Arrowhead Park & Huntsville, ON
Arrowhead Provincial Park is most definitely catered towards winter activities. Whereas other parks seem to mostly shut down for the season, this entrance was staffed and the Visitor Centre and café were open. Luckily for us, the end of the season meant the ski trails had been converted to hiking trails. So, we took the 5km Arrowhead Lake Trail. Together with the map we were given at the park entrance, and the frequent signs, we were confident we wouldn’t get lost. The map uses a letter system, so we felt like we were playing a large-scale game of Connect The Dots. But this was comforting!
Along this trail lies the dedicated Pet Exercise Area. The short trail down wasn’t groomed, but in the name of blogging, I trudged through knee-deep snow to check it out (Rita’s mere 10kg weight allowed her to walk over it rather than falling through). It was pretty small, but could be a great place to play fetch or have a picnic while your dog ran around, especially if you were located at a nearby campsite. It sits right at the lake so boasts great views. There is also a Dog Beach at the South-West point of the lake for those summer days!
A must-see at Arrowhead is the Big Bend. This is an impressive site at the meander of the Big East River. The viewing platform sits on top of a glacial delta, which the river has eroded into, exposing the sandy layers. Informational boards tell of how the falling trees we can see are due to the sand being eroded from beneath them, and illustrates how Big Bend may one day develop into an Oxbow Lake. The inner Geography nerd from my school years really came alive!
Huntsville The nearest town to Arrowhead, and also a good base for visiting Algonquin, Huntsville can become quite bustling. We enjoyed the Group of Seven Outdoor Gallery, which spans across Muskoka but most of which lies in Huntsville. This consists of reproductions of artwork by Tom Thompson and the infamous Group of Seven artists. All outdoors, this attraction is available year-round and you can find a suggested tour route on their website.
There were also a few quaint shops in the town. We had a browse in Christmas Tyme - yes, you guessed it! A Christmas shop! There was even a dog section and we got a decoration personalised. Rita was given some dog treats at the check-out. SoapStones had a “pet friendly” sign in their window but was closed today. Another nice shop was The Friendly Fox.
For next time:
Disappointed.
-Arrowhead has a dedicated trail for “skijoring” – cross-country skiing with your dog! They hold special clinics for this and provide equipment so we will have to keep an eye out for the next dates
- Gus and Gigi’s Pet Shoppe is a boutique specialising in holistic pet nutrition, as well as providing other toys and accessories. Unfortunately it was closed on Sundays.
- Right next to G&G’s is 3 Guys and a Stove, who specifically mentions on their website that they are a dog-friendly restaurant (“No bathroom stops will be allowed”) and keep homemade treats on standby. However, dogs are allowed in the outdoor seating area only, which was not yet open for the season when we were in town.
We took this trip during our Cabinscape stay.
