National Geographic's Top 10 Family Activities in Ontario

National Geographic.com recently came out with a neat little Top 10 list perfect for us folks in the Great Lakes region - The Top 10 Family Activities in Ontario.

A condensed version of the list follows, but take the time to click over and read it for yourself on National Geographic's website.

1. A Trip to the Cottage
Ontario loves taking a family trip to the cottage, where it's all about campfires, canoe rides and rainy-day board games. Visitors can get in on the action too; rental cottages are widely available. Popular “cottage country” areas include the Kawarthas and Muskoka, both within a couple hours’ drive of Toronto, and the Rideau Lakes, near Ottawa.

2. Toronto Zoo
The Toronto Zoo is the largest in Canada, and one of the largest in the world. Its 460-plus animal species are organized by their region of origin. In addition to the main exhibits, the zoo also offers a special children’s zone with demonstrations, a splash park, and interactive activities for kids.

3. Rideau Canal (Ottawa)

Ottawa’s Rideau Canal is a national historic site and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was built after the War of 1812 as an alternate route between Montreal and Kingston, in case of an American invasion of the St. Lawrence River. Today it’s an urban waterway lined with trees and bike paths—perfect for renting a canoe, pedal boat, or bicycle and cruising through downtown.

4. Canoeing in Algonquin Provincial Park
A canoe ride in Algonquin is quintessential Ontario: an endless expanse of water, rock, and pine trees, with the silence broken only by a loon’s call or the splash of a paddle.

5. Science North and Dynamic Earth (Sudbury)
Sudbury’s twin science centers offer hands-on exhibits covering a broad array of scientific topics, often with a northern flavor. At Science North visitors can learn about bush planes and butterflies, try their hand at measuring emissions and air quality in the region, and visit an IMAX theater and a planetarium. Nearby at Dynamic Earth, the emphasis is on geology: the highlight is an elevator ride deep underground to a simulated mining environment. Some of the exhibits here offer an opportunity to teach kids about reading and thinking critically.

6. Canadian Museum of Nature (Ottawa)
The Canadian Museum of Nature is a natural history playground in the heart of Ottawa. The permanent exhibits feature everything from skeletal dinosaurs to live tarantulas and cockroaches, and traveling exhibitions also rotate through. Even the museum building itself can be a thrill for kids: It’s castle-like, more than a century old, and rumor has it the place is haunted.

7. OHL Hockey

Experience Canada’s national obsession with the OHL (or Ontario Hockey League), a prominent junior hockey league that grooms many future big league hockey stars. It’s open only to players 16 to 20, and its games tend to be fast-paced and highly skilled. They’re also far more affordable than professional NHL games, where the ticket prices rapidly rise into triple digits.

8. Agawa Canyon Tour Train (Sault Ste. Marie)
The Algoma Central Railway runs this popular one-day scenic train ride out of Sault Ste. Marie, the northern Ontario city better known as the Soo. The train runs north through a granite wilderness before plunging into the Agawa Canyon. At the bottom, visitors take a 90-minute break; try one of the handful of hiking trails to a waterfall or scenic lookout, or settle down for a picnic.

9. Black Creek Pioneer Village (Toronto) 
Black Creek is a classic pioneer village attraction, complete with historic buildings, demonstrations of old-time skills and chores, hands-on activities for kids, and interpreters in period dress. And while it’s largely kid-focused, the village also has a perk for adults: there’s a microbrewery on-site.

10. Ontario Place (Toronto) 
Ontario Place is an interesting contradiction: a hedonistic theme park run by, of all things, a government agency. The result is a fun hybrid, with carnival standbys like bumper boats and mini-golf on offer alongside large-scale thrill rides, a giant water park, and—here’s where the contrast kicks in—an eco-learning center and an IMAX theater that screens regular nature documentaries.