Kirkesgaard

Hi,

I am currently toying with plans for a winter trip to Canada. I would like to combine a few days in an lodge type place with some winter fun (snow shoe hike, snowmobile, maybe dogsled. something like that) and then spend a few days in Niagara Falls.
I like the Falls in the winter and would like to show them to my wife in winter. The other reason is family that I would like to visit there.

From a snow / frozen Falls perspective the question is, whether we should be pushing that further into lets say early February.

Now as far as lodges, I am a bit lost. I am considering the Spectacle Lake Lodge near Algonquin Park. I could potentially fly into Ottawa and then fly out of Toronto. I have not been terribly successful in finding alternatives so far.

Anyone some good suggestions? Any other ideas. The completely different approach would be to fly into Boston, look for options there and then go to Niagara Falls. I dont need a big party for New Years, but a cozy place with maybe a fireplace would be cool.

Thanks for any suggestions.
Cheers

pgill26

Hey,

If you want some winter fun, Blue Mountain can also be an option. It has great lodges and great winter fun stuff to do like snowboarding, skiing, snowtubing and a lot more.

January & February are pretty much the same in Ontario. I would say make it on New years and there will be a lot more happening that you'll get to see.

If your not wanting to visit Ottawa, but are just flying there and then to Toronto, I would suggest you fly into Buffalo, cross the border to Niagara Falls, stay there for a few days and then go to Blue mountain and thats if your flying from the states, now I don't know where your flying from, if its within Canada, then you could just fly into Toronto.

Ontario is beautiful in the winter and so many things to see. I like the things you have chosen to do. I hope you have a great trip. Good luck!

Panit

garyt22

Winter in the Falls has been unusually warmer and snow free for the past few years making it difficult to guess how to plan your visit... New Years eve is very active with concerts and fireworks with holiday decorations and heavier crowds...

You may want to consider planning around the Annual Niagara Wine Region Icewine Festival in mid january... www.icewinefestival.com you can stay at the Falls or in Niagara on the Lake... weather can be anywhere from 0 F to 50F... but if you are wine fans, its a great event...

Kirkesgaard

Uh, the ice-wine festival is a great proposal. I will have to check that out.

I am flying in from Frankfurt/Germany. Direct flights into Toronto, Ottawa or Boston. I had been thinking about Buffalo, but that would mean connecting flights, which if I can I will avoid.

So with Algonquin, the thinking was: fly into Ottawa, go to Spectacle Lodge (about 2,5 hours) from there to Niagara Falls to see my family and the Falls and then fly out of Toronto (shorter from Niagara Falls).

Spectacle Lodge would be four hours from Toronto. So I was thinking about alternatives.

Now the icewine festival sounds really tempting.

And yeah, I heard about the different snow levels the last couple of days (actually I was always lucky when I was there in the winter). So I might be doing it on relatively short notice.

I'll also check out the Blue Mountain. Not familiar with it.

THanks a lot

mat54

Algonquin can be wonderfully scenic in winter if there is snow, with great winter hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, and the wildlife viewing is always great (moose, boreal birds and martens and with a lot of luck wolves are possible). The Visitors Centre Museum however opens mostly just on weekends and holidays in Winter so keep this in mind.

I've had lunch only at Spectacle Lake Lodge, and it seemed OK. Usually we stay the other side of Algonquin, frequently at Blue Spruce Resort, Dwight (Oxtongue Lake) which offers cabins, cottages and motel-like suites - all with kitchens and fireplaces, not fancy or many amenities but very clean, well maintained and quite comfortable. 5 minute drive to the West Gate of the the Park and about 20 minutes to the town of Huntsville which offers a selection of restaurants and shops. This area is about 2 1/2 hours from Toronto Airport so you could fly in and out of Toronto, no car drop-off complications. Algonquin Outfitters right across the street from Blue Spruce supply snowshoes and other rentals. Blue Spruce is popular and tends to book up ahead especially on weekends. Other options (and there are quite a few in the area) include Delta Grandview Resort - a large property, closer to Huntsville, offering Condo-apartment-like accommodations and some resort amenities. Nearby Deerhurst Resort is a sprawling full service resort with a variety of room types and lots of facilities and amenities.

Dog sledders operate in the park - but book this ahead (easy to find on google or through your lodge).

Blue Mountain area is a developed and busy downhill ski resort, with a cluster of big hotels and condominiums. Algonquin is much more outdoors bush and lakes country, a huge park preserve with only 3 lodges in the park (all closed in winter) and camping (very little in winter) - other accommodations are scattered outside the park.

To ensure a better "chance" of snow and ice (although never a guarantee) - you might want to consider a date later than New Years.

jamierin

This place gets nice reviews and is near Huntsville.
http://www.cedargrove.on.ca/