Muskoka and the Almaguin area telling all about Winter Fun in Cottage Country!
Winter is the best time to head north to the cottage! If you haven't booked your winter vacation yet there is still time so contact us today at Northern Retreats. In Muskoka and the Almaguin Highlands area we have so many things going on that most people wouldn't know about unless you live here. In this day and age the word "Free" doesn't come along very often but up here in the winter we have a lot of "Free" going on!
Since the beginning of February we have been kept very busy on the weekends with so many fun family activities we haven't even had the time to notice that this winter is still dragging on. Best of all it has all been Free!
First we had the Kearney Dog Sled Races ~ Feb 7&8: Friday night Kearney offered a free Family skate, free hot dogs, free hot chocolate and a bon fire for the whole family to enjoy. Saturday up at the break of dawn to catch the pancake breakfast and then head down to watch the first fleet of dogs take off on the race. The races brought out a lot of familiar and new faces this year but one thing is for sure the streets were packed in Kearney with dogs and people!
Starting at 11:00am downtown they had The Kids Events to include bird house making, crafts, tobaggan hill, bon fire, hot chocolate and just plain old winter fun. If you were lucky you even caught the Volunteer Fire Dept. doing a rescue mission on the lake to show everyone what happens if you go through the ice and how the whole process works. Scary but informative!
The weekend carried on with all sorts of races and all sorts of fun for the whole family!
Sprucedale Winter Carnival~ Feb 14th: Friday night we missed the Talant Night held at the community centre but apparently there was a good turn out and fun was had by all. Saturday morning we
headed over to get on the float ( designed and made by Bonnie Robinson) for the carnival parade ( Theme: Medieval Times) and by 9:30am we were waving to the crowd on the streets of Sprucedale. I was sitting on one side of the fire breathing dragon ( a knight in shining armour) and Judy was on the other ( also a knight) with our 2 princesses ( Elina and Asha) being held captive by the fierce dragon. It was a cold morning but not nearly as cold as it has been in the past. After circling the town we parked the trailer and waited for the floats to be judged and sure enough we won first prize for the Family Floats. The usual chain of events takes us up to the Sprucedale Hotel for Pancake Breakfast. The winning proceeds from the parade buys us our breakfast which is made and served with a smile by some of the locals ( Glynn and Bonnie Robinson just to
name a couple).
Then we headed down to the days events that included: arm wrestling, kids events for all ages, tug of war for the adults, log sawing contest, fastest nailer contest, skating races, group ski races and so much more. Lunch is served inside and there are lots of baked goodies that you can buy for that sweet tooth.
The events kept everyone busy for the day and then that night the Sprucedale Volunteer Fire Dept. held a Family Skate with hot chocolate.
The kids sure slept like babies that night after a full day of Winter Fun!
Emsdale Family Skate ~ Feb 21st: This Past Saturday night was a blast in Emsdale
at the Family Skate. They had music, patio lantern lights decorating the rink, hot chocolate, hot dogs, bon fire and they even arranged for some big snow flakes to fall that night. After we got tired of skating the kids played hide and seek in the snow, slid on their bums down the big snowbanks and just laughed and enjoyed moments of sheer bliss I am sure. We all had so much fun it was hard to pull us away when it was time to go home!
All of this happened in a matter of 3 weeks up north in Cottage Country and next year if you are lucky you and your family might catch one of these fun activities. We have lots of winter fun up in the north and what I have told you about above just scratches the surface. If you need accommodations while visiting Muskoka or the Almaguin Highlands you can contact us at Northern Retreats for Privately owned Lakefront cottage rentals.
Come on up to the cottage for some winter fun!
Since the beginning of February we have been kept very busy on the weekends with so many fun family activities we haven't even had the time to notice that this winter is still dragging on. Best of all it has all been Free!
First we had the Kearney Dog Sled Races ~ Feb 7&8: Friday night Kearney offered a free Family skate, free hot dogs, free hot chocolate and a bon fire for the whole family to enjoy. Saturday up at the break of dawn to catch the pancake breakfast and then head down to watch the first fleet of dogs take off on the race. The races brought out a lot of familiar and new faces this year but one thing is for sure the streets were packed in Kearney with dogs and people!
Starting at 11:00am downtown they had The Kids Events to include bird house making, crafts, tobaggan hill, bon fire, hot chocolate and just plain old winter fun. If you were lucky you even caught the Volunteer Fire Dept. doing a rescue mission on the lake to show everyone what happens if you go through the ice and how the whole process works. Scary but informative!
The weekend carried on with all sorts of races and all sorts of fun for the whole family!
Sprucedale Winter Carnival~ Feb 14th: Friday night we missed the Talant Night held at the community centre but apparently there was a good turn out and fun was had by all. Saturday morning we
headed over to get on the float ( designed and made by Bonnie Robinson) for the carnival parade ( Theme: Medieval Times) and by 9:30am we were waving to the crowd on the streets of Sprucedale. I was sitting on one side of the fire breathing dragon ( a knight in shining armour) and Judy was on the other ( also a knight) with our 2 princesses ( Elina and Asha) being held captive by the fierce dragon. It was a cold morning but not nearly as cold as it has been in the past. After circling the town we parked the trailer and waited for the floats to be judged and sure enough we won first prize for the Family Floats. The usual chain of events takes us up to the Sprucedale Hotel for Pancake Breakfast. The winning proceeds from the parade buys us our breakfast which is made and served with a smile by some of the locals ( Glynn and Bonnie Robinson just to
name a couple).Then we headed down to the days events that included: arm wrestling, kids events for all ages, tug of war for the adults, log sawing contest, fastest nailer contest, skating races, group ski races and so much more. Lunch is served inside and there are lots of baked goodies that you can buy for that sweet tooth.
The events kept everyone busy for the day and then that night the Sprucedale Volunteer Fire Dept. held a Family Skate with hot chocolate.
The kids sure slept like babies that night after a full day of Winter Fun!
Emsdale Family Skate ~ Feb 21st: This Past Saturday night was a blast in Emsdale
at the Family Skate. They had music, patio lantern lights decorating the rink, hot chocolate, hot dogs, bon fire and they even arranged for some big snow flakes to fall that night. After we got tired of skating the kids played hide and seek in the snow, slid on their bums down the big snowbanks and just laughed and enjoyed moments of sheer bliss I am sure. We all had so much fun it was hard to pull us away when it was time to go home!All of this happened in a matter of 3 weeks up north in Cottage Country and next year if you are lucky you and your family might catch one of these fun activities. We have lots of winter fun up in the north and what I have told you about above just scratches the surface. If you need accommodations while visiting Muskoka or the Almaguin Highlands you can contact us at Northern Retreats for Privately owned Lakefront cottage rentals.
Come on up to the cottage for some winter fun!
