“Fairy Tale” ice trail attracts thousands

[oneh2obabe]

HUNTSVILLE—Down a winding road north of Toronto — where snow banks reach eye-popping heights and nighttime brings pitch-black darkness — fire torches flickering in the distance mark the jewel of cottage country.

“It felt like a fairy tale,” said one visitor to what’s thought to be the province’s longest man-made ice trail, running 1.3 km through Arrowhead Provincial Park.

It’s been called Ontario’s best kept secret, but the secret’s out. The number of non-skiing winter visitors to the park near Huntsville — which also offers cross-country ski trails, snowshoeing and tubing — soared to 20,000 last winter.

Word has spread as far as New Zealand and Scotland, say park staff, though most visitors hail from Muskoka, the Barrie area or the GTA. Part of the draw is affordability: it costs just $16 per vehicle for a day of skating.



On a chilly January Saturday, about 100 people braved snow squalls for a skate.

“It was magical,” said Emma McIsaac, 25, who drove up from Orillia to celebrate her birthday on the ice.

“I’ve never seen this before,” said Paul Fraser, 62, who boasted an impressive icicle-caked mustache. “I grew up skating in the countryside so I just think it’s a great idea to be out in nature like this and skating around in the bush.”

Some visitors heard about the park through local resorts, but social media posts were mostly what drove 20-somethings north.

“Facebook,” said Amanda Liddle, 24, from Keswick. “Everyone was uploading pictures and saying that they were going to Arrowhead.”

The ice trail’s Instagram-worthiness is undeniable — a quintessential Canadian activity enjoyed under a canopy of evergreens where fluffy white snow quickly coats hats and eyelashes.

John Leadston, the park’s assistant superintendent, created the trail in 2011 after he tired of the park’s puny skating rink. Out on the ice, visitors stopped to shake Leadston’s hand and thank him for creating the winter attraction.

“That’s the reward,” he said with a smile.

Leadston, 49, has a special connection to the park. He camped at Arrowhead with his family as a child and even proposed to his wife there.

Ironically, a back injury prevents him from skating. But that doesn’t diminish his enthusiasm for getting the ice as mirror-like as possible.

As dusk fell, couples giggled as they took their first shaky glides on ice lined with glowing tiki torches.

“It’s a gate to another world,” said Jean-Michel Bombardier, a former professional figure skater who drove three hours from Newmarket.

Along the trail, skaters breathed in the smell of evergreens and firewood.

Snow-covered trees enveloped them in silence.

15 pictures of skaters
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/01 ... sands.html

[Jo]

That is very cool! Well, COLD, more like - but cool, too. :-)

[Sige]

OMG this is awesome!!!!!! I want to go there...badly!!!