The Canadian province of Ontario has a lot to offer in autumn – especially for those interested in the fascinating colours of the season.
In autumn, the landscape bursts into hues of yellow, orange and red: between mid-September and late October, cities, parks and the rural countryside of Ontario, Canada, offer opportunities to explore the colourful foliage. This is called leaf-peeping (travelling to view and photograph fall foliage) and has become increasingly popular with travellers from Europe and other regions.
Travellers are advised to look at the Ontario Fall Colour Report before a visit to confirm peak viewing times and locations. And there are many places for leaf-peeping:
You could experience the transformation of nature during a visit to Toronto, a cosmopolitan city and easy to reach with international flights. An example is the Royal Botanical Garden in Burlington – part of the Greater Toronto Area – which explodes with colour as cooler temperatures return. You could watch autumn perennials at the park's Rock Garden, stop and smell late-season roses at Hendrie Park, and wander trails lined with trees in their autumnal wardrobe.
The Toronto Islands experience fewer crowds and great colours in autumn. Visitors reach the islands via ferry or water taxi and can spend the day picnicking amongst the leaves, or walking or biking through leaf-carpeted trails. They could also snap a photo of the well-known CN Tower and the downtown skyline, wonderfully framed by autumn hues.
The region's national and provincial parks offer some photo-worthy natural phenomena. For a few days each year, Point Pelee National Park – located southeast of Windsor – welcomes thousands of migrating monarch butterflies. While these insects have been spotted on almost every continent in the world, the migratory population in North America is deemed a natural phenomenon. As soon as favourable conditions arrive, the butterflies begin their journey across Lake Erie, headed for their final destination – the mountains of central Mexico.
Another possibility for leaf-peeping is the Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site. Here, you can rent a boat or kayak, and navigate the heritage canals and locks along the waterway, which connects Lake Ontario and Lake Huron. In autumn, the waterway pops with red and orange leaves whose flaming hues reflect in the placid water.
Algonquin Provincial Park in southeastern Ontario is home to nearly 25 species of trees that don various colours throughout the year. Visitors can wander among iconic red maples dotted with yellows and greens, or take the scenic drive along the Highway 60 corridor with many lookout points. Refer to the park's Fall Colour Report to plan your leaf-peeping excursion.
Ontario's capital city celebrates the season with festivities and activities that showcase autumn colours from up on high. Travellers can visit the seasonal spectacle at Fall Rhapsody, an event taking place over three weekends each October that celebrates the colours of Ottawa's Greenbelt – a parcel of urban land that surrounds the city's core. And they can hop aboard the Ottawa Biplane Adventure, which treats guests to the seasonal sights from an open-cockpit biplane from the 1930s.
Autumn's arrival can be experienced from this region's water, roads or parks; from Kingston, Rockport or Gananoque in Eastern Ontario, visitors can cruise to the 1000 Islands, an archipelago of a total of 1,864 islands that straddles the Canada-US border in the Saint Lawrence River. On a visit to the 1000 Islands Tower, they can be sure to take home some memorable photos. Northumberland County on the north shore of Lake Ontario also offers a series of autumn driving routes.
Changes in the amount of daylight and temperature causes leaves to stop their food-making process; as the chlorophyll breaks down, the green colour disappears, allowing the yellow to red colours to shine.
