Elora is a village community in the township of Centre Wellington (Wellington County) in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It is well known for its 19th-century limestone architecture and the geographically, historically, and culturally significant gorge. Elora is famous for the Elora Gorge and various water activities in the gorge. We visited in late winter/early spring, and the Elora Gorge was not open yet. It’s recommended to visit Elora Gorge in summer. ...
The Kawartha Lakes are a chain of lakes (about 18 - 25 lakes) in south-central Ontario. The city of Kawartha Lakes is named for them, but more than half of the Kawartha Lakes are located in Peterborough County. The Trent-Severn Waterway makes it way through many lakes. Together with the Kawartha Conservation, which is located in the Ken Reid Conservation Area, they make a great destination for a brief escape from the city, especially in the summer. ...
Niagara Falls is a popular tourism destination in the Greater Toronto Area and Canada, especially in summer. This post offers the unique views of Niagara Falls in winter times, whereas a previous post Niagara Falls explores the beauty it provides during summer. The Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory operated by the Niagara Parks Commissions was opened in December 1996. It has over 2,000 tropical butterflies from over 45 different species. Some useful knowledge I learned after the visit is that you should wear bright clothes, move slowly, and wear perfume or cologne if you want butterflies to land on you. ...
Port Dover Port Dover is an unincorporated community and former town located in Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie. It has a population of about 8000 people, according to the 2021 Census. General Impressions Port Dover is a lovely small beach town. The town is quite small, quiet, and beautiful. It has a rich history of fishing unsurprisingly, and pottery surprisingly. It’s about an hour’s drive from Hamilton. It would be a good neighborhood to raise a family. ...
Algonquin Provincial Park Algonquin Provincial Park is Ontario’s oldest provincial park which was established in 1893. It has an astonishing size of 7,653 km2, making it larger than Canada’s smallest province: Prince Edward Island (5660 km2). It’s also about the same size as the US states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined, according to this FAQ on the park’s official website. General Impressions It’s big. It’s gigantic with amazing views. So many different lakes, creeks, trails, and forests in the park. Driving through Algonquin (Highway60) is a great joy. Enjoy the peace in beautiful nature. The Lookout Trail Algonquin is still amazingly beautiful in late fall/early winter; a different type of beauty. ...
Hamilton Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. General impressions: a beautiful small city McMaster University Dundurn Castle Red Hill Valley Trail
Montreal Montreal is located by the riverside of the St. Lawrence River and is the second most populous city in Canada. Of course, French is the city’s official language. General Impressions: Downtown Montreal is built on hills; so a lot of uphills and downhills while wandering around in the city center; Montreal gives people a feeling of cleanness; the homeless issue is less severe compared to other major cities like Toronto and Ottawa; There are a lot of stunningly beautiful churches in the city; Unlike Ontario, vehicles in Montreal only have a rear plate; A lot of pedestrians don’t follow traffic lights when crossing the roads; Saint-Catherine St is a pedestrian-only street with tons of shops, bars and restaurants and is a good place to visit; ...
Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, is located at the confluence of Ottawa River and Rideau River. Ottawa My general impressions of the city: Ottawa is a much smaller city, compared to Toronto, understandably; Ottawa is full of the PRIDE vibe; rainbow flags and crossings can be seen frequently, at least when I visited the city; Ottawa, like other cities, also has a severe homeless crisis, which damages the city’s image; Ottawa is little boring since the economy is mainly driven by the Canadian government, which happens to be the largest employer in Ottawa; Ottawa’s public transit, OC Transpo, is still developing; good news is that it accepts Presto or Visa/Mastercard credit card; Ottawa is a more bilingual city and French is more widely used, compared to Toronto which is a more English city; ...
To compare the summer views with winter views: Niafara Falls in Witer Niagara Falls is one of the most famous waterfalls in the world, spanning the border between Ontario in Canada and New York in the United States. It comprises three falls (from right to left): Horseshoe Falls, Bridal Falls, and American Falls. Impressions: Canada side has the best view; The Rainbow bridge connecting Canada and the U.S. is not misnamed cause there are rainbows; Be prepared to get wet; it’s like a heavy rain for the water drops more than 50 meters and a lot of water droplets bounce back; Parking is expensive; it costs $35 dollars for 3 hours parking at 6635 Niagara River Pkwy, which is the closest parking lot to the fall
Wasaga Beach is a small town in the southern end of the Georgian Bay. It’s about 1.5h drive from Toronto, so not very far. My biggest impressions of Wasaga: great beach great winds and tides