FIFA Ahead: Just a Few Hours from Toronto, a Different Kind of Game Awaits

You’re coming for the FIFA World Cup so make sure you get the best bang for your buck. Stay a little longer, and discover Ontario’s Highlands, where lakes, trails, wild spaces, and small-town experiences are closer than you think.

The Opportunity You Didn’t Know You Had

Toronto will be at the centre of the FIFA World Cup 2026 - but just beyond the city, Ontario’s Highlands offers a completely different pace.

Within just a two-and-a-half to three-hour drive, you can delve deeper into the wild spaces of Ontario’s Highalnds, from the deep and many lakes of Haliburton Highlands to the rushing rivers and rugged landscapes of Hastings County.

It’s close enough to fit easily into your plans, and far enough to feel like you’ve truly left the city behind. Ontario’s Highlands offers you a chance to get away from the crowds with quiet mornings, open landscapes, and experiences that stay with you long after the final FIFA whistle. 

What You Can Do Here

Get Out on the Water

The lakes and rivers are waiting in Ontario's Highlands! There are plenty of outfitters in Ontario’s Highlands who can get you on the water in no time. Use our list below but be aware it is not exhaustive.

Deep Roots Adventure (Minden)
Algonquin Outfitters (multiple Haliburton Highlands locations)
Trips and Trails Adventure Outfitting (Bancroft)

Nature Immersion in Haliburton Forest

• If you want to experience it all – hiking, paddling, and exploring as an all-in-one adventure – a must visit is Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve. Spanning more than 100,000 acres, Haliburton Forest is a sustainably managed forest with 400 kilometres of trails to hike and dozens of lakes to explore, including Havelock Lake, Kelly/Johnson Lake, MacDonald Lake, and Wildcat Lake.
• Take a course to build your outdoor skills from Yours Outdoors, or just get out and get moving on trails or lakes (or both). At the end of the day stay in one of their one-site cabins, Cabinscapes.
• If you are looking for a little more adrenalin, you can walk among the treetops at Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve on their three-hour Canopy Tour, the longest canopy walk of its kind in the world. Here, suspended walkways lead you through treetops, offering a new vantage point on the forest below. 

Hike into Pristine Wilderness

If you love to feel like you are the only person to ever set foot on a trail and are alone in the world, we have a hike for you.

• Snowden Park - Minden: This beautiful park spans 450-acres and consists of two large loops with one connecting link between them. Expect to encounter stunning lookout points, wetlands, and forested terrain. The park is accessible year-round and this three-kilometre trail would be great for snowshoeing in winter.
• Dahl Forest – Minden Hills: This forest is part of the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust group of properties and spans 500-acres featuring five-kilometres of hiking trails that are only accessible on two feet (no bikes or motorized vehicles allowed). 
• Silent Lake Provincial Park - Bancroft: Hiking at this provincial park is worth the admission! Access 19 kilometres of remote trails like the three-kilometre Bonnie’s Pond Trail of the more challenging, 15-kilometre, Lakeshore Hiking Trail. Both will get you deep into the wilderness and immersed in nature.

Go Wild Over Waterfalls

Whether it has something to do with the mesmerizing whitewater cascade or the white-noise that comes with it, a waterfall is a universal attraction. It can be the reason for a hike or it can be something wonderful that happens unexpectedly. Make one of these spots a reason for you to venture into Haliburton Highlands or Hastings County, just a short drive north of Toronto.

• Ragged Falls: This location is named as one of the top 10 waterfalls in Ontario, and deserves its reputation as a stunning waterfall to visit.
  Location: Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Provincial Park, Haliburton Highlands
• High Falls: These falls involve a two-kilometre hike but will be worth it in the end. Part of the York River, High Falls in Haliburton Highlands are part of Algonquin Park but the trail is located in Dysart et al and the falls can be viewed from there.
  Location: Dysart et al
• Hawk Lake Log Chute: The Hawk Lake Chute is 220 feet long, built in the 1860s and rebuilt in 2005. Originally the log chute was used to move logs down the river, and today it’s the last one of its kind in the province. Parking is available at a small parking area adjacent to Log Chute Park.
  Location: Stanhope, Haliburton Highlands
• Buttermilk Falls: These falls are located between Haliburton, Dorset, and Minden on the Kennisis River. The river was once used to move logs downriver and there is a concrete sluiceway visible here. There are trails, a picnic area and washrooms available here.
  Location: Highway 35 at Halls Lake, Haliburton Highlands
• Egan Chutes: Here is another one located in a provincial park (this one is non-operating). The chutes can be reached by making a roughly one-and-a-half-kilometre hike that is entirely worth the effort. Here, the York River drops roughly four-metres in stages. Please note the entrance to the park can be tricky to find.
  Location: Egan Chutes Provincial Park, near Bancroft

Stay and Play

World class accommodations are just a few hours' drive from Toronto, and are where you can truly immerse yourself in a Canadian experience that begins with the sunrise and lasts until sunset. 

• Algonquin Eco-Lodge (Haliburton Highlands): The Algonquin Eco-Lodge has the look and feel of a European mountain lodge, and is situated in some of the most beautiful wilderness in Haliburton Highlands. These folks are off-grid and so remote you can hike into the accommodation or be driven by ATV. While you’re there, book one of their Algonquin Park guided excursions.
• Winterdance (Haliburton Highlands): This accommodation offers the place to lay your head and also all the adventure you need in one fantastic location. Winterdance offers a guided hike in to remote cabins tucked into backwoods of Haliburton Highlands. Sleep in a tiny cabin by night and then explore hundreds of acres of wilderness by day. Breakfast is served to you at your cabin, and a chef prepared meal will hit the spot at the end of a long day in the wild.
• Dimensions - Algonquin Highlands: Spend the night in a modern and minimalist zen-like cabin nestled on the shores of a 40-acre lake, deep in the forests of Haliburton Highlands. More than just an accommodation, Dimensions offers themed wellness retreats that help you connect your mind and body as you explore meditation, mindfulness, forest bathing and more. 
• Bonnie View Inn - Haliburton: Check into one of Bonnie View Inn’s 28 rooms available in the “big house” and use the inn as your homebase for any number of activities at the resort, including swimming in Kashagawigamog Lake, hiking, tobogganing, ice fishing and more.
• Ogopogo Resort - Minden: If you love to swim, pedal boat, canoe, kayak, or SUP in summer and ice fish, skate, toboggan or snowmobile in winter, this resort is for you. Perfect for families, Ogopogo Resort’s cottages are modern and refurbished with everything you need for your getaway.
• Sir Sam’s Inn & Spa – Eagle Lake: Check in to Sir Sam’s Inn & Spa and give yourself permission to unwind and take a deep stress-free breath. Curl up in front of the in-room fireplace, experience the thermal circuit, and dine at the on-site Twin Fires restaurant.

Booking early is recommended during peak World Cup travel periods.

Start Planning Your Escape

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Ontario’s Highlands is closer than you think - and ready when you are.