Summer may be over but the great outdoors is still firmly open for business and fall can be the best time to pull on your boots and get out there, especially if you are visiting Ontario. Come fall, the eastern Canadian province of Ontario lights up with colour, as its trees set the landscape ablaze with fiery reds, rich oranges and dazzling golds. Days are warmed by the lingering rays of the summer sun yet there is a refreshing crispness to the air, hinting at the approaching winter. Bright sunlight shining from a cerulean blue sky highlights the many dramatic colours, making fall one of the best times to visit Ontario. Here are our favourite spots to get out and enjoy Mother Nature’s final fling.
Algonquin Provincial Park
Best for the true scale of colour, all 7,725 square kilometers of Algonquin Provincial Park come alive with fiery shades in the fall and you can walk over forest floors carpeted with red, orange, yellow and gold whilst flaming red maples and kaleidescopic aspens, tamaracks and red oaks dazzle. Check the Algonquin Fall Colour Report for daily updates on colour activity and the best viewing spots.
Ottawa
If a city break is more your thing that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the stunning sights of the annual leaf fall. Canada’s capital city may be vibrant and cosmopolitan but it combines this with a surprising amount of green spaces. Ottawa’s many parks and tree-lined roads and squares are all fabulous spots to take in the colour of fall, either on foot or whilst riding along one of its bike trails. For a truly peaceful way to take it all in, consider hiring a canoe or kayak and rowing the Rideau Canal waterway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Agawa Canyon
Put your feet up and view Northern Ontario’s Algoma Country in all its fall glory from a comfortable seat on the Agawa Canyon Tour Train. A one-day wilderness excursion will take you past lakes and rivers sparkling in the fall sunshine, majestic granite rock formations, and, the piece de la resistance, through the huge mixed forests of the Canadian Shield. Be sure to wear sturdy hiking boots as passengers can leave the train at the bottom of the Agawa Canyon to spend a few hours exploring the Agawa Canyon National Park. Follow the signs to the rim of the canyon – the exertion will be worth it as you gaze across the entire colour-splashed canyon.
Whether gazing out of a window at a fiery scene, kicking leaves up in the middle of a vast forest, or wandering down leaf-strewn streets and admiring the sight of blazing trees next to urban buildings, Ontario offers a wide range of options to take in the awesome spectacle that fall provides.