Cross-Country Skiing and Snowshoeing in Ontario · Sources of complete and reliable information for independent travellers and adventurers. ... The Greater Toronto chapter includes

Cross-Country Skiing and Snowshoeing in Ontario

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Cross-Country Skiingand Snowshoeing

in Ontario

Second Edition

Tracey Arial

The splendor of Silence,of snow-jeweled hills and of ice.

Ingram CrockettOrion

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Canada: Ulysses Travel Guides, 4176 St. Denis Street, Montréal, Québec, H2W 2M5, F(514) 843-9447, W(514) 843-9448,[email protected], www.ulyssesguides.com

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No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or byany means, including photocopying, without the written permissionof the publisher.

Canadian Cataloguing-in-Publication Data (see p 4)© September 2005, Ulysses Travel Guides.All rights reserved. Printed in CanadaISBN 2-89464-707-7


AuthorTracey Arial

PublisherClaude Morneau

Copy EditorPierre Ledoux

Production DirectorAndré Duchesne

Editing AssistancePierre LedouxDavid Sirois

PhotographyInmagine

Artistic DirectorPatrick Farei (Atoll)

IllustrationsPascal BietLorette PiersonMarie-Anick Viatour

CartographerPascal Biet

Computer GraphicsMarie-France Denis

Special Thanks to:

Thanks to Gilles Sauvageau, a technician with Igloo Vikski, theCanadian distributors of Fischer skis and Swix wax; LucieLeclerc-Rose from the Canadian Olympic Association; Jim Reidfrom the Conservation Lands of Ontario; Julie from Conserva-tion Nature Tours; J.D. Downing from the American CrossCountry Skiers (AXCS); Dr. William Pruitt from the Universityof Manitoba; Dr. Hardy Granberg from the University ofSherbrooke; and John Gallagher from CANSI. Thanks also todad, Pedro, Paul, Arial, the rest of my family and all my friendswho joined me to explore the trails.

Thanks also to:

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government ofCanada through the Book Publishing Industry DevelopmentProgram (BPIDP) for our publishing activities.

We would also like to thank SODEC (Québec) for its financialsupport.


The information contained in this guide was correct at presstime. However, mistakes can slip in, omissions are alwayspossible, trails can close, etc. The authors and publisherhereby disclaim any liability for loss or damage resulting fromomissions or errors.

We value your comments, corrections and suggestions, asthey allow us to keep each guide up to date. The best contri-butions will be rewarded with a free book from Ulysses TravelGuides. All you have to do is write us at the following addressand indicate which title you would be interested in receiving.

Ulysses Travel Guides

4176 St. Denis StreetMontréal, QuébecCanada H2W 2M5

305 Madison AvenueSuite 1166, New York

NY 10165

www.ulyssesguides.comE-mail: [email protected]

Canadian Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Arial, Tracey 1963-


2nd ed.(Ulysses Green Escapes)Includes index.

ISBN 2-89464-707-7

1. Cross-Country Skiing – Ontario – Guidebooks. 2. Snowshoes and snowshoeing – Ontario – Guidebooks.3. Trails – Ontario – Guidebooks. 4.– Ontario – Guidebooks. I. Title. II. Series.

GV854.8.C3A74 2005 796.93'2'09713 C2005-941631-9

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Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Chapter Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12How to Use This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Cross-Country Skiing and Snowshoeing in Ontario . . . . . . . 19Cross-Country Skiing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Snowshoeing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Profile of Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Winter Bird-Watching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Where to Ski and Snowshoe in Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Practical Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Off-Season Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47What to Wear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Cross-Country Skiing Equipment Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Snowshoeing Equipment Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Children’s Special Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Equipment Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Warm-up and Cool-down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Cross-Country Skiing Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Snowshoeing Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Trail Etiquette and Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Racing Rules and Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68Potential Illnesses on the Trail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Day Trip Necessities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Other Handy Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Overnight Necessities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Greater Toronto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

The Niagara Peninsula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Southern Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Central Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Eastern Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Northeastern Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Northwestern Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Multi-Region Trails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Appendix – Winter Bird Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334


List of Maps

Albion Hills Conservation Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Algonquin Provincial Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Central Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168-169

Conservation Authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44-45

Eastern Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Frontenac Provincial Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Greater Toronto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Lake Superior Provincial Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Multi-Region Trails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Niagara River Recreation Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Niagara Peninsula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Northeastern Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Northwestern Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Pinery Provincial Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Sleeping Giant Provincial Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Southern Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Table of Distances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Where is Ontario? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Map Symbols

Symbols

W Fax number

F Telephone number

(A) Accommodations on site

(L) Lessons on site

(R) Rentals on site

� Easy trail

� Intermediate trail

� Difficult trail

Ì Favourite location

Cross-country skiing available

Snowshoeing available


Capital: TorontoPopulation: 12,483,000 inhab.Area: 1,068,582 km²Currency: Canadian Dollar



Introduction

Thousands of years have gone by since people started cross-country skiing and snowshoeing to get around.These modes of transportation have remainedpopular because they are the best ways to getthrough the snow easily, pleasantly and quickly.

