What are some of the best day trips from Toronto? Living in South-Western Ontario, we are lucky to live in an area that is not only rich in cultural heritage. but also contains the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, the Niagara Escarpment. Our unique geographical location gives us easy access to 3 of the 5 great lakes and beautiful Canadian Shield landscapes. But what are the top day trips from Toronto, with a motto like “Yours to Discover” it’s really hard to narrow it down to just a few. In the list below we’ve narrowed our list to 12 towns or areas that are 2 hours or less from Toronto. We’ve included our favourite day trips from Toronto, as well as some of the most popular ones.
12 Quintessential Day Trips from Toronto for Awesome Adventures
Table of Contents:
Niagara Falls
Considered by many to be one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. Niagara falls is one of the most visited places in Canada.
Only an hour and a half from Toronto, the Niagara region is a perfect day trip from Toronto. As well as the falls, the Niagara Falls area is host to tons of great activities. From beautiful botanical gardens, casinos, arcades, nature trails, waterparks and the list goes on.
Continuing from the falls, through St. Catharines and Grimsby, the Niagara Escarpment is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. The massive cliff of limestone also hosts several waterfalls in the area including Balls Falls, DeCew and Rockway.
Looking for a more intimate experience with the Niagara River? Check out -> Niagara Glen Nature Centre
Another feature due to Niagara’s unique geographical location is the Welland Canal. Part of the St Lawrence Seaway, the Welland Canal allows ships to go between Lake Ontario and Erie to bypass the falls. The massive canal is the 4th version of the canal, with the original dating back to 1829. The canal is usually quite busy, with thousands of vessels using its locks annually.
Lastly, as famous as the falls, Niagara is also home to the famous Niagara-on-the-Lake. Located on Lake Ontario at the end of the Niagara River. This picturesque town has been referred to as the romantic capital of Canada.
Niagara-on-the-Lake is also famous for its wineries. Containing one of the highest concentrations of wineries in Canada. Niagara-on-the-Lake is most famous for its Ice Wine. Most wineries offer samples for free or for a small fee. Just be sure to have a designated driver if you plan to have more than just a few samples.
Want to stay a little longer? Check out these accommodations in the Niagara Region:
- Old Stone Inn Boutique Hotel
- Embassy Suites by Hilton Niagara Falls/ Fallsview
- Pillar and Post Inn & Spa
Prince Edward County
While Niagara is a famous wine destination worldwide. Prince Edward County is a smaller, but quickly up-and-coming wine region. Home to several wineries, quaint small towns and white sandy beaches PEC is becoming a popular day trip from Toronto and it’s not hard to see why.
Prince Edward Country has become a wine destination for many. Due to the island’s unique geographical location, the region allows winegrowers to grow later into the fall season, as the island protects the crops from early frosts. Additionally, the island’s limestone-rich soils, add a unique minerality to the wines, especially highlighted in the region’s specialty Pinot Noir and Chardonnays.
If not its wineries, Prince Edward County is probably most famous for Sandbanks Provincial Park. The park’s massive white sandy dunes transport you to a tropical destination far away. Do be sure to come early or book ahead, as Sandbanks gets full quickly on hot summer days. Alternatively, you can try North Beach Provincial Park, a smaller, but equally beautiful day park.
The island also has a handful of unique geological features such as the picturesque Little Bluff Conservation Area and the mysterious Lake on the Mountain. To get the best experience, we would recommend taking the ferry from Glenora and then driving up the mountain to the Lake on the Mountain
Want to stay a little longer? Check out these accommodations in Prince Edward County:
Northumberland Country (Trent Hills)
Located just by Prince Edward County is the small town of Trenton Ontario. While many may know of this town because of its massive Royal Canadian Air Force base, Trenton is actually the end of the Trent-Severn Waterway. A historical 386 km waterway connecting Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay.
One of the most underappreciated stretches of the waterways lies slightly north of Trenton, as the Trent River flows down from the Rice lakes, through the Trent Hills area and into Lake Ontario. Perfect for a nice day trip from Toronto.
The Trent Hills community is an amalgamation of smaller townships that lie along and around the Trent-Severn Waterway, including Campbellford, Warkworth and Hastings. Each of the towns having its own unique small-town charm and events.
