This summer my Kid told me he was too old for summer camps. With the thought of an entire summer of him online I started planning! Road trips are the best. You get to stop and see small towns, have adventures you wouldn't normally have at home and you get to eat days worth of ice cream. At least that's what we did!
I came up with a theme for our summer Haunted. All our adventures this summer were going to be around ghosts. Spooky places, ghost sightings, creepy locations. Can't go wrong with a theme and we had ours.
The plan is three nights away of go-karting, ghost hunting, and ice cream eating. I taught the Kid how to read and map out our route. With hotels and ghost walks booked we were on our way.
Day 1
As promised we were trying to go-kart every day. The first stop Innisfil Indy. We had to get lunch first and found this secret gem, right by the marina near Beach Road in Gilford.
This was the perfect stop. Outside picnic tables, walk from the boat launch to check out the water. Delicious food.
We got to the race track as it was opening. The Kid and I were ready to race. The track was in good condition with a puddle as an obstacle from the previous day's rain. It was a good start for our need for speed. They also serve food and snacks at the track.
The next stop was Santa's Village in Bracebridge. We knew this was a little young for a preteen but we agreed we would walk in with true belief like we were Elf "Santa Here? I Know Him!" If you have a 5-7 year old this is an amazing place. If you have a son on the cusp of 13, your soul leaves your body a bit. We did the bumper carts, and the train and checked out the rides. There is a go-kart track here that did look great. Unfortunately, there was a huge line and we were done with the place. We did get slushie drinks and sit with Santa which was a highlight!
The hotel I booked in Bracebridge was told to be haunted. We were ready for the ghost. Inn at the Falls https://www.innatthefalls.ca is a historic hotel dating back to 1870. There have been televised investigations of the ghostly happenings in and around the Inn for years. We were ready for our investigation. Before night time came we walked the picturesque town to get dinner, ice cream, and a walk along the falls and river area.
Dinner was at The Old Station https://www.theoldstation.ca/ we enjoyed the burger and French onion soup. A new find was a Muskoka rootbeer. Ice cream was from The Ice Cream Shoppe, with lots of flavours to enjoy.
For this haunted-themed road trip, I bought an EMF reader to get ourselves into the role of ghost hunting! I purchased ours from Amazon for under $20.00 it was well worth it. Our room was showing some ghostly energy. If you want to experience a more spooky feeling, stay in the hotel's main house.
Day 2
Off to our next spooky location. What an incredible location it was Burk's Falls Screaming Heads. I always see pictures of this amazing art exhibit, nothing does justice unless you see the property with your own eyes.
The property is large and worth the hike around to see all the structures. This was one of my favorite spots on the trip. It's a standout because of the art, but seeing a bear 50 feet ahead of us on the path was amazing. I have been going up north for decades and rarely see wildlife. This day made it all worth it. A reminder you never know when you will see a beautiful animal in the wild! I don't have a picture of the bear as I had to go into Mama Bear mode and protect my Kid. It will be something both of us remember for a lifetime.
No, this place isn't haunted. At least not on our EMF but I bet at dusk this would give off some creepy vibes!
We made our way back down Highway 11 to Huntsville for lunch and a walk around Main St. I enjoy this town, and I wanted to show the Kid the beautiful art on the buildings. We both like Group of Seven pieces and this town shows them off for everyone to see.
We also went to the candy store for a perfect scoop of ice cream on this steaming hot day.
Hopping in the car for an hour and a half drive we arrived in Midland. The Quality Inn would be our base location for the next two nights. I picked this hotel for the indoor pool and breakfast included with our stay. Both were great.
The location of the hotel gave us so many options in a short distance to keep the adventures going. We started at Saint-Marie among the Hurons https://saintemarieamongthehurons.on.ca/ a historic site from 1639. The history of this village went well with the curriculum the Kid had learned in school recently. It was nice for him to see in real life what he saw on the pages in class. You could spend an hour or several hours at this site. We liked talking to the Black Smith who was making real metal tools while we were there.
Dinner was at the Boathouse Eatery in the marina. Perfect spot to have some tasty fish and chips. There is an ice cream shop in front of the restaurant.
When walking through Midland's main strip, we stopped to appreciate the murals.
Day 3
Nostalgia is the focus of today. I got to show the Kid places that I loved at his age and they didn't disappoint! We started at Wasaga 500 the best go-karting ever! He agreed with me which is a huge win when dealing with a preteen. This course is 2 km long, has lots of corners, and has the fastest go carts for the public I have ever used. THE BEST!
I know this will be controversial but for me Wasaga Beach is the best beach in Ontario. There I said it!! Sandy white beach, is shallow for what seems like miles, with warm calm water. The day we went was perfect beach weather, the downfall a lot of people love this beach and they were all in attendance that day!
You can't throw a stone without landing in an ice cream shop, we tried Mr. Norm's Nephew Froz it was delicious.
We could only take so much heat and people that day, I drove us to Blue Mountain for a late lunch and a rollercoaster down the hill. I didn't realize that if you weren't already at Wasaga then you were at Blue Mountain. There was no parking and way too busy for us to stick around. I guess a reason to come back!
This whole haunted trip was all planned around Discovery Harbour Haunted Ghost Tour https://discoveryharbour.on.ca/plan-your-visit/ this ghost walk is the first of three we will be taking this summer. It did not disappoint. Days later the Kid is still referencing what he saw and heard on this walk. The walk is guided by people in character costumes who know all the spooky stories.
The walk started at dusk, we were given a lantern and walked through a historic military base. We were told the best photos with unexplained sights are when you look into a mirror.
As it got darker and the stories got spooky I had to admit I stopped looking behind me just in case I saw something.
The whole experience is well done from the stories to the houses you get to go into and the surprises on the way. This was the hit of the trip for the Kid.
This is a road trip that won't be forgotten. Before leaving home I asked my Son to pick a road trip theme song that we could play before heading out every day. I got a travel journal for the summer for him to fill out each day. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it but by the end of summer, I will come up with something fun and memorable. In the journal, I asked him to answer who, what, when, where, and one funny observation for everything we did. Teaching my child to read a map instead of depending on GPS was great as well.
Road trips are the best, hitting ice cream shops and go-karting every day just made it that much better!
Other North Ontario trips
Romance in Hunstville
Husky's in Haliburton
Camping in Algonquin
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