School’s officially out and the summer is revving up. While thousands of families prepare to head out of town in the coming weeks, many others will be spending the summer at home. A recent CIBC poll found that while the majority of Canadians are excited and ready to travel again, three in four said they are “very concerned” about travel costs due to inflation. So, if you’re looking for a fun excursion that your whole family will enjoy — and won’t break the bank — here are eight affordable day trip ideas around Toronto.Enjoy the outdoor playground that is the Kelso Conservation AreaJust an hour drive west of Toronto, you may know this site for its ski and snowboard hill, Glen Eden. But the Kelso Conservation Area also has much to offer throughout the rest of the year. Hikers and avid mountain bikers can enjoy its extensive trail network, totally nearly 30 kilometres. If you want to take to the water, you can swim, canoe or paddle board in the Kelso Reservoir. Or stay dry and take a stroll along the boardwalk around the water. And on the weekends, thrill seekers can try their hand at Kelso’s Challenge Course, featuring a 45-foot climbing tower and an aerial ropes course.A reservation is required to visit the conservation area, which is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Price of admission: $10.50 per adult, plus taxes. Discounted tickets are available for seniors and children between five and 14, while kids under five can enter for free. Watch ships pass through the Welland CanalThere’s much to explore along the 43-kilometre Welland Canal, a historical and architectural marvel, the first iteration of which opened in 1829. Start your day at Port Colborne, on the shores of Lake Erie. Check out the Historical and Marine Museum and stop at the Lock 8 Gateway Park to view some passing ships. (To time your visit right, refer to this schedule to track the incoming vessels.)Afterwards, head north to the city of Welland and up to St. Catharines. Don’t miss the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre at Lock 3. After a day of sightseeing, visit one of the many wineries in the Niagara Region for dinner.Price of admission: Free Escape the hustle and bustle of the city in Port HopePort Hope, with its picturesque 19th-century architecture and collection of independent shops and galleries, is the perfect stop for a quick jaunt out of Toronto. Browse the heritage storefronts in town or grab a bite to eat at the Greek-themed Olympus Burger. Be sure to plan your visit for a Saturday, so you can check out the Farmers Market, open 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. from May to October.If you’re looking for some family fun, head to Van Dorp Strawberries to pick your own fruits. And if you’re heading to Port Hope later in the summer, block off some time to watch salmon migrate from Lake Ontario up the Ganaraska River. The season runs from mid-August to early October. Price of admission: Free Bounce your way through the forest canopyDescribed as “part trampoline, part canopy tour,” uplå in Stouffville is a forest adventure park featuring 9,000 square-feet of nets suspended high above the tree canopy. With slides, ramps and a two-storey trampoline, the park offers a unique, birds-eye perspective of Bruce’s Mill Conservation Area. The attraction is open 12 months a year on weekends and most weekdays. The experience takes two hours to complete. Price of admission: $39 for children between five and 17. $25 for adults. Those above 65 can receive free admission if they’re with a paying adult. Traverse the longest suspension bridge in southern OntarioA few kilometres inland from Georgian Bay is the longest suspension bridge in southern Ontario. Perched atop the Niagara Escarpment, the 420-foot bridge offers stunning views of the water and surrounding region.The attraction is located within Scenic Caves Nature Adventures, which also features 15-kilometres of trails spread across 370 acres. While hiking, check out the natural caves and caverns carved millions of years ago by glacial ice. You can even descend a crevasse 70-feet deep. In the summer season, from July 1 to Sept. 4, the site is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. However, the last park admission is sold two hours before closing. Price of admission: $33 for adults between 18 and 64. $30 for seniors 65 and older and for children between three and 17. Toddlers under two can enter for free. View the largest-known concentration of Indigenous petroglyphs in CanadaA national historic site, Petroglyphs Provincial Park near Peterborough is home to the largest-known collection of Indigenous rock carvings in Canada. The images, dating from 900 to 1400 A.D., depict everything from animal and human forms to abstract and symbolic representations. These “teaching rocks” form a sacred site. While there, you can also visit the visitor centre to learn more about the traditions of the Ojibway (Nishnaabe) people and their teaching of the medicine wheel. As well, don’t miss McGinnis Lake, a meromictic lake where the layers of water don’t intermix, creating a bright turquoise sheen. The provincial park is open daily, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., until Oct. 9 this year. Price of admission: FreeCool off with a swim at St. Marys QuarryThis former limestone quarry shuttered in 1920 and was converted into a swimming pool some two decades later. It’s now considered Canada’s largest outdoor freshwater swimming pool and is a popular destination among locals and visitors looking to cool off. The swimming quarry in St. Marys, about two hours east of Toronto, features cliff jumping, a waterpark and a water trampoline. While you’re in town, also be sure to check out the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. As well, fishing enthusiasts should visit the town’s second quarry dedicated to fishing.Price of admission: $7.25 for adults and $4.75 for children and youth. Access to the waterpark requires a separate pass. Head to the tropics in HamiltonIf you’re looking to escape to the tropics, you need not look further than Hamilton. No, you’re not misreading. Steeltown is home to the Gage Park Tropical Greenhouse, a 14,000-foot facility that features subtropical plants, palm trees, waterfalls and even ponds with fish, turtles and waterlilies.The greenhouse also features one of the world’s largest and rarest flowering structures, a Corpse Flower affectionately nicknamed “Kramer.”The attraction is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (though it is scheduled to be closed from July 10 to 19 for emergency roof maintenance).Price of admission: FreeJoshua Chong is a Toronto-based staff reporter for the Star’s Express Desk. Follow him on Twitter: @joshualdwchong
School’s officially out and the summer is revving up. While thousands of families prepare to head out of town in the coming weeks, many others will be spending the summer at home.
