Ontario’s Most Beautiful Winter Destinations

Winter may be cold and at times it might be easier to lock ourselves indoors and hibernate with a good movie and popcorn, but winter’s sheer mesmerizing beauty makes it worth the challenge to go out and capture the magic of it all. Winter landscape photography is very special in its own sense. When the landscape is blanketed with fresh snow and the sunrise sparkles across the landscape, you enter into a quiet and serene world just waiting to be explored. That’s just one of the reason’s I love winter photography. 

Here in Ontario, we’ve been spoiled when it comes to beautiful winter scenery with its icy splendour. I learned early on that having the right gear is the key to enjoying winter landscape photography. With the proper clothing I stay warm despite the damp coldness we experience here in Ontario, Canada. There are many more beautiful spots in Ontario yet to explore, but this time we started in the Niagara region and worked our way around Lake Ontario ending up in Toronto. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Niagara Falls

As we journeyed to Niagara Falls, we decided to take their “Tour behind the Falls” adventure which descended 125 feet to an observation deck that was located right beside this powerful waterfall. Here on this little observation hut covered in ice, the water came gushing through the open windows as I wiped the lens and tried to capture the beauty of it all. It left us breathless needless to say.

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Queen’s Royal Park

Beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake is even more beautiful during the winter months. Niagara is considered Ontario’s wine country and visitors looking to sample the wines will have a great time in this picture-perfect town the during the winter season. Located just minutes from the famous Falls, Niagara on the Lake’s high season is traditionally in the summer and autumn, but winter is just as beautiful with many photo opportunities around every corner.

DeCew Falls, St. Catharines 

DeCew Fall is one of the Niagara Escarpment waterfalls located near St. Catharines, Ontario on DeCew Road. It’s a picturesque waterfall located right below a historic mill. There are two main waterfalls there, an upper and a lower. You can follow the Bruce Trail for a nice easy hike, but be careful of the gorge close to the falls, its quite steep with no proper hiking path, so its easy to slip and get stuck down there. The fire department has rescued many people who had strayed off the path. This photo was taken from behind the DeCrew Falls.

The Abandoned Ship, Jordan Harbour

As you head from Niagara to Toronto, you will pass this sunken ship close to Jordan Harbour. It is an abandoned ship called the “Pirate Ship”, or “Ghost Ship” but its real name is La Grande Hermine, and it is a replica of one of the 3 ships that Jacques Cartier used when exploring the St. Lawrence river back in 1535. This abandoned ship came to Jordan Harbour in 1997 with the intention of being turned into another restaurant or a gambling venue, but in January of 2003, it became the victim of an arson fire. So here it sits, a photographic gem.

Brant Street Pier, Burlington

As you make your way around the bay where Hamilton and Burlington meet, you can stop at one of my favorite photo sites. Brant Street Pier is a signature destination and attraction located in Spencer Smith Park at the Waterfront at Downtown Burlington, Ontario. It extends 137 metres over Lake Ontario that provides fabulous views of the lake and Burlington’s shoreline.

Lakeside Park, Oakville

There’s something magical about wintertime at the lake. The color of springtime is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination. Lakeside Park is situated along the shore of Lake Ontario in downtown Oakville. Enjoy a stroll along the pathways that form part of the Homecoming Trail or capture some beautiful photo opportunities with the cylindrical white light tower with red flashing light on the east pier. Watch your step on the slippery rocks.

Lakeside Park, Mississauga

This is a very overlooked (but unique) park in the middle of an industrial area. In fact, you would likely never visit here unless you live or work nearby. What makes this park so special is its “Cobble Beach” which I believe is one of its kind. The shoreline here is full of remnants of red pipes (from former sewage pipes) that slowly eroded over the years to make it a red pebble beach. The rocks can be a bit hard to walk on so wear good shoes. I love the color of the red rocks at sunrise. The Canadian geese take shelter in the bay here.

