North of Toronto and West of Ottawa, bordering on Algonquin Park, within the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, sits a very unexpected and unique forest. A Meca for unforgettable year-round experiences!
Winter is a love or hate time of year but the team at Haliburton Forest each winter looks forward to either changing your mind or increasing your love of winter. Their mission is to get people out in the forest and on the land to foster an appreciation for sustainability, conservation and inclusivity through incredible experiences.
This unexpected and unique forest is a100,000 acres, has over 100 lakes, 400 kms of trails/gravel roads, 400 wetlands/waterways and billions of trees. Say that ten times fast! Like most of Ontario, Haliburton Forest was heavily harvested for its towering White Pine timbers when settlers first arrived in the area. Now, they are a world leading, sustainably managed, multi-use forest where forestry operations and outdoor experiences complement each other year-round.
In the late 90s Haliburton Forest was the first privately owned forest in North America to become FSC – Forestry Stewardship Council Certified. In 2018 they received both the TIAO – Tourism Industry Association of Ontario Award of Excellence in Sustainable Tourism and the FSC Award for Leadership.
They are Rainbow Registered, making them a safe space for everyone to play and work, including their LGBTQIA2S+ friends.
They have made an ongoing commitment and with continuous effort to build strong and lasting relations with Indigenous Communities, through employment, procurement, consultation, policy and special projects such as re-seeding various lakes within the forest with Manoomin/Wild Rice as well as offering opportunities to harvest medicines, essential materials, etc. off the land. This commitment is shown by them joining the PAIR program – Partnership Accreditation in Indigenous Relations and working through the criteria and parameters set out by the CCIB -Canadian Council of Indigenous Businesses.
In the winter the forest transforms to a jaw dropping winter wonderland of snow-covered trees, rolling hills, frozen lakes, ice falls, monumental lookout points, world class snowmobile trails and stunning snowshoeing/hiking trails. Something right out of a movie! A quintessential Canadian forest in the winter.
Most known year-round for the Wolf Centre the reserve also boasts a suite of other experiences that are guaranteed to make you fall in love with winter, or at least they can try! Are you new to exploring in the winter? Maybe you are an angler, snowmobiler, ATVer, hiker/snowshoer, nature lover, adventurer? Well, they have you covered! With snowmobile and snowshoe rentals, to guided experiences including fully outfitted ice fishing, snowmobiling, skijoring, snowshoeing, and ice climbing, for all experience levels. Guests can also adventure on their own by foot, snowmobile or ATV.
No matter the adventure(s) you choose I guarantee you will have an unforgettable experience whether trying Ice Climbing for the first time or homing in your skills on their photo worthy natural ice wall, reeling in a colourful Rainbow Trout, having a picnic at a lookout point or around a fire at a Shelter Cabin along the trails, their guides are second to none.
If being outside isn’t your thing the picturesque drive to Haliburton Forest is well worth it to visit the world-renowned Wolf Centre. What makes the centre so unique is that outside they host wolves that are as wild as they can be within captivity. Winter is a perfect time to come for multiple reasons. Less people, some weekdays maybe even having the centre to yourself. But mainly due to the wolves. Their coats are thicker, they are more active with the cooler temperatures AND February is mating season. They do have a large enclosure, and sightings cannot be guaranteed but they are visible more so than not particularly in the winter months.
Through their subsidiary company Yours Outdoors stay warm by enjoying Painting With Wolves, Glassblowing, flamework and even Medieval Combat experiences!
No visit to Haliburton Forest would be complete without a visit to the onsite restaurant. For some yummy grub, a cold beer or a warm drink!
They also offer cozy accommodations, and camping (summer and winter) for those looking to getaway.
So whether you like winter or not this unexpected and unique forest has something for you!
Connect with Haliburton Forest: instagram | facebook,
the Wolf Centre: instagram | facebook,
and Tegan Legge: Instagram.
