When the Ontario Government announced in 2021 that there would be an Ontario travel income tax deduction for 2022 https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-staycation-tax-credit I knew I wanted to max out the full amount. I started planning my winter getaways immediately. Since the Pandemic was raging on we knew our normal down south vacation was waiting another year.
I never explored Ontario in the Winter. I'm not a winter sport or lover of the cold to make this sound appealing. Well, this was the first year I felt it was better than not traveling at all. Every month I had a plan for a short getaway and the one I looked forward to the most was with the Hubby to Huntsville.
Huntsville seemed to have everything. I booked us two nights at Deerhurst Resort https://deerhurstresort.com/ When making my plan I knew we had to stay when Arrowhead Provincial park was having a fire and ice night https://www.ontarioparks.com/park/arrowhead This only happens Friday and Saturday nights through the Winter months weather permitting.
We arrived in Huntsville at lunchtime and were ready to experience the great restaurants the area is known for. We started with That little Place by the Lights https://www.thatlittleplacebythelights.ca/ The menu is great for anyone that loves Italian food. I had a soup and a very fresh bruschetta.
While walking to the restaurant I saw an attraction that I hadn't understood online. I love seeing paintings from the Group of Seven. I saw online there was an outdoor trail where you could see their famous work http://www.thegroupofsevenoutdoorgallery.com/ Turns our the paintings are recreated and displayed on buildings throughout the town. What a great idea to be able to see famous art as you make your way through town.
We also passed the Town Hall that had signs and information about an attraction we would be going to that night the Eclipse Walk With Light https://www.eclipselightwalk.com/ I had bought tickets for this ahead of our trip as there are only a few nights it is open. The sign made us even more intrigued about what we would be seeing.
We made our way to the resort outside of the main town. Winter in the North is still breathtaking. Frozen lakes, trees covered in fresh snow. I might not like being cold but I could fall in love with my surroundings from a warm fire.
We had never been snowshoeing before this trip. Not sure how much snowshoeing I will do in the future but it was fun. Deerhurst has great trails across from the parking lot. We started on the lookout trail which opened up to a beautiful view of the resort. As we walked back we ended up on another trail that would be great for kids. All these facts about the Maple Syrup that was made on the resort property. All through the forest you could see lines from tree to tree, heading to their sugar shack. I felt like pancakes by the time I was done the hike!
Snowshoeing might not have been for me but I can see the appeal. A great benefit of staying on Resort was that all our winter sports equipment was included. We just needed to go to the sports shop to take what we needed.
After working up our appetite with outdoor activities we headed into town for a great dinner at Huntsville Brewhouse https://huntsvillebrewhouse.ca/ Beer is not my favorite thing to drink but I figured I'm at a place that makes it lets try it out. We ordered a flight and gave several a try. My Hubby liked one that had a hint of watermelon, not something you would think would work but it really did.
The food was what I was looking most forward to. A great burger can make anything you are pairing it with tasty. All the restaurants we went to on this trip offered French Onion soup one of my favorites and I think I had it three times in two days!
We bundled up and headed to the Eclipse Walk With Light. Not knowing what to expect we were greatly surprised. All outdoor, in the town's heritage village there was a light set up. This was more than some Christmas lights hanging from a tree or making funny shapes. This was a fully immersed event. There was audio that gave a very Doctor Who feeling, motion-activated lights that made you feel part of the art that was surrounding you. It wasn't very long but it was impactful.
Going back to the Resort for a warm drink and to snuggle up to our in-room fireplace was the perfect way to end our night. I also had packed a puzzle game that we get in the mail monthly to keep us occupied for the evening. If you haven't heard of The Curious Correspondence Club https://www.curiouscorrespondence.com/ and you really like puzzles you should take a look. They are a bit tough and we do need to get hits more often than we would like but they are always a fun time.
A couple of weeks before the trip I had made a Spa appointment for a body wrap at the resorts on property Spa. I love to go to the spa and feel I need to see as many as possible! I really enjoyed the sugar scrub and body wrap. This spa gave me the leftover scrub that was in the container to take home. I have never had that happen before and was very happy to take this piece of the trip back with me.
As I didn't want to over-plan our trip we really didn't have much to do for the afternoon so we headed back into town for lunch at Main Street local Kitchen https://mainstlocal.ca/ It was a good quick lunch of soup and sandwiches as we knew we had a big dinner that night. We checked out more of the town and Group of Seven art and ended at a candy shop to bring home a sweet treat for the Kid. I also got a BeaverTail treat for dessert! Why does every little town in Ontario need to have a delicious BeaverTail spot? Never mind I just answered myself!
The reason for this whole trip was this evening. Friday night was the night of Fire and Ice in Arrowhead. The permits need to be purchased 5 days in advance or you will be sadly disappointed. By early in the day they will post that the permits have been sold out for the day. If you are going on a Saturday it is even busier. Plan ahead to not be disappointed.
Skating on a trail in a Provincial Park should be on everyone's Ontario bucket list. One of my favorite sounds is hearing skates hit fresh ice. If you get there right at six for the opening of the evening you will be glad you did. The ice would have been just treated, not as many people to skate around and spots left to put your boots in the storage cubbies.
There is nowhere to lock up your stuff while you are skating, don't bring anything you don't want to be exposed to people and the elements. There is also a warming and sitting area to get your skates on and take a breather between laps. On the website, it says you can rent skates there but not sure where that is located. We rented skates from our resort before we left that way we could get straight to skating.
I was so glad we came early and could take in this wonderful night. We lucked out and the weather was only around zero the whole trip but even if it was cold the trees would keep the trail insolated. The Tiki torches lit around the trail made the whole experience magical.
We had a reservation for dinner for the second seating at Tall Trees Muskoka. I had made reservation weeks in advance for one of their private gazebos. This was the last dinner of our romantic getaway and I thought it would be a nice touch. The gazebo was a nice shed-style structure with an electric fireplace. It was warm and secluded. We both got a soup and steak dinner which was delicious and took their Famous Butter Tart that is Deep Fried back to the resort to eat later. This was a nice ending to a romantic Ontario Getaway!
This trip was so fun to plan and experience what Muskoka has to offer during the winter months. If you aren't a skier or winter sports enthusiast it's sometimes hard to find winter fun. Deerhurst is a great place to start, as they offer so much for free for you to try before committing to buying equipment.
I think this trip opened my eyes to not only booking Ontario travel in warmer months. I will be back! But I do love beaches in February that aren't frozen!
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