Whether you want to getsome exercise outdoors

in the fresh air or simply touraround exploring trees, animals,rock formations and natural his-tory, these are the sports foryou.

This book details more than200 of Ontario’s most in-

teresting cross-country skiingand snowshoeing locations. Insome cases, the location is partof a long trail, such as the BruceTrail. In most cases, however,

we’ve listed a prime location,such as a conservation area,provincial park, nature reserve,ski centre or private property.We’ve also provided a descrip-tion of the trails, groomingpractices and services you’ll findin each area, as well as thecosts associated with such ser-vices. Private clubs run severalof the sites listed within thisguide, although most welcomeday visitors for a fee.


12 Introduction

Two of the areas mentionedhere are so isolated that no

roads lead to their entrancesand they can only be accessedby train, while three others re-quire guests to ski in to theiraccommodations where thetrails begin. Yet another re-quires skiers to drive across anice road to reach the trails. An-other site lies at the end of aroad, past a long slippery hillthat makes leaving at the end ofthe day an additional challenge.All of these special conditionshave been clearly indicated, soyou can plan your skiing orsnowshoeing adventure know-ing that you’ll face few surprisesalong the way.

We hope that you’ll dis-cover what many of these

locations have in common: ex-cellent trails. These are On-tario’s best trail networks forskiing and snowshoeing, pri-marily because local peoplewho love snow have spent anincredible number of hoursmaintaining the tracks. Thework of many people, most ofwhom are volunteers, goes intoclearing and marking trails forskiing or snowshoeing. They’vecleared, marked, and some-times groomed, scarified andtrackset the trails you’ll be visit-ing. In many cases, volunteersalso raised the money for lightsthat enable you to ski at night.

I f you’re lucky, you’ll meet agood number of volunteers

on the trails. You’ll find that,although they’re a mixed groupof people of all ages and inclina-tions, they’ll be friendly and en-couraging. It’s thanks to themthat you can explore Ontario’smost impressive landmarks,such as the Niagara Escarp-ment, the Oak Ridges Moraine,the Elora Gorge, the SleepingGiant, the La Cloche Mountainsand the shores of the five GreatLakes.

Chapter Overview

To help you identify the areasthat match your own passions,the chapter entitled Cross-Country Skiing and Snowshoe-ing in Ontario provides a big-picture look at Ontario. Alongwith the size and climate ofeach area, it details the majorphysical landforms and uniquehistorical landmarks foundthroughout the province.We’ve also listed the province’scross-country skiing and snow-shoeing clubs, so that anyoneinterested in getting more in-volved with the sport, whetherto race or simply tour on week-ends, can easily find out how todo so.

The Practical Informationchapter helps you get ready fora season of cross-country skiingand includes a checklist of themost important items you’llneed for a day or overnight trip.


Chapter Overview 13

The rest of the book is dividedinto seven major geographicalregions: Greater Toronto, TheNiagara Peninsula, SouthernOntario, Central Ontario, East-ern Ontario, Northeastern On-tario and Northwestern On-tario.

The Greater Toronto chapterincludes Aurora, Bolton, Brad-ford, Brampton, Brantford,Cambridge, Oshawa, PortHope, Pickering, Markham,Milton, Mississauga, New-market, and the city of To-ronto. Lake Ontario, the Niag-ara Escarpment and the OakRidges Moraine are the mostimportant physical features inthe region.

The Niagara Peninsula includesBurlington, Grimsby, Hamilton,Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Catharines, StoneyCreek and Welland. This area issheltered by the Niagara Es-carpment and includes theWelland Canal, Carolinian for-ests and an unusually rich vari-ety of bird species.

Southern Ontario lies betweenLake Erie and Lake Huron. Ma-jor cities in the area includeGoderich, Guelph, Kitchener,Leamington, London, Orange-ville, Sarnia, Stratford, Tober-mory, Wasaga Beach, Windsorand Woodstock. This relativelyflat region is known for Carolin-ian forests, oak savanna, vastfarms, sandy beaches and flow-ing rivers.