The Trent River is also home to some dramatic landscapes, for example at the Ferris Provincial Park, where the Trent river cuts through the limestone beneath creating Ranney Falls and Gorge. Here you can walk across the Ranney Gorge Suspension Bridge, a steel pedestrian bridge, hanging 30-35 feet above the river, providing stunning views of the gorge.
Rice Lake is a premier fishing destination its shallow waters are home to panfish, walleye, muskellunge and bass. There are multitudes of cottages and small fishing towns dotting its shores. Its rolling hills provide scenery that rivals that of the Muskoka region.
Want to stay a little longer? Check out these accommodations in Northumberland Country:
Muskoka
Whether to enjoy the beautiful fall colours, visit some of the quaint cottage towns or go for a dip in the area’s hundreds of freshwater lakes. No day trip from Toronto is more quintessentially Ontarian than a trip out to cottage country.
Filled with hundreds of lakes, the Muskoka region is known for its rugged Canadian shield landscapes and breathtaking vistas. One of the best ways to take this in is to head into Gravenhurst and take a ride on the R.M.S. Segwun. This steamship was built in 1887 and is North America’s oldest operating steamship. A ride on the Segwun will take you through several of the region’s lakes past small cottage islands and famous Hollywood estates, that the area has become known for.
Heading into Huntsville, many consider this town the gateway into Algonquin Canada’s oldest and one of the largest Provincial Parks in Canada. Huntsville is also home to Arrowhead Provincial Park, less than a 15-minute drive from the town’s core, Arrowhead provides a taste of the beautiful landscapes that can be found within Algonquin. The iconic Big Bend outlook is a great place to take in views of the Big East River and the surrounding Muskoka terrain. Arrowhead is also a great winter destination as the park contains a 1.3 km Fairy Tale Skate Through the Canadian Forest.
The Muskoka region is also home to the Torrance Barrens Dark-Sky Preserve. This unique location is the world’s first permanent Dark Sky Reserve. The 4,700 acres of Crown land provide stargazers spectacular 360-degree view of the night sky, unhampered by light pollution. Some say that you can even catch the northern lights here on late summer nights.
One of the most Iconic activities to do in Muskoka is to catch a concert at the Kee to Bala. This concert venue has been in operation since 1942 and is famous for hosting summertime concerts, with ships littering Bala bay to listen to local and international talent alike.
Want to stay a little longer? Check out these accommodations in the Muk:
Blue Mountain (Grey County)
Known to many as one of Ontario’s premier ski destinations, the Blue Mountain area provides a ton of great activities year-round. During the summer months, Blue Mountain is a popular destination for mountain and trail biking. The ski hill becomes bike trails heading down the mountain or across Georgian bay.
Blue Mountain is also home to the Ridge Runner. An updated version of the Alpine Slide from the 1980s. Famous for being featured in the end credit of Sesame Street.
The small village at the bottom of the mountain has been designed to resemble the look and feel of an Alpine-style resort in Europe. There are tons of great restaurants and shops, perfect for a quick day trip from Toronto.
What many may not know is that Blue Mountain is actually part of the Niagara escarpment. The unique geological feature stretches all the way from the Tobermory to Niagara. Located in the area where the escarpment leaves Georgian bay and heads inland, the Grey County area features some of the most dramatic scenery in Southern Ontario.
The area has tons of great conservation areas and provincial parks, where you can walk along the escarpment to stunning lookouts of Georgian Bay and the Bruce Peninsula to the north.
One of the best ways to take this in is to check out the Scenic Caves Nature Adventure. Here you can walk across a 420 feet long suspension bridge 82 feet above the forest floor. There are also tons of great hiking trails, with tons of great caves and lookout points. You can even opt to zipline through the tree canopy for a more exhilarating experience.
Want to stay a little longer? Check out these accommodations at Blue Mountain:
Hamilton
One of the most recent popular day trips from Toronto is Hamilton. Once a major manufacturing hub for Canada, earning it the nickname “Steel Capital of Canada”. Hamilton’s population boomed from the early 1900s to the early 1970s. Then during the ’80s, as with many Rust Belt cities during that time, Hamilton suffered a major economic and population decline.
