bracebridge fire ice festival

This giant tubing hill is the most epic winter event in Ontario

With the arrival of December, Toronto's collective mind turns toward the coming of winter, whether that be in the form of juiced up skating opportunities or dazzling light festivals. To experience the most epic event of the winter, however, you'll need to head out of town.

When it comes to pure, unbridled snowy fun, nothing beats an amazing tubing hill. Put that hill on the main drag of a small town in Ontario and you have the recipe for something truly memorable and entirely Canadian.

Bracebridge's second annual Fire & Ice Festival has plenty of winter fun on offer, but the main highlight is surely the huge tubing hill that runs down Manitoba St. Last year, over 50 truckloads of snow were carted in to create the epic tube run.

After you're done flying down the hill in front of thousands of onlookers, you can warm up and one of the many campfires spread around town before checking out the incredible ice sculptures after which the festival is partially named.

The 2018 Fire & Ice Festival takes place on January 27, with passes available for pre-purchase on January 10. Given the popularity of last year's event, I'd secure tickets as early as possible. Passes cost $5.

Lead photo by

Visit the Bridge


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