Central Ontario includes theKawartha Lakes region, Algon-quin Park and the northerncoast of Georgian Bay. Majorcities are: Barrie, Bracebridge,Collingwood, Gravenhurst,

Haliburton, Huntsville, Lindsay,Midland, Orillia, Peterborough,and the Town of the BlueMountains. This part of theprovince is the best-knowncross-country destination,thanks to its plentiful snowfalland stunning scenery. Eastern Ontario is the areanorth of Lake Ontario that bor-ders on Québec. Major citiesare: Belleville, Brockville,Cornwall, Gananoque, Kanata,Kingston, Nepean, Ottawa, andTrenton. This ancient marinebed is known for its pink gran-ite, rock paintings, abandonedmines, farming estates, vastmarshes and the Rideau Canal.

Northeastern Ontario includesthe northern coasts of GeorgianBay and Lake Huron and leadsnorth to James Bay. Major citiesinclude: North Bay, Sault Ste.Marie, Sudbury and Timmins.This region, which also includesManitoulin Island, has becomeknown for a landscape of rockridges, raging lakes and rivers,and stunted trees made famousby the renowned Group ofSeven painters.

Northwestern Ontario is thearea north of Lake Superior thatextends to Lake of the Woodsand the Manitoba border. Ma-jor cities include: Atikokan,Dryden, Fort Frances, Kenora,Marathon, Nipigon and Thun-der Bay. Only a few trails havepierced this vast mysteriousregion of impenetrable rock,huge canyons and waterfalls,making it a prime location fordaring adventurers.

The Multi-Region Trail chapterprovides basic information

14 Introduction

about those trails that cross re-gional borders.

How to Use

This Guide

Each centre listed in this guidefeatures a symbol indicatingwhether cross-country skiing,snowshoeing or both are avail-able at that location. You’ll thenfind a comprehensive descrip-tion of each location, includingeverything needed to plan atrip.

The location of each centre isprecisely indicated and includesthe number of trails that is nor-mally maintained. In some loca-tions, no trails are indicated.These areas are usually crownor other public land. Snow-shoers and skiers are welcometo make their own trails any-where, although snowshoersshould take care to avoid skitracks.

We’ve also indicated the totaldistance—in kilometres andmiles—a skier or snowshoerwould travel by following linearand looped trails. In the fewlocations that require skiers toski along the same sections twoor three times to follow thelooped trails, these sections arecounted two or three times inthe total figure. Please note thatdistances provided for lineartrails are one-way.

Three levels of difficulty definethe trails. Easy trails can becompleted by just about any-body, including a four-year-oldchild or a parent pulling a pulka.On the signs along the trail and

on placards with maps, easytrails are marked in green orwith a green circle that has acurved line through the centre.In this guide they are indicatedwith a circle (�).

Intermediate trails are a bitmore challenging, with hills andturns that provide a bit more totest a skier’s skills. Trail signageidentifies intermediate trails inblue or with a blue square thathas a bent line through the mid-dle. In this guide they are indi-cated with a square (�).

Difficult trails attract experi-enced skiers, and include chal-lenging climbs and twisting un-even paths. They can often in-clude sections that are danger-ous for those with less experi-ence. These difficult trails aremarked in black or with signsindicating black diamonds withjagged lines running through themiddle. In this guide they areindicated with a diamond (�).

Learning to associate the circlewith easy, the square with in-termediate and the diamondwith difficult can help ensurethat you always pick the righttrail for your skill level, no mat-ter which location in Ontarioyou decide to visit.

We’ve also indicated the per-centage of trails that aregroomed. Grooming is a pro-cess that involves using snow-mobiles or other tractor-likeequipment to flatten the snowinto a wide smooth surface forfreestyle cross-country skiing oreasy snowshoeing, where per-mitted.


How to Use This Guide 15

Many groomed trails are alsotrackset, either for classic cross-country skiing alone or for bothclassic and freestyle cross-coun-try skiing on one trail. Track-setting a trail involves usingequipment to mark two in-dented parallel grooves into themiddle or along the edge of atrail. Some trails are doubletrackset to enable skiers totravel in either direction or toenable faster skiers to passquickly. Newer wider trailshave grooves at the edge of aflat scarified section enablingclassic and skating cross-countryskiers to ski together.

As snowshoeing becomesmore popular, skiers have hadto deal with more damage totheir trails. Snowshoers mustbe careful to stay off ski tracks,even in the backcountry.

Most areas groom trails for ski-ers and let snowshoers maketheir own trails anywhere awayfrom the ski trails. A few placeshave groomed trails for snow-shoers; these are indicated. Ar-eas with groomed trails alloweither only skiers or snow-shoers to use them. Areas withungroomed trails allow skiersand snowshoers to explore theproperty, but request snow-shoers stay off ski trails, oncemade.