A recent CIBC poll found that while the majority of Canadians are excited and ready to travel again, three in four said they are “very concerned” about travel costs due to inflation.
So, if you’re looking for a fun excursion that your whole family will enjoy — and won’t break the bank — here are eight affordable day trip ideas around Toronto.
Enjoy the outdoor playground that is the Kelso Conservation Area
Just an hour drive west of Toronto, you may know this site for its ski and snowboard hill, Glen Eden. But the Kelso Conservation Area also has much to offer throughout the rest of the year. Hikers and avid mountain bikers can enjoy its extensive trail network, totally nearly 30 kilometres.
If you want to take to the water, you can swim, canoe or paddle board in the Kelso Reservoir. Or stay dry and take a stroll along the boardwalk around the water. And on the weekends, thrill seekers can try their hand at Kelso’s Challenge Course, featuring a 45-foot climbing tower and an aerial ropes course.
A reservation is required to visit the conservation area, which is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Price of admission: $10.50 per adult, plus taxes. Discounted tickets are available for seniors and children between five and 14, while kids under five can enter for free.
Watch ships pass through the Welland Canal
There’s much to explore along the 43-kilometre Welland Canal, a historical and architectural marvel, the first iteration of which opened in 1829.
Start your day at Port Colborne, on the shores of Lake Erie. Check out the Historical and Marine Museum and stop at the Lock 8 Gateway Park to view some passing ships. (To time your visit right, refer to this schedule to track the incoming vessels.)
Afterwards, head north to the city of Welland and up to St. Catharines. Don’t miss the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre at Lock 3. After a day of sightseeing, visit one of the many wineries in the Niagara Region for dinner.
Price of admission: Free
Escape the hustle and bustle of the city in Port Hope
Port Hope, with its picturesque 19th-century architecture and collection of independent shops and galleries, is the perfect stop for a quick jaunt out of Toronto.
Browse the heritage storefronts in town or grab a bite to eat at the Greek-themed Olympus Burger. Be sure to plan your visit for a Saturday, so you can check out the Farmers Market, open 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. from May to October.
If you’re looking for some family fun, head to Van Dorp Strawberries to pick your own fruits. And if you’re heading to Port Hope later in the summer, block off some time to watch salmon migrate from Lake Ontario up the Ganaraska River. The season runs from mid-August to early October.
Price of admission: Free
Bounce your way through the forest canopy
Described as “part trampoline, part canopy tour,” uplå in Stouffville is a forest adventure park featuring 9,000 square-feet of nets suspended high above the tree canopy. With slides, ramps and a two-storey trampoline, the park offers a unique, birds-eye perspective of Bruce’s Mill Conservation Area.
The attraction is open 12 months a year on weekends and most weekdays. The experience takes two hours to complete.
Price of admission: $39 for children between five and 17. $25 for adults. Those above 65 can receive free admission if they’re with a paying adult.
Traverse the longest suspension bridge in southern Ontario
A few kilometres inland from Georgian Bay is the longest suspension bridge in southern Ontario. Perched atop the Niagara Escarpment, the 420-foot bridge offers stunning views of the water and surrounding region.
The attraction is located within Scenic Caves Nature Adventures, which also features 15-kilometres of trails spread across 370 acres. While hiking, check out the natural caves and caverns carved millions of years ago by glacial ice. You can even descend a crevasse 70-feet deep.
In the summer season, from July 1 to Sept. 4, the site is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. However, the last park admission is sold two hours before closing.
Price of admission: $33 for adults between 18 and 64. $30 for seniors 65 and older and for children between three and 17. Toddlers under two can enter for free.
View the largest-known concentration of Indigenous petroglyphs in Canada
A national historic site, Petroglyphs Provincial Park near Peterborough is home to the largest-known collection of Indigenous rock carvings in Canada. The images, dating from 900 to 1400 A.D., depict everything from animal and human forms to abstract and symbolic representations.
These “teaching rocks” form a sacred site. While there, you can also visit the visitor centre to learn more about the traditions of the Ojibway (Nishnaabe) people and their teaching of the medicine wheel. As well, don’t miss McGinnis Lake, a meromictic lake where the layers of water don’t intermix, creating a bright turquoise sheen.
The provincial park is open daily, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., until Oct. 9 this year.
Price of admission: Free
Cool off with a swim at St. Marys Quarry
This former limestone quarry shuttered in 1920 and was converted into a swimming pool some two decades later. It’s now considered Canada’s largest outdoor freshwater swimming pool and is a popular destination among locals and visitors looking to cool off.
The swimming quarry in St. Marys, about two hours east of Toronto, features cliff jumping, a waterpark and a water trampoline.
While you’re in town, also be sure to check out the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. As well, fishing enthusiasts should visit the town’s second quarry dedicated to fishing.
Price of admission: $7.25 for adults and $4.75 for children and youth. Access to the waterpark requires a separate pass.
Head to the tropics in Hamilton
If you’re looking to escape to the tropics, you need not look further than Hamilton. No, you’re not misreading. Steeltown is home to the Gage Park Tropical Greenhouse, a 14,000-foot facility that features subtropical plants, palm trees, waterfalls and even ponds with fish, turtles and waterlilies.
The greenhouse also features one of the world’s largest and rarest flowering structures, a Corpse Flower affectionately nicknamed “Kramer.”
The attraction is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (though it is scheduled to be closed from July 10 to 19 for emergency roof maintenance).
Price of admission: Free
Joshua Chong is a Toronto-based staff reporter for the Star’s Express Desk. Follow him on Twitter: @joshualdwchong
Leave a Reply