The Best Natural Attractions in Ontario
Yours to...explore!
I am going to share some of the best natural attractions in Ontario here!
Ontario, Canada has so much diverse natural beauty!
There are so many natural attractions that are worth visiting!
There are even 4 UNESCO sites in Ontario!
9. Parks
There are too many nice parks to mention here, but I will name a few that stand out to me.
Algonquin Park– this is a beautiful and large park where you can portage, camp, canoe, hike and see Canadian wildlife.
People can possibly see moose, bear, deer, eagles, wolves, turtles, birds, and more!
This park is about 3 hours north of Toronto, obviously depending upon traffic. Your best option to get to Algonquin Park is to drive, however there is a bus that runs seasonly from Toronto to Algonquin in the nicer weather.
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High Park is at 1873 Bloor Street West in Toronto.
High Park is famous for watching the cherry blossoms. They are usually blooming in late April or early May. It can get quite busy with people taking pictures with the cherry blossoms!
There is no fee to enter the park, you can drive your car into the park on week days.
On weekends and holidays, be prepared to park somewhere else as they only allow pedestrians and cyclists on the path, meaning no cars on those days.
You can take the TTC, which is the Toronto public transportation there too. Since it such a huge park, there are different ways to get there.
There is a cute train that goes around the whole park. It takes about 30 minutes to complete the tour. It has many stops throughout the park.
It costs $5.00 for anyone over 12, and $4.00 for anyone under 12.
You can use this trip planner from the TTC to help you figure out your route using public transit in Toronto.
It’s a huge park in a great neighbourhood in Toronto. It’s actually 399 acres!
There is so much to do there, you could spend the whole day there!
There is a:
- zoo
- playground
- gardens
- hiking trails
- lakefront area and trails
- a dog park
- restaurants
- nature everywhere!
- greenhouses
- tennis court
- basketball court
- soccer field
- so many benches to relax on
There are paved roads and parking, so it is accessible as well. A lot of people roller blade, bike, walk and picnic in this park.
High Park is free, even the zoo! With the exception of the train ride and eating at the restaurants.
Royal Botanical Gardens
This garden is huge.
There is a tea house and 2 cafes on the grounds.
The Royal Botanical Gardens also hosts special events like art shows, musical performances, and animal exhibits.
They actually rent out areas for weddings and events too.
Also, they host a lot of courses there like: birding, gardening, canoeing, mindfulness, horticulture and much more.
This is a great park to see the lilacs blooming in May to June every year.
You can check out Royal Botanical Gardens for more information too.
You do have to pay to do some of the events and enter some areas, but the money goes back to conservation, education, and the nature.
There is actually more than 1 address for this park. It is 1100 hectares of land!
The RBG Centre and Hendrie Park: are located at 680 Plains Road West in Burlington.
The David Braley & Nancy Gordon Rock Garden is located at 1185 York Boulevard in Hamilton.
The Laking Garden is at 1221 Spring Garden Road in Burlington.
You can find the Arboretum: at 16 Old Guelph Road in Hamilton.
There are also a bunch of hiking trails in different locations.
If you want to know more about parks in Ontario, check out the official Ontario Parks Page.
8. Waterfalls
Hamilton is titled the city of waterfalls.
Hamilton has so many waterfalls, that there is a guide to the waterfalls!
In my opinion, the best waterfall are Tew Falls and Websters Falls. Websters Falls is actually the largest waterfall in the area. You could actually see both in the same afternoon, as they are close to each other.
Tew Falls can be accessed by 581 Harvest Road. You can get to Webster Falls by Fallsview Road. How appropriately named!
Kakabeka Falls is located in the Kakabeka Provincial Park at 4853 Hwy 11/17
Kakabeka Falls.
This is the 2nd highest waterfall in Ontario.
You can find the Hamilton Waterfall Guide here.
Need a place to stay? Book it here & enjoy!
7. Escarpment Views
The Niagara escarpment is why there are so many waterfalls in Ontario. Specifically, it is also why we have Niagara Falls!
The escarpment is massive! It actually goes into the United States too.
It is follows Lake Ontario, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.
There are so many fun and windy roads to drive on at the top of the escarpment.
There are also many spots where you can pull over at the side of the road, or park in a lot along the edge of the top of the escarpment.
The views are amazing! If you’re looking for a leisurely scenic drive, the top of the escarpment is it!
Insider tip! It’s a great location to watch fireworks! You can see all different firework displays throughout the cities and towns below!
There are some markets, parks, forests, beautiful houses and more along your drive on the escarpment.
6. Devil's Punch Bowl
The Devil’s punch bowl is a big gorge in the ground with waterfalls and many different coloured rocks.
It’s spectacular to see, with many types of rocks along the punch bowl.
Devil’s punch bowl is located on Ridge Rd, Stoney Creek.
There in an impressive waterfall and lookout points too.
