Highlands Nordic sits high on the Niagara Escarpment near Collingwood, with 30 km of trails for classic and skate skiing and separate snowshoe trails through the forest. Your ticket includes the lesson, the rentals and the trail pass. Half the group learns to ski while the other half snowshoes with a Parkbus guide, then you swap.
Pick your date below. The bus leaves from 34 Asquith Avenue, just north of Yonge and Bloor.
Dates not open yet
We put seats on sale one season at a time, and this one is not up yet. Nothing is hidden and there is no list to pay to join. Leave your email and you hear the day the dates open.
Cancel 14 or more days before you go and you get 90% back.
A Parkbus guide is with the group for the whole day. You are not expected to know the trail, the route or the plan, and nobody gets left behind.
A 45 minute lesson first, then gentle trails at your own pace, and the kit is fitted for you at the shop. Half the group skis while the other half snowshoes, then you swap, so there is a break built into the day either way.
Highlands Nordic is one of the best full service Nordic centres in the province: 30 km of trails wide enough for both classic and skate skiing, separate snowshoe trails through the forest, and a reputation for reliable snow.
Get up onto the upper trails and Georgian Bay and Wasaga Beach spread out below you, which is a reward no downhill hill in the province gives you.
The lodge is 8,000 square feet, with a cafeteria doing homemade food, a pro shop and a service bench. The chili, the soup and the carrot cake have a following.
Cross-country skiing done properly, and it turns out you can learn it in an hour.
The group splits in two and swaps over at lunch, so everybody gets both halves.
We pick you up
Just north of Yonge and Bloor subway station. Come up the Asquith exit and look for the coach.
You arrive, get your equipment fitted by the pro shop staff, have a snack and find the washrooms. The group divides in two. One half takes a 45 minute lesson and then goes out for about an hour on skis; the other half heads out to snowshoe with a Parkbus guide.
Good to know:
An hour to eat and warm up. The cafeteria does hot soup, sandwiches, hot and cold drinks and homemade baked goods, or you can bring your own.
Good to know:
Facilities: Cafeteria, Pro shop, Service bench, Washrooms
Whoever skied in the morning goes snowshoeing, and whoever snowshoed takes the ski lesson and then gets out on the trails. Kit goes back at the end and the bus leaves shortly after.
Good to know:
We drop you back
The bus returns to the same place it left from, so you go home the way you came.
This is our estimated return time, not a guarantee. Traffic can change it and some trips do run late, so please leave yourself some room afterwards rather than booking something tight against it.
Warm clothes, and that is about it. The kit is included.
Layers. You may start off cold and you will warm up fast. A hat and mittens matter most, because that is where the heat goes. Avoid cotton next to the skin, which holds moisture: polyester or wool instead.
The lesson is included and it is run by certified instructors, and the rental shop fits boots, skis and poles for everyone from small children upwards. Beginners start on a flat loop by the lodge. An hour is genuinely enough to get going.
This is a winter trip. Dates appear here when the season opens in the booking system.
Placeholder dates · the real ones come from our booking system
We're Canada's outdoor bus service. Since 2010 we've taken more than 300,000 people to parks and trails without a car. You bring gloves. We handle everything with wheels.
Trail pass, ski rentals, snowshoe rentals and an hour of instruction with certified instructors. You need warm clothes and nothing else.
Half the group takes the lesson while the other half snowshoes with a Parkbus guide, then you swap. Nobody spends the whole day doing one thing.
There is a short flat green loop by the lodge to start on, and the plateau above for anyone who already knows how.
Which is the real argument in January. Somebody else takes the escarpment road.
★★★★★ 4.6/5.0 on Google
“I just recently went on my first guided tour with a friend of mine from work. And man, was it amazing! Speaking from someone who doesn’t drive. This is a must!!”Linda Ann · Facebook · Jun 2024
I have always had excellent experiences with Parkbus. I have been to many of their destinations, and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. The ambassadors have been knowledgeable and friendly. The drivers drive safely, and with the passengers’ comfort in mind.Sharlene Haye · Google
Came with my friend in April, our guide Mike did a great job! Nice tour, small group, everything was great! Will go again!Natalia N. · Tripadvisor · Jul 2025
Cancel more than 14 days before departure and you get a 90% refund, with 10% withheld for payment processing. Inside 14 days refunds are not available, except for a medical emergency in the 48 hours before departure, which needs a signed doctor’s note within 14 days of the missed trip and returns 50%. Tickets are transferable: you can change the passenger name up to 48 hours before departure.
If Parkbus cancels a trip, you get a full refund. We decide no later than 48 hours before departure and only on confirmed conditions: the park closed or the park authority asking us to stand down, an evacuation order or alert, an area restriction order, the highway closed, or the trip judged unsafe to run. A forecast is not one of those things, and trips run rain or shine.
Which is a genuinely useful thing to be able to do for the rest of the winter.
Not quite the right fit? These all leave from the same spot downtown.
