My Ontario

Adventurous
You’re an Adventurous Family, so try something new and
embark on an exciting Eco-Adventure at Scenic Caves Nature
Adventure Tours near Collingwood.
Channel your inner Tarzan or Jane, grab your junior treehuggers
and set out on a family romp amidst the treetops.
First, take a walk across the suspension bridge and enjoy
spectacular views that soar over 300-metres above the distant
Georgian Bay. Wind gusts may sway this 126-metre-long
engineering marvel a bit, but don’t worry. It’s supported
with tall steel towers and concrete foundations weighing the
equivalent of 15 elephants. Bring binoculars to point out
farmhouses, a lighthouse and other panoramic details in this
spectacular view, which stretches to Georgian Bay.
Then, in the adjacent forest, suit up in a harness, helmet
and gloves to walk across more than a dozen bridges suspended
as close to the treetops as possible. Your tree-travelling
adventure – along high wooden walkways fastened between
16 tall trees – ends with a ladder descent or an exhilarating
300-metre zip line back to earth. “You might as well zip,”
comments Chris Westbrooke, Scenic Caves Nature Adventure
Manager, who watches the delight of school kids as they
whisk through the ancient forest. “We’ve had 90-year-olds
who’ve done it.”
Finally, explore the labyrinth of caves and crevices that date
back to a time when the Petun First Nations called this place
Ekarenniondi, or ‘Rock that Stands Out’. It’s an eco-adventure
that mixes wind and rock, evergreen and sky, with geological
and historical facts along the way. For reservations and
conditions (kids must be at least 4 ft. 8 in. and over 85 lbs.
for the treetop adventure), visit sceniccaves.com
(705) 446-0256.
You’re an Active Family, and Pinery Provincial Park on Lake
Huron has lots to keep you moving, with hiking and biking,
sailing and swimming through a rare ecological region.
The eastern shore of Lake Huron, hugging Ontario with its
white sand beaches and almost turquoise waters, has been called
Ontario’s Riviera. An eight-year-old’s response to seeing the
10-kilometre-long shore of Pinery Provincial Park is far more apt.
“Cool!” he’ll say (as ours did), “the ocean!” He’s in good
company – even Samuel de Champlain, upon discovering this
Great Lake in 1616, wrote that the land was “shaped like Brittany
and similarly situated, being almost surrounded by ‘la Mer Douce’
(freshwater sea).”
Besides the beautiful views with its waves, sand dunes and rare
interior oak savannah, this park offers a week’s worth of activities
guaranteed to make for some heavy sleepers. Cycle along some
10 kilometres of bike paths or hike any of 10 trails, from the easy
1.8 km Carolinian Trail to the 3 km Wilderness Trail through
mixed pine-oak forest to the shoreline. Paddle a canoe or kayak
through the calm Old Ausable Channel, or try fishing for
northern pike or rock bass. To explore further, head out with a
park naturalist to discover any of the hundreds of bird species,
60 butterfly species and dozens of species of reptiles, amphibians
and mammals – from the rare five-lined skink (a type of lizard) to
shy white-tailed deer.
Equipment rentals plus a well-stocked store, family-friendly yurt
accommodations (like a cabin with canvas walls) and children’s
activities such as the Junior Naturalists Program (ages 6 to 12), or
Future Naturalists Program (ages 13 to 17), make this park a family
standout. For details, visit pinerypark.on.ca 1-888-Ont-Park.
Active
L–R: Underground bound at the Scenic Caves; Flying high on a zip line through
L–R: Camping in a yurt at Pinery Provincial Park. Photo: Kim Bast;
94 MY ONTARIO • ontariotravel.net
the forest.
Catching some air wakeboarding.
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