Jack Darling Park, Mississauga

I love the Staghorn Sumac in its various forms throughout the year at this park. It makes for a great sunrise foreground. This park is located by the waterfront and offers great fun for everyone all year around. The waterfront is fairly long, with interesting rocky and sandy areas. The view from the beaches is spectacular: you can see the Toronto skyline to the left and the endless blue horizon to the south. I come here quite often because of the variety of things to photograph. 

St. Lawrence Park, Mississauga

St. Lawrence is a beautiful park in Mississauga on the banks of the serene Ontario Lake. Perfect for a morning walk in the fresh open air or just waiting to capture that picture perfect moment as the sun arises. The park is entirely lakeside, and is best known for its blue gazebo lookout over Lake Ontario.

Rattray Marsh, Mississauga

Our next stop as we make our way around Lake Ontario is beautiful Rattray marsh. Less than 30 minutes from Toronto, it’s a hidden paradise that serves as the perfect spot to escape the city for a couple hours. Nestled along the Mississauga shoreline, you’ll find Rattray Marsh Conservation Area that’s best known for its stunning raised boardwalk. Wildlife and landscape photography is fabulous here year-round. Make sure you hike to the beach which has beautiful views towards the Toronto skyline as well a great view over the marsh.

Kariya Park, Mississauga

Kariya Park is in the heart of the city of Mississauga. This park features Japanese-style gardens, a pavilion, cherry trees, rhododendrons, and several sculptures gifted to the city by Kariya City, Japan. It’s beautiful during the spring with its Cherry blossom trees, but also winter. It’s a magical place for photographers.

Sugar Beach, Toronto 

Toronto’s Sugar Beach is a whimsical new park that transformed a surface parking lot in a former industrial area into Toronto’s second urban beach at the water’s edge. Located at the foot of Lower Jarvis Street adjacent to the Redpath Sugar Factory, the park’s brightly coloured pink beach umbrellas and iconic candy-striped rock outcroppings welcome visitors to the new waterfront neighbourhood of East Bayfront. This is a great photo location just after the snow falls.

Leuty Lifeguard Station, Toronto

The Leuty Lifeguard station is one of the last remaining structures south of the Beach boardwalk. Built in 1920 on the east side of Toronto it is said to have played a role in saving over 6,000 lives during its time along Kew Beach. It’s been repositioned and raised, but over the last 100 years the Leuty Lifeguard Station has remained an iconic landmark in Toronto’s east end Beach district. This place is great to photograph any time of the year.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed our photo adventures to Ontario’s Most Beautiful Winter Destinations and will stay in touch with us through our website – PhotographyAdventures.ca

As always, if you have any questions or thoughts, let us know in the blog comments section. We love it when we hear from you!           

Cheers,  Peter & Susan

20 thoughts on “Ontario’s Most Beautiful Winter Destinations”

  2. Anonymous

    Very beautiful photos. I live in the area and visit many of these locations regularly. You have reminded me how beautiful my home is.

    Reply
    1. Peter

      Thanks for visiting – I agree, the Lake Ontario shore is incredible and I have appreciated it even more since taking on this lake front photo project – stay tuned for more to come 🙂

      Reply
  3. Marg Lumley

    Thanks for sharing some great photos & your settings, also some ideas for a future road trip. We stopped at the ghost ship during such an adventure last summer.

    Reply
  6. William Wooderson

    Really enjoyed your selection of photos Peter. I get a real sense of the unspoilt beauty and harmony of nature in Ontario. I am sorely tempted to visit the area sometime in the future!

    Reply
    1. Peter m Dulis

      Thanks William for the kind comments – we are lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world – perhaps when the Covid settles down we’ll offer some photo tours 🙂 Stay tuned !

      Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

FREE E-Book OFFER

FREE E-Book OFFER:

Travel & Photography Made EasyHere’s your chance to get your exclusive travel guide and photo tips in our 20 page e-book, along with regular travel tips delivered directly to your inbox.

  • Discover amazing places to visit and how to photograph them (for non techie people)

With over 325,000 readers, TripAdvisor has hailed us as being “In the Top 1% of Popular Reviewers” plus “Top Photographer” – having visited over “90 Cities” – so here are our TOP 5 places to visit before it’s too late!

FREE E-Book OFFER