Inns from the 49th Parallel

April 24, 2008 12:06 PM

Quiet inn, trees, a lake, maybe some hiking - where can I find these things within an hour or so of Toronto?

I know Lake Simcoe has a resort community, but I'm hoping for something a little more secluded, a little more like the kind of woodsy B & B that abounds in Quebec or New England.

Any recommendations, either specific inns or general areas to look in, would be very appreciated.

posted by minervous to travel & transportation (8 comments total)

This may be a bit further than you want, but the Haliburton area is wonderful. We've been there in the winter, but I imagine summer is a great time to be there.

Hiking & other outdoor info can probably be found here.

The town of Haliburton has some neat shops & restaurants.

We stayed at Sir Sam's Inn - very nice rooms & facilities. The water spa was quite enjoyable - basically a swimming pool with assorted jets/fountains/bubblythings to massage various parts of your body. Food was average to good. It claims to be 2.5 hours from Toronto. There are lots of other options - I think the site in my first link has them in their Visitor Info section.

The Wolf Centre was amazingly cool. Try to be there on a day when they toss beaver carcasses or roadkill out for the wolves to feed on. We hiked a short trail from the Centre, but there may be longer ones in the area too.
posted by valleys at 12:18 PM on April 24, 2008

It's more than an hour -- more like two from downtown Toronto - but what about the Georgian Bay area? Midland/Honey Harbour/Wasaga Beach all have beautiful areas, great hiking and water sports, and places to stay. It would be a shorter drive if you're starting on the north side.

Check out bbcanada.com for specific places to stay.
posted by dpx.mfx at 12:21 PM on April 24, 2008

Georgian Bay definitely, although if you're going in the summer it's a zoo.

Brighton's a great little town, directly adjacent to beautiful (really!) Presqu'ile Park. It's right off the 401.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:37 PM on April 24, 2008

(To clarify, Brighton is nowhere near Georgian Bay.)
posted by Sys Rq at 12:38 PM on April 24, 2008

The best hiking an hour outside Toronto in my opinon is the Bruce Trail. The escarpment is much nore New England-like compared to the usual flat Ontario lanscape. You would be looking at Milton, Halton Hills, and Caledon to stay an hour outside Toronto. There are some Bed and Breakfasts located near the trail, maybe spend some time going though the Federation of Ontario Bed and Breakfast Accommodation website. I haven't used any personally, but some I am aware of are: Jabberwock B&B, Belfountain Inn and McKitrick House Inn. If you go a little further afield to the Niagara Region there is a huge number of choices such as Silver Birches by the Lake B&B.
posted by saucysault at 3:10 PM on April 24, 2008

Tall order but it looks like Saucysault has some good ideas. I'm no expert but the Port Perry area would likely offer some possibilities as well.

But honestly the really good stuff is 2+ hours north, the farther the better...
posted by raider at 8:04 PM on April 24, 2008

Again a little farther than an hour, but the Stratford area has a lot of that type of thing.
posted by winston at 11:15 AM on April 26, 2008

Re: "49th Parallel" in the title: Toronto is at about the 43rd parallel. To get to the 49th (e.g. Kapuskasing), you'd have to drive North for about 10 hours.
posted by winston at 3:43 PM on April 26, 2008