Most recently, Hamilton has had a major revival as an art and cultural hub for the Golden Horse, as many Torontonians have moved to Hamilton for its more affordable housing and easy access to Toronto. What can be seen in Hamilton’s downtown core, can be described as a new city growing in the bones of an old city. With many of the older buildings being restored to their former glory.
As well as its downtown, Hamilton has also recently amalgamated with 5 of its neighbouring municipalities including Ancaster, Dundas, and Stoney Creek. Each with acres of beautiful escarpment landscapes and hundreds of waterfalls, earning Hamilton the name “city of waterfalls”. There are literally hundreds of waterfalls littered throughout the Greater Hamilton Area. Some of the most popular are Tiffany Falls, Devil’s Punchbowl and Webster’s. You could easily spend an entire day hunting for waterfalls.
Want to stay a little longer? Check out these accommodations in Hamilton:
- Homewood Suites by Hilton Hamilton
- Four Points by Sheraton Hamilton – Stoney Creek
- Staybridge Suites Hamilton – Downtown
Waterloo (KWC)
The Kitchener Waterloo Cambridge area is a perfect place to explore as a day trip from Toronto. The area whose roots begin with the Grand River flows throughout it and has currently been shaped by education and technology.
The earliest settlers arrived in the area in the early 1800s. Mennonite pioneers from Pennsylvania, known as the Pennsylvania-Dutch, were offered tracts of land in Canada following the American revolution. They were soon followed by German settlers from Europe, after the Napoleonic wars in 1815. From there the German European population increased through to 1870, quickly outnumbering the original Mennonite population.
These roots can be seen to this day as St Jacobs still has an active Mennonite community. With many of its historical buildings still intact. For example, The Olde Heidelberg Restaurant, which has been around since 1860, is famous to this day for serving great Pennsylvanian Dutch (German) cuisine. The area is also home to several breweries and the largest Octoberfest festival outside of Munich.
The St Jacobs area is also famous for St Jacobs Market, the largest year-round Farmers’ Market in Canada with great treats like its famous Apple Fritters and peameal bacon sandwiches.
Cambridge itself is the result of a recent amalgamation of small towns. Some of those old buildings can still be seen in the historic downtown cores of Galt and Hespeler Village.
Want to stay a little longer? Check out these accommodations in the KWC area:
- Homewood Suites by Hilton Waterloo/St. Jacobs
- Courtyard by Marriott Waterloo St. Jacobs
- Hilton Garden Inn Kitchener/Cambridge
Elora Fergus
A little further up the Grand River from Waterloo are the twin cities of Elora and Fergus. These two towns have been the small-town darlings of Ontario. Originally settled and developed over the early 1800s. and many of the shops are built right up to the river’s edge, these quaint riverside towns have a positively European atmosphere as well.
As well as their beautiful small-town charm. The towns sit on one of the most spectacular portions of the Grand River, as it cuts through layers of limestone creating a gorge 22m deep. Earning the nickname “Ontario’s Grand Canyon”, the gorge has tons of interesting treasures such as the Elora Waterfall, Lovers Leap David Street Bridge and The Tooth of Time.
Heading over to Elora Gorge Conservation Area, you can go tubing down the Grand River. Here you can lazily tube in the Elora Gorge., down the river, past massive limestone cliffs.
Located a few kilometres upstream from the conservation area between the two towns is Elora Quarry. This filled-in quarry is a popular summer destination as well. The 2-acre quarry creates a massive swimming hole complete with a white Sandy beach and massive 10m limestone cliffs.
Want to stay a little longer? Check out these accommodations by Elora and Fergus:
Norfolk County (Long Point)
Lake Erie is the shallowest and warmest of the great lakes making it the best of the great lakes for swimming. Nicknamed Ontario’s South Coast, Lake Erie has dozens of beach towns along its northern shores. Especially in Norfolk County.
One of the most popular of these beaches is Long Point. The 4th oldest provincial park, This 40-kilometre natural sand spit juts out into Lake Erie creating some of the best swimming in Ontario. The sandspit’s unique landscape also makes it a great fishing and birdwatching destination. The natural landscape is so unique it has been named a UNESCO world biosphere reserve.
