The Blue Mountains Winter Traveling Guide From Toronto by Bus

The blue mountains are located about 150 KM north of Toronto, near the town of Collingwood. It hosts a lot of recreational activities for all seasons. For example, in the winter, you can do activities such as winter skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, etc. In the summer, you can do activities like hiking, mountain biking, ridge running, etc.

The Blue Mountains have got everything for everybody. Even if you are not into many physical activities, there are still there is a lot of things that you can do at the blue mountains such as spa, walking tours in the woods, explore viewpoints, suspension bridge, coffee shops, dining, etc. Most of the activities happen within the same premises which are called Blue mountain village – The center of all activities.

Reaching the Blue Mountains by Bus

Driving to the Blue mountains takes around 2 hours. Also, there is a direct shuttle bus service from Toronto to the Blue Mountains. Here is the link. This shuttle is usually full and needs you to book the bus ticket in very advance. If you could not book the ticket to the blue mountains in advance, then you can also use Public transport to reach the Blue mountains. Using public transport can take you somewhere between 4-5 hours from Toronto as opposed to 2 hours of driving by your own car or a rented car. The route is very straightforward.

  • Take the Go Transit bus from Toronto to Allandale waterfront Go in Barrie. Here is the link to the route planner Go Transit.
  • Sometimes, you get a direct bus, and sometimes, you might have to change the bus midway. For example, I had to change the bus at east Gwillimbury
  • Once you reach Allandale waterfront Go, take the Simcoe route number 2 bus route from Allandale waterfront Go to Wasaga beach.
  • Get down at Wasaga Beach, 25 – 45th St South near Real Canadian Superstore. The fare is $6 per person.
  • Once you get down at Wasaga Beach, 25 – 45th St South near Real Canadian Superstore, take route number 4 bus from there to Collingwood downtown. For more details, please refer to this link. It will cost you $2 per person
  • Once you reach downtown, there are multiple bus options to the Blue mountain village which is around 10 km from the town of Collingwood

Staying options: Collingwood or the Blue Mountain Village

It’s often hard to make a decision on where to stay Collingwood or the blue mountains? Both come with their own pros and cons.

Staying in Collingwood vs the Blue Mountains

  • Staying in Collingwood is a lot cheaper than staying in the blue mountain village
  • You can also save cost on food and drinks in Collingwood compared to the blue mountain village
  • If your tour duration is longer then I would recommend living in Collingwood
  • However, for any activity, especially in winter, you will have to drive to the blue mountains every time
  • You miss out on the viewpoints, eateries, shopping, and nightlife of the Blue mountains
  • I would recommend that if you are going to stay more than 3-4 days, then stay in Collingwood and if your stay is going to be shorter, then stay at Blue mountain but regardless, spend at least one night on the Blue mountains 

Things to do at the Blue Mountain

Fat Biking

Fat Biking is a nice way to explore the area around during the winter. You get a very beautiful view of the Georgian Bay and valley around from the top.

Hike N tube

If you do not know skiing, I would suggest you trying Hike N tube. It’s a fun small downhill experience similar to skiing

Plunge aquatic center

These are hot tubs or hot pools for kids and parents. A must-try experience as well.

Snow Shoeing

Snowshoeing activity happens at Scenic caves nature adventures near the Blue mountain. Scenic caves are around 3 KMs from the blue mountain village. You can either bring your own snowshoes or you can rent one at the Scenic Caves. If you are not renting the snowshoes, then you will have to buy the trail pass.

We rented and bought the trail passes together. It costs around $90 for the two of us. Scenic Caves, located in the Blue mountain, is around a 15-20 minutes drive from Collingwood. You also get a map of the snowshoe trails. Some trails are short and easier and some trails are long and fun. The trail will usually have markers every few meters for ease of navigation. Some of the famous points that we covered along the way were the zip line lookout, scenic caves suspension bridge, etc.

Walking Tour

Here is a video of a night walking tour of Blue Mountain Village near Collingwood in northern Ontario. Through this walking tour video, you can see people doing different winter night activities in the Blue Mountain Village such as night snow tubing, night skiing, etc. During the winter, the Blue Mountain Village is decorated with winter lights all around. The total walking tour took us around 1 hour leisurely.

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