Login | October 06, 2025
Collingwood, Ontario
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: October 6, 2025
Now in as much as I write about my recreational travels throughout Canada you just might wonder if I’m being subsidized by the Canadian Tourist Board - not to say that a few loonies or toonies thrown my way wouldn’t be greatly appreciated - but I assure you such is not the case.
Actually, my ongoing fascination with this country hinges on the myriad of outdoor activities and the plethora of world class venues that it offers.
So with that being said let me suggest yet another “Pete tested” Canadian vacation venue: Collingwood, Ontario.
And I’m suggesting Collingwood because when returning from a place like this, where I spent nearly two weeks, as soon as I returned I was busy scheming my next trip up there, which tells me I’ve definitely latched onto an extraordinary place to explore.
But before I dive into all the fun recreational stuff, let’s first learn a little bit about the venue itself.
So Collingwood is a town of 20,000 and rests along the southwestern shores of the beautiful Georgian Bay, a massive offshoot of Lake Huron.
Thus, having such direct access to Great Lakes traffic, Collingwood morphed into a critical commerce hub for the upper Great Lakes, with its prime attributes being a key transport center for grain and an ideal location for ship building.
Unfortunately these two commercial activities declined around the mid 1980s when globalization began to have a negative impact on small communities that relied too heavily on one or two primary industries.
And that’s when Canada’s national and local governments decided to take action, by investing in infrastructure and facilities that would enable Collingwood to cater to outdoor recreational activities.
Ski resorts were developed, hiking and cycling trails were established - and still are - and parks, harbors and recreational green spaces were created.
Today Collingwood has a vibe that so much reminds me of places like Steamboat Springs, Colorado and North Conway, New Hampshire - but with one really cool attribute that neither of those venues possess…the massive and majestic Georgian Bay.
Okay, now to the fun part, the recreation.
As far as I could tell, here are four activities in the Collingwood area that absolutely jump out at you: Skiing, hiking, cycling and boating (kayaking, canoeing and sailing). So let’s take quick peek at each.
Boating
Now as mentioned, the Georgian Bay is big, so big that it’s sometimes referred to as the sixth Great Lake. And then there’s the water, which on a sunny day is a stunning turquoise blue with waters so crystal clear that you can see the lake bottom at depths of 30-40 feet. Surrounding it are towering cliffs, flower pot islands, rugged stretches of wilderness and sand, cobble and polished rock bottomed beaches galore. In Collingwood you can rent canoes, kayaks and standup paddleboards for excursions of virtually any length.
Cycling
If you’re not into riding the roads there are two fairly long point-to-point cinder trails available in Collingwood: The Georgian Trail and the Train Trail, both of which are 20+ miles. If you want some incredible solitude there’s hundreds of miles worth of gravel and tarmac roads that surround the Collingwood area, most of which incur very light traffic. Then there’s the Blue Mountains, a massive and expansive limestone bluff that rises 800 feet above the shores of the Georgian Bay. Thus, there are hill climbing offerings which are absolutely amazing!
Skiing
It’s those crazy beautiful Blue Mountains that have helped to make Collingwood the ski capital of Ontario. The Blue Mountain ski resort entails some 360 acres of skiable land and 43 named runs. In the middle of it all is a small town called the “Village” which offers nearly everything that downtown Collingwood has available. And what totally knocked me out about this resort is the fact that the Blue Mountains ski resort is the third busiest ski resort in all of Canada, just behind Whistler Blackcomb and Mont Tremblant.
Hiking
In and around the Blue Mountains are mile upon mile of hiking trails, some within the ski areas and others far removed. But everywhere throughout the Blue Mts. are wonderful little river valleys, secluded hollows and sweeping tablelands. Then there’s the famous Bruce Trail which runs along the periphery of the western shores of the Georgian Bay.
So no matter where your recreational interests lie, Ontario’s recreational playground, Collingwood, will likely give you something to crow about when you return home.