Dresden, Ontario. Probably about 1.5 hours from the border. There's also a settlement in Buxton with another great museum, schoolhouse - it's a little village. Again fairly easy access from the 401 and about one hour from the border.

Further north west is Tobermory and Flower Pot Island - absolutely beautiful. Probably about 5 hours from the border but worth the trip. Fantastic camping, beautiful water, caves to explore, nature trails. It's stunning.

There is a lot to do - I hope you enjoy your time in our neck of the woods!

 

[Cdn Gal]

Why not travel along the St. Lawerence Seaway? Picton is beautiful with the sand dune beaches, and wonderful inns and fine-dining restaurants. The 1000 islands are world famous- take a cruise! Do Old Fort Henry in Kingston. Continue along to Ottawa and do the Museum of Civilization- sooooo many attractions there in Ottawa. Go to Quebec City, and canoe down the Jacque Cartier River -only $30 for the canoe! New Bruswick's Fundy Park is beautiful, do PEI (Anne of Green Gables) Nova Scotia (Cabot Trail, Peggy's Cove) and NewFoundland. Really, any one of the provinces will take you more than two weeks to do adequately. It's much cheaper to camp, and plus it's alot of fun too! Canada is simply beautiful. You will have a wonderful time no matter where you are!

 

[maggieb9975]

Ditto everything.......Check out this site which has some pretty good info by region for Ontario.

www.ontariotravel.net

 

[Starr_DJ]

You could always take a day trip to the Windsor/Essex County area. I'm afraid you're not going to find much in the way of winter activities, since there's not a lot of snow, but there are still some neat places to see. The best place to go to is Colasanti's - about a 40-minute drive from the Ambassador Bridge (straight down Huron Church Rd., which changes into Hwy #3). It's a greenhouse, but has so much more than that (large petting zoo, amusement area for kids, mini golf, huge eating area). It's open all year round. Jack Miner's is about a 5 minute drive from there - in the fall there are hundreds of Canada Geese in the fields. Point Pelee (Natural Park) is also about 5-10 minutes from Colasanti's. There's always lots to see and do there. In the fall when the Monarch Butterflies are migrating, the trees down at the point are covered with butterflies.

If you are looking for an amusement park the best place is Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. You won't believe how many rides they can fit into a tiny space, including the BEST rollercoasters in the US! Almost as much fun as being in Disney World, and much closer too!

You've moved to a great area, and I'm sure you'll find lots to do. Good luck!

 

[milmom6]

Thanks everyone!!
I really appreciate it. We only have 2.5 years left here in Michigan, so planning on seeing as much as humanly possible in 3 years total (of course we have to work and take trips to WDW!!).