Discover Ontario

Since the traveling season are just around the corner for us in Ontario and that many rvers like to explore new places, I thought I could present my “adoptive” province to you.   I say adoptive because I was born and raised in the province of Quebec but moved to Ontario when I got married.

Where is Ontario?

Ontario is one of the provinces of Canada and borders the province of Manitoba to the west, Hudson Bay and James Bay to the north, Quebec to the east and the USA to the south.

What’s to see?

Now that you have located my province, let’s consider what you can do in Ontario which is practically    EVERYTHING!

The best place to check out what is happening in our province is to go to the Ontario Travel website.  There you will be able to identify places to go, things to do, getaways, family fun and outdoor adventures.   Whether you prefer museums, festivals or just the outdoors, you will find that Ontario has a lot to offer.

In the Thing to Do section of the website, you will be asked to pick a category from a list – aboriginal, accommodations, arts and cultures, festivals and events, fishing, Food/Wine and Entertainment, gardens, Golf, History, Natural Wonders, Ontario’s Great Outdoors, Provincial Attractions, Recreational motorsports, shopping, sports and camping, theme parks and attractions, tours and excursions, as well as wellness and relaxation.  Let’s go through the process of selecting something in the Natural Wonders.   Once there, I got four options – Experience the Wonder of Wonders, The Amazing Niagara Escarpment, Cruise into Ontario’s Rich Past and Awe Inspiring Natural Treasures.   Being someone who like nature, I was curious to see what will be suggested in the Awe Inspiring Natural Treasures and quickly selected this option.  Six suggestions are offered and right at the first one I was intrigue…   The suggestions are Calling the Wolves in Algonquin Provincial Park, Wasaga Beach, Long Point World Biosphere Reserve, Chapleau Game Reserve, Fathom Five National Marine Park, and Ouimet Canyon.

Turns out that I would love to experience the Wolf Howls and think that would be a great adventure to do with the kids.  To prepare for this adventure we could do a unit study on wolves and read move about this animal.    Wolf howling expeditions take place only on Thursdays in August and September before Labour Day.  This year the potential dates (it all depends on weather and accessibility of the wolves) would be August 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29.

Discover Ontario app

Discover Ontario also has available an app that will allow you to discover the festivals and events that will be held in Ontario.    The app will allow you to discover Ontario’s nearby festivals and events, unique attractions, and exceptional lodging and dining during your trip with the assistance of your GPS enabled device. The app also permit you to share your whereabouts with your friends via Facebook and Twitter!  The app can be downloaded on iTunes.

Doors Open Ontario

Finally, let me remind you that throughout Ontario from April to October every year, you have to opportunity to discover unique buildings and places via the events Doors Open.

I have already blogged about Doors Open Ontario in the past and won’t expand much on this.   But I can assure you that it is a great opportunity to learn more about our heritage and discover buildings that are not usually open to the public.   I have found some interesting Doors Open events in May and June for you.   I sure hope it will be an experience you will remember.   Our family really enjoys the Doors Open events and we learned quite a bit about our city in the past.

May 19 – Georgian Bay

May 25-26 – Brockville/Thousand Islands, Kincardine, Orillia, Toronto

June 1-2 – Ottawa  

If you love hiking and want to discover the trails available in Ontario – check out the Trails Open Ontario which provides an opportunity for all people to access and celebrate the trail systems throughout the province.  Trails Open Ontario has been promoting trail use and education, natural heritage conservation and stewardship as well as physical activity and healthy lifestyle for more than seven years now.  Apparently there are more than 88,000 km (that’s 54,680 miles) of walking, hiking and cycling trails throughout our province.here are more than 88,000 KM

Ontario is truly a place to discover!

As you can see there is plenty to do and discover while visiting Ontario.   I sure hope that your curiosity will be picked with these fun things to do and that you will visit Ontario this year.   Who know…. maybe our paths will cross!