8 Ways to Enjoy Winter at Ontario Resorts
Winter transforms Ontario’s resort country into a landscape of quiet forests, frozen lakes and snow-covered trails.
It’s a season made for getting outside, but also for slowing down afterwards — warming up by the fire, lingering over a good meal or settling into a spa.
Across the province, resorts embrace the colder months in different ways. Some put you directly on snowy trails, while others make the most of their lakeside settings, nearby ski hills, spas or kitchens.
Here are eight ways to experience winter at Ontario resorts.
1. Glide Through Silent Forests
Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing is one of the simplest ways to explore Ontario in winter.
There’s no need to be an expert skier or athlete; just strap on a pair of snowshoes or cross-country skis and follow a trail into the woods.
At Cobble Beach Resort, more than 14 kilometres of groomed winter trails are available for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Living Water Resorts also grooms its golf course for both activities, with the Georgian Trail providing another route through the Collingwood area.
Heather Lodge includes snowshoes and cross-country ski equipment with its winter packages, with nearby access to a wide network of forested trails.
The appeal is simple: step into the woods, leave the noise behind and see the landscape from a completely different perspective.
2. Skate Under The Open Sky
Few winter experiences feel as quintessentially Canadian as skating outdoors.
Find a stretch of ice, lace up your skates and let the landscape provide the backdrop.
At Bayview Wildwood Resort, guests can skate on Sparrow Lake when conditions permit, with equipment included as part of the resort's winter programming. Cedar Grove Lodge offers skating on Peninsula Lake, and is close to Arrowhead Provincial Park, which features a 1.3 km skating trail through the forest.
Pine Vista Resort on Stoney Lake also embraces the classic pleasures of winter, with ice skating among its seasonal activities. Couples Resort offers a romantic option, with the ability to feed Canada Jays and Chick-a-dees from one's hand (like a fairy tale!) and a complimentary park pass.
Whether you’re making laps with the family or taking a quiet glide across the ice, outdoor skating brings a distinctly Canadian feeling to a winter getaway.
3. Chase Some Winter Thrills
For travellers who want a little more adrenaline, Ontario’s resort country offers plenty of ways to turn up the pace.
Hockley Valley Resort has downhill skiing and snowboarding right on site, with views over the scenic landscape. In the Collingwood area, Georgian Bay Hotel provides a convenient base for accessing the winter attractions around Blue Mountain, including skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing.
Nottawasaga Resort offers another family-friendly base for exploring the winter recreation of Simcoe County and the surrounding region. After a day outdoors, guests can return to the resort for indoor amenities and a little downtime.
Winter doesn’t have to mean hibernating. For some, the best part of the season is getting outside and moving.
4. Rediscover the Joy of Tobogganing
Winter has a way of bringing out the kid in everyone, and few things get the whole family laughing like a good tobogganing hill.
Whether you’re grabbing a soft inner tube or racing downhill on an old-fashioned toboggan, Ontario’s winter slopes offer an easy way to get outside, embrace the cold and enjoy a little family-friendly adrenaline.
Cedar Grove Lodge , Pine Vista Resort, and Bayview Wildwood Resort all include tobogganing among their winter activities. These are the kinds of experiences that require very little planning: find a hill, grab a sled and see who can make it to the bottom first.
There’s no technique to master and no equipment checklist to worry about. Just a snowy hill and the inevitable debate over who gets to go next.
5. Make the Most of a Winter Lake
Ontario’s lakes are one of the defining features of its resort landscape, and winter gives them an entirely different character.
At the JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort & Spa, winter unfolds against the stunning backdrop of Lake Rosseau. Guests can embrace the season through outdoor adventures before returning to spacious suite-style accommodations, lake view dining, and year-round amenities designed for comfort and relaxation.
Rocky Crest Golf Resort provides a different kind of winter lake-country escape. Although the golf resort itself is closed for the winter season, its spacious vacation villas remain available for winter stays, giving guests a comfortable base for exploring Muskoka.
6. Turn Winter into a Wellness Escape
Cold weather has a way of making warmth feel even better.
At Millcroft Inn & Spa, the outdoor hot spring pools provide a particularly inviting winter ritual. Two heated pools sit at approximately 40°C, alongside a cold plunge, creating an opportunity to move between warmth and cold while surrounded by the winter landscape.
Ste. Anne’s Spa takes a more holistic approach, pairing spa treatments with time outdoors on its trails and quiet spaces designed for slowing down. At White Oaks Resort & Spa, guests can build a getaway around massages, facials, body treatments and spa packages, with wellness facilities and fitness programming adding to the experience.
At the JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort & Spa, winter wellness centres around HydroSpa Muskoka, where guests can experience hot and cold therapy, outdoor barrel saunas and relaxation spaces overlooking Lake Rosseau. The indoor-outdoor heated pools, whirlpool and wellness facilities offer a welcoming place to unwind after a day outdoors.
Winter wellness doesn’t need to be complicated. Sometimes it starts with stepping out into the cold and ends with spending a very long time somewhere warm.
7. Warm Up With A Good Meal
Winter is an excellent season for lingering over food — and for learning how to make something worth lingering over.
At The Waring House in Prince Edward County, the Cookery School has been offering hands-on culinary classes since 2001. Executive Chef David Correa leads intimate classes exploring global culinary traditions, individual chefs and seasonal themes, giving participants the chance to cook, taste and learn in a relaxed setting.
For a different kind of culinary getaway, Hockley Valley Resort pairs its winter activities with an on-site dining program, making good food part of the experience from morning through evening. At adult-only resorts such as Couples Resort and Heather Lodge, chef-led dining offers another reason to linger, with meals becoming part of the rhythm of a winter escape.
There’s something especially satisfying about spending a cold winter afternoon learning something new in the kitchen, then sitting down to enjoy the results — or simply letting someone else do the cooking while you settle in and stay awhile.
8. Give Yourself Permission to Slow Down
Of course, there is another way to enjoy winter at an Ontario resort: do less.
Across the province, Ontario's resorts offer plenty of ways to embrace the season your way, from quiet snowshoe trails and relaxing spa weekends to adrenaline-filled adventures. But sometimes, the best winter plan is no plan at all.
Sleep in. Settle in by the fire. Take your time over breakfast. Read a book, linger over dinner or simply watch the snow fall outside your window.
Winter is also a wonderful time to discover a new resort, or return to a favourite summer getaway and see it in an entirely different season. With the landscape transformed by snow and the pace naturally slowing down, a winter stay can be an invitation to step back, settle in and enjoy having nowhere else to be.
Explore Ontario resorts and find your own way to enjoy the season.
Great Escapes Magazine is a publication of Resorts of Ontario, a not-for-profit organization that advocates for resorts, lodges and inns of Ontario's tourism industry.
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