FYI- it is not allowed to go down to the bottom of the waterfall due to danger of falling rocks.
I have heard of people getting stuck trying to rock climb down and needing emergency rescue to save them.
It’s considered a trespassing if you try to go the bottom of the waterfall.
If you want to hike around the bottom of the punch bowl there is the Bruce trail that you can hike on. The rule is to stay on this trail.
A good time to visit the Devil’s Punch Bowl is in the spring as the birds of prey migration over it. The birds follow the wind currents made from the punch bowl. Another good time is before sunset or at sunrise. Some great photo ops!
There is parking, but it costs $8.00 per day to park there.
The parking is strictly enforced here and by-law officers are making sure that no one is parking on the sides of the roads around the area.
It’s opened from sunrise and closes at sunset.
5. Hiking Trails
There are countless hiking trails in Ontario
The Bruce Trail is a hiking trail that goes all the way from the Niagara River to Tobermory. It is 890 kilometres of hiking trail! Plus, there are 400 kilometres of side trails that are connected to the Bruce trail.
There are so many hikes. Ontario Hiking Trails.
There are even side trails of the Bruce Trail and other trails that you can follow. Some of the trails have really spectacular look out points too!
Ontario has a large escarpment which makes for some very beautiful and interesting hiking trails.
4. Flower Pot Island
Flower pot island is a beautiful island off of the Georgian Bay.
You can take tour boats from Tobermory to the island. It’s 6.5 kilometres from Tobermory.
It’s called flower pot island because of the rock formations that have formed due to the years of wear from the water, ice and other conditions.
These rock formations look like big flower pots, hence the name!
The cruise to get to the island usually runs between May to October, but this depends on the weather.
I would recommend pre-booking as it sells out sometimes.
There are 2 different companies that you can book your boat cruise from.
You can book your ferry through Blue Heron or The Bruce Anchor.
Bring your hiking shoes for the hiking around the island. Some spots of the trail can be more rocky and uphill.
There is a cave, hiking trails and look out points too.
Of course, you could also swim there too. There are many people that like to snorkel near this island too.
Just keep in mind that it is rocky and there can be sudden changes in levels due to rocks.
You have the option of taking a ferry back that day or you could book a campsite and stay on the island.
3. Petroglyphs Provincial Park
This is a beautiful park which features the Indigenous rock carvings that share teachings from Indigenous People.
This park is north of Peterborough. It had a large area with rock carvings from Indigenous people from more than 5000 years ago.
Canada has a very rich Indigenous history and this park displays some of this history.
There are 2 different hiking trails around the park. It’s also a great place for birders to see lots of birds.
If you go to the visitors centre you can book a guided tour of the park. This is a way to hear some Indigenous teachings and hear about the ‘The Teaching Rocks’ with all of the carvings and paintings on them.
*It is not permitted to take photos of the petroglyphs. You can take pictures throughout the other areas of the park.
These carvings are the oldest preserved carvings in Canada!
This park is opened from 10:00am to 5:00pm, but they don’t let any cars enter after 4:00pm. It’s often closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, unless they are a holiday.
Here is where you can Get a day permit to park your car and visit.
It costs $10.74 per vehicle
2. Beaches
I know Ontario might not be the first place that you think of when you want a good beach, but there are actually a lot of beaches in Southern Ontario.
Wasaga Beach is a fun beach. It’s also the longest freshwater beach, not only in Ontario, but in the world!
There are actually so many beaches in Ontario!
Some of them require you to get a permit or pay to park. Some beaches are very busy with umbrellas everywhere!
Some of my top recommended beaches are:
- Sauble Beach at Lake Huron
- Port Dover at Lake Erie
- Turkey Point at Lake Erie
- Wasaga Beach at Georgian Bay
- Port Stanley Beach on Lake Erie
- Grand Bend Beach at Lake Huron
Each beach is a little different!
1. Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls, one of the wonders of the world and a top honeymoon destination.
There is the Niagara Falls where you can see the American Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe falls.
There is also the river below with the Hornblower Boat Cruises. You can take the Hornblower Boat that goes right by the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls.
You can even zip line over the river and have a great view of the falls!
To learn more about this boat cruise, ziplining and other epic activities in Niagara Falls, check out 16 Epic Things To Do in Niagara Falls!
If you would like to know more about Clifton Hill, which is called “The Street of Fun”, check out Niagara Falls- Clifton Hill Attractions.
If it’s winter, there is still a lot to do in Niagara Falls, you can go to the Winter Festival of Lights in Niagara Falls.
Browse some tours, and when you're ready you can book them here!
Your Favourite
Some of the places have so much to see and do, you may want to stay over so that you can continue enjoying.
You can book your hotel here too!
Have you been to any of these attractions?
Which is your favourite natural attraction in Ontario?
Besides being a travel blogger, I am also a travel writer, Amazon author and an English teacher. Check out my services here!
