Winter in Toronto is so cold. And long. And cold. But… there are tons of fun things to do and truth be told, I actually love it. Snowboarding and skating top my list of favourite winter activities with good old sledding close behind.
Tiny kids on boards or skis is THE cutest. My husband and I love snowboarding and seeing our littles taking it up now is the best. The new Burton Board Park at Blue Mountain is pretty amazing and worth weekend trips to the mountain. We started our eldest there last year. For beginner tots they use a wire attached to the board to tow them around and even take them over little rails and ramps making them feel super cool ;) Unfortunately from Toronto it’s a bit too far for regular lessons so this season we enrolled her (now 4 years old) in Glen Eden’s kinder board program. It’s only 30 min away and also great for the kids. It’s ok for more advanced riders because they have a decent park but the runs themselves aren’t that exciting for us. What I love about the kinder program at Glen Eden though is that they don’t baby the kids. On her first day they had her strap in to her own bindings, skate over to the hill with her one foot in, and then hike part way up the hill to ride down. I watched her the first day thinking lessons were worth the money because if I was teaching her there is no way I would have been able to let her go. She loves the lessons and during each one she falls 10 times and gets up 10 times.
On to skating! There are so many great rinks around the city and every year I hear about new ones. We actually have a great one right by our house that has an outdoor fire where they make hot chocolate on Sundays for the neighbourhood. You can check the Toronto city website to see which rinks are are right in your hood. We also love Harbourfront because it’s on the water and also because you can go in to the restaurant with your skates still on and have hot chocolate on the couches. On Saturday evenings they do this DJ skate night which we’ve done before without the kiddos too. Nathan Phillips Square makes the list because it’s right downtown surrounded by good restaurants and shopping for a full day out and the star lights hanging over the rink during the winter are super cute. On Friday we checked out the Colonel Sam Smith skating trail on a friend’s recommendation which was way out in the west end at Kipling and the Lake Shore. but it was SO great. It was a skating trail instead of a round rink and we all loved it – absolutely worth the drive there.
Where are your favourite places to go sledding in Toronto? I love hearing about new hills so sound off!
Stay warm friends,
XO