As well as its warm Sandy beaches, Norfolk has a handful of great beachside towns that transport you to the small-town east coast. Port Rowan at the base of Long Point is a perfect little getaway, it’s quaint beach town vibes are perfect for a quiet afternoon stroll.
For a more lively vibe, check out Port Dover, famous for its Friday the 13th celebrations and palm tree-lined beaches. Port Dover is the ultimate beach town destination.
In recent years, Norfolk County has also become very popular for agriculture tourism. There are tons of great wineries, orchards and various lavender and Floral farms.
Want to stay a little longer? Check out these accommodations in Norfolk County:
Milton (Halton)
As many drive-by Milton on the 401, they can catch a magnificent view of the Niagara Escapement at Kelso Conservation area, but that is just a glimpse into what the Halton area has to offer. Being located along the Niagara Escapement, the Halton region is the perfect day trip from Toronto with tons of great natural wonders to explore.
Located right across the 401 from the Kelso Conservation area is Hilton Falls Conservation Area. Containing both the ruins of an old mill and a beautiful waterfall. A little further south, Rattlesnake Point is famous for its rock climbing and beautiful views. One of our favourite parks is Limehouse Conservation Area where you explore unique caves and fissures in the escarpment.
As well as its natural beauty, Halton is also home to tons of great pick-your-own fruit and flower farms, such as Terre Blue Lavender Farm, Andrew Scenic Acres and Chudleigh’s Apple Farm. The area is also home to the Halton County Radial Railway, a museum dedicated to electric railway-related objects. The museum contains full-size operating historic electric railcars operating on two kilometres of scenic track.
During the summer months, Milton hosts a weekly Farmers Market in its historic downtown core. Many of the buildings remain from Milton’s establishment in the early 1800s. There are tons of interesting things to explore such as the Milton Town Hall, Mill Pond and Livingston Trail.
Want to stay a little longer? Check out these accommodations in the Halton region:
Forks of the Credit
Located at the intersection of the Niagara Escarpment and Oak Ridges Moraine is the Forks of the Credit area, the headwaters area of the Credit River is one of the most beautiful to visit and has several great parks to spend a day in.
For those who enjoy hiking, Forks of the Credit Provincial Park offers several kilometres of great trails. Here you can explore beautiful waterfalls, a historic mill and a dam.
If you’d rather enjoy the scenery in a car, a cruise along with the Forks of the Credit Road, past the railway bridge and hairpin turns will transport you high into the Appalachian mountains. Do keep in mind, parking along this stretch is forbidden and patrolled often.
A little upstream from the Provincial Park is the Belfountain Conservation area. Containing a waterfall, suspension bridge and historical fountain; This stunning park is a favourite of many to enjoy the fall colours. Originally privately owned, the land has since been opened to the public for everyone to enjoy.
Want to stay a little longer? Check out these accommodations by the Forks of the Credit area:
- Hockley Valley Resort
- Best Western Plus Orangeville Inn & Suites
- Charming, Rustic 140-Year-Old Carriage House
Stratford
While most may know Stratford as one of its most famous residents; Stratford actually had a relationship with Arts and Culture decades before Justin Beiber was born.
Running from April to October, Stratford plays host to the Stratford Festival, one of the largest Arts and culture festivals in Canada. Originally dedicated to the works of William Shakespeare, the festival has since expanded to include other classical and contemporary works.
Stratford is also part of a sisterhood of cities around the world that are also named Stratford. The cities have had a long history of cultural, sporting, and social exchanges. Including bi-annual reunion parties, where mayors and other city officials meet in each other’s cities.
Stratford is also home to the Stratford Chef School, a world-renowned not-for-profit culinary school. This results in a high concentration of great restaurants, breweries and shops in the area. Also due to city law, no building is allowed to be built higher than the flagpole at city hall, resulting in keeping the city’s small-town vibe.
As well as its small-town charm, the city has lots of natural beauty as well as Lake Victoria and the Avon river flow just north of the downtown area. Be sure to visit the Shakespearean Gardens and Tom Patterson Island for a beautiful relaxing walk along the river amongst trees and flowers.