When we were there, the trees were reflecting off the water in perfect symmetry.  You can hike right down to the water itself and sit on the rocks while ruminating on the natural splendour.  Recollet Falls is in the French River gorge.  When you are about a kilometre away from the falls, you can hear a distant roar that becomes louder as they come into view.  You can also hear birds along the trail, including the Blackburnian Warbler and the Red-Eyed Vireo.

The French River runs 110 km west from Lake Nipissing to Georgian Bay.  The Restoule and Little French Rivers also connect.  This provides multiple canoe trips for exploring the natural sights and sounds of the park.  It was designated in 1986 as Canada's First Heritage River because of its history as a transportation corridor and logging route from 1615 when Samuel de Champlain arrived through to 1821.  The Indigenous peoples named it French River because it brought French missionaries to their communities along the river.  It was a one day journey for traders bringing European goods and wanting Canadian fur.

You can swim in the river but there are no designated beaches and the 120 foot depth makes it cold.  Fishing is robust, with pike, walleye, bass and muskellunge.  There are 50 lodges and marinas along the river. 

It is known for its undeveloped natural rugged beauty, bays with bull rushes and rock everywhere.  Replete with animals, the river sports moose, bear, wolf, lynx, fisher, mink, beaver, otter, bald eagle, osprey, turtle and rattlesnake.  You cannot canoe or kayak over Recollet Falls in the Spring when the water levels rise as much as 4 meters in spots, when flooding is a worry.

The hike in French River Provincial Park to Recollet Falls is worth the one to two hours it will take you.  The relaxation that you feel while sitting by the falls watching the trees reflect off the water is good for your soul.  The bird song you hear along the pine-needle blanketed forest pathway also elevates your mood.  There is nothing negative about the commune with nature this hike involves.  Embrace it and you will come away calmer and happier.

Parry Sound is a small bay within Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. The town of Parry Sound borders that small bay, and is within the Georgian Bay Biosphere reserve, one of only 13 UNESCO sites in Canada. With 14,000 year-round residents in the area and another 80,000 cottagers, it has an interesting dynamic.

Parry Sound has 30,000 islands, making it the world’s largest freshwater archipelago. It also has the
world’s deepest natural freshwater port, down 750 feet by some accounts. The sound is irregularly
shaped with many deep bays and islands. The weather in town is significantly impacted by the lake,
causing massive and unpredictable swings in temperature and precipitation including incredibly wet weather from September through January.

This town was very popular in the early 20 th century with the Group of Seven artists, particularly Tom Thomson. In a hockey-mad nation, it is also best known as the birthplace of legendary defenseman Bobby Orr and there is a museum in town dedicated to him. Also interestingly, there is a 230 km Park-to-Park trail connecting Killbear Provincial Park in Parry Sound to Algonquin Provincial Park in both Dorset and Kearney.

Deerhurst Resort holds a special place in my heart.  We have been coming here as a family for the past 32 years.  Between us we own a number of timeshare weeks in August.  It is by far and away my children's favourite vacation spot each year.  What makes it so special?

First of all, Peninsula Lake is beautiful.  Sandy in spots, deep enough, lots of water sports, pretty sunsets and sunrises...everything you could ask for in a Muskoka Lake.

Secondly, the children's grandparents, friends, aunt and cousins always show up.  We have mattresses on the floor and the suite is rarely quiet.  It is a party.  Papa takes them fishing a few mornings during the week.  Aunt Wendy takes them out for ice cream.  They golf with their friend and cousin.  The water is always beckoning, whether the indoor pool, one of the many outdoor pools, or the lake at one of the docks or the beach.  There is always something going on.

Thirdly, the place is designed for relaxation.  There is fishing off the dock.  There is lounging on the beach.  There are barbecues by the lake.  There are novels to be read in lounge chairs.  There is golf.  There is boating.  There are restaurants on the water.  There are escape rooms.  The resort highlights northern art on its walls.

We are already looking forward to next year!

Onaping Falls.  A.Y. Jackson painted a landscape highlighting High Falls on the Onaping River in Sudbury.  It was displayed in the local high school for years before it mysteriously disappeared.  It is still missing, but Onaping Falls remains fully present in all its glory.

Sudbury’s landscape brings to mind the Group of Seven on a regular basis, and Onaping Falls was particularly in keeping with their painting style.  It has an abundance of trees reflecting their glorious colours off the water, with an iron bridge spanning the river and permitting views forward and back that take your breath away.  It is no wonder that Sudbury and the north inspired so much artwork from the Group of Seven.

I swim with a woman named Lynn.  She warned me to wear my running shoes because there were a lot of rocks on the Onaping Falls hiking trail.  I heeded her advice but did not appreciate the ruggedness of the terrain until my girlfriend and I were at the lookout admiring the falls trying to figure out how the devil to make it over to them.  It never occurred to us that we had to billy goat our way straight down what appeared to be a treacherous rockslide to the water.  Only the trail markers painted onto the rocks encouraged us to head lower.  Low and behold, we made it without injury and began to walk along the water.

The fall colours were in full blaze and the reds this year were resplendent.  It was postcard worthy.  Every photo was sublimely colourful.  The falls are spectacular, running into rapids then falling 46 meters to the river below.  That portion of the river is called High Falls.  The falls sit at the intersection between the Canadian Shield and the crater caused by the meteor crash millions of years ago.

The falls are in the northwest quadrant of Sudbury’s municipal area.  They were their own town from 1973 to 2000 before being amalgamated into Greater Sudbury.  The area boasts an abundance of fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, cross country skiing and downhill skiing.

Marisa and I felt very fortunate to spend two hours hiking the Onaping Falls trail.  It was Thanksgiving weekend and being immersed in the vibrant beauty of nature around every bend in the path made us feel fully in keeping with the holiday.  Onaping Falls is a hike I would strongly recommend doing…with your running shoes on.