We have added an additionallighting heading to any locationthat has at least one nightlit trailto enable visitors to ski at nightbetween late December andmid-March. If this heading doesnot appear, no night skiing isavailable.

If you are likely to view interest-ing wildlife, rock formations,

waterfalls, birds and other in-teresting features along thetrails during the winter, we’velisted them. We’ve also in-cluded a winter bird checklist inan appendix.

The cost of using a trail or park-ing at a location is indicated nextto the fee heading. Please notethat in some cases, access totrails is reserved for members.We’ve indicated where this isthe case and provided mem-bership costs.

Some areas offer other winteractivities, such as tobogganingor skating. These are indicatedin a heading called other activi-ties.

Certain centres offer servicessuch as equipment rental (R),cross-country skiing or snow-shoeing lessons (L), or accom-modations on site (A). Thesethree features are indicated un-der the services heading. Insome cases, the costs associ-ated with such services are alsoprovided.

Any additional features offered,such as parking, toilets, snackbars or waxing centres, arelisted in the amenities and otherservices category.

Finally, for each destinationyou’ll find instructions on get-ting there, as well as furtherinformation to contact the clubor organization in charge ofmaintaining the trails.

Included among the centres aresome resorts and inns withtheir own private trails. Notethat in some of these cases,most of which are in central

16 Introduction

Ontario, access to trails is re-stricted to overnight guests.We’ve indicated at the top ofeach description where this isthe case.

Some of the locations that weare particularly enthusiasticabout include a descriptiveparagraph that tells you a bitmore about the developmentof the area and the trails, sothat you’ll know what to expectwhen you get there.

For those of you who don’thave the time to explore each

area, we’ve identified 30 of ourfavourite cross-country skiinglocations, which are indicatedwith a heart symbol (Ì). Theselocations are guaranteed to beworth travelling to, either be-cause of a stunning winter wa-terfall, a scenic view or an un-usual experience. While all thelisted areas are definitely worth-while, these are the best of thebest.

We hope this guidebook willenhance your personal journeywhile visiting the natural splen-dour that is Ontario in winter.


How to Use This Guide 17

Favourite Trails

The following trails are our favourites. In the text, they are

marked with the following symbol: (Ì)

Greater Toronto

Albion Hills Conservation Area, p 80

Dagmar Resort, p 83

Skyloft Ski & Country Club, p 94

The Niagara Peninsula

Dundas Valley Conservation Area, p 107

Niagara River Recreation Trail, p 113

Southern Ontario

Longwoods Road Conservation Area, p 141

Mono Nordic Ski Club, p 145

Pinery Provincial Park, p 149

Sauble Beach Cross Country Ski Trail, p 155

Sawmill Cross Country Ski Trail, p 157

Central Ontario

Friends of Frost Ski Club, p 187

Haliburton Nordic Trails, p 192

Hardwood Hills, p 194

Highlands Nordic, p 196

Horseshoe Resort, p 197

Inglis Falls Conservation Area, p 198

Scenic Caves Nordic Centre, p 208

Wasaga Nordic Trails, p 215


18 Introduction

Favourite Trails (continued)

Eastern Ontario

Forest Lea Cross Country Ski Trails, p 226

Murphys Point Provincial Park, p 238

Silent Lake Provincial Park, p 243

Northeastern Ontario

Sault Trails and Recreation System, p 270

Stokely Creek Lodge and Ski Touring Centre, p 274

Windy Lake Lodge, p 278

Northwestern Ontario

Kamview Nordic Centre, p 286

Red Lake District Cross-Country Club, p 294

Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, p 295

Multi-Region Trails

Bruce Trail, p 303

Ganaraska Trail, p 308

Oak Ridges Trail, p 315

Trail Rating Information

� Easy trails can be completed by just about anybody, includ-ing a four-year-old child or a parent pulling a pulka.

� Moderate trails are a bit more challenging, with hills andturns that provide a bit more to test a skier’s skills.

� Difficult trails attract experienced skiers, with challengingclimbs and twisting, uneven paths.



ULYSSESC

ross-Country Skiing and Snow

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Looking for the best places to cross-country ski and snowshoe in Ontario? This guide has them covered! You’ll fi nd clear directions, detailed descriptions and a list of the author’s favourites. You’ll even get a quick geography lesson, to better appreciate your surroundings. All this, plus the art of ski waxing demystifi ed!

The only guide to cover all the best places to cross-country ski and

snowshoe in Ontario!


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Cross-Country Skiing and Snowshoeing in Ontario · Sources of complete and reliable information for independent travellers and adventurers. ... The Greater Toronto chapter includes