From vibrant cities to outdoor adventures to family fun, there's no place like Ontario. Ontario is a vast province – not only south to North, up to Hudson Bay, but east to west, stretching from near Montreal in the east to close to Winnipeg, Manitoba, in the west. An area this large and diverse will of course have various regions, each offering a different experience to visitors. For Ontario, there is first of all semi-urban South-western Ontario, a peninsula-like piece of land southwest of Toronto that is surrounded by the Great Lakes. The major points of interests are the city of Toronto, the Niagara Falls area, the Mennonite country, the Georgian Bay resort towns, etc.
Then there’s Muskoka and Ontario’s Cottage Country to the north of Toronto and Lake Ontario. The part of the Laurentian Shield between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River is the playground of the province. Starting about 100 km north of Toronto, a spectacular lake-land spreads out, one that gets more wooded and less populated the farther north you go. The major points of interests are the lake resorts and the canoeing and hiking experience in Algonquin Park.
Next is Eastern Ontario, the water-oriented region stretching along the St. Lawrence River northeast of Toronto and north to Ottawa. This is where Lake Ontario becomes the St.Lawrence River. The area is famous for its boat cruises through the beautiful Thousand Islands. The major points of interests are the city of Kingston, boat cruises through the Thousand Islands, Upper Canada Village, the city of Ottawa, etc.
Finally, all the rest: Northern Ontario, the distinctly non urban area up north. While most Ontarians believe they are in the “northland” when they drive the 160 km from Toronto to the Muskoka Cottage Country, in reality they haven’t begun to explore the North. The real North is a country of impenetrable forests, limitless rivers and rapids, lumbering brown bears and watchful majestic moose. Ontario’s North begins above Algonquin Park and extends hundreds of miles north to Hudson Bay. The major points of interest are the northern wilderness scenery, fishing and hunting, visits of silver and gold mines, the Polar Bear train tour, etc.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Tourism