Pine Cone

For those of you that are not wild about team sports (and yes, I know Canuks are obsessed with their hockey) but are reasonably active anyway, how do you spend your free time? I'm being told very mixed things with regard to free time opportunities in Canada, so I guess I'm more interested in things applicable to GTA.

How easy is it to go hiking near Toronto, and where are the best family friendly places to do so? I'm not looking at complete wilderness or free camping, just places where we can bung on our hiking boots and head off for a few hours. How long does it take to get there and is the wildlife a big threat? I've been hiking in the Rockies before now and although there were bears and elk around, we were told it was perfectly safe as long as you were not alone. The tourist information centres let you register for group hikes with other lone travellers so you could stay safe. We never considered taking a gun along, and yet I'm told this is relatively common. But is it?

Time on the water is another thing I'm interested in. In NZ many people bought a small boat and some life jackets and went sailing around the coastline and harbours. The more sensible people went on one of those water safety/radio communications courses for a weekend before doing so. You didn't need moorings for most boats, as people just stuck them on their driveways covered in tarp. Almost all beaches had boat/vehicle access at one end. In Aussie it's a bit more regulated and of course there are sharks and things that want to sting you and eat you.
How easy and affordable is boating on lakes Canada? Any regs, courses or fees that are required first? Where do you store you boats in winter?

And what about kids activities? Mine are really into Scouting. I'm assuming there are Scouts in Canada? Are girls allowed too? Is is expensive? It's considerably more $$ in Aussie than NZ, which is my reason for asking. But a lot of the extra $ goes on insurance and the activities here are a bit more what I'd describe as 'hard core'.

Next is sports or swimming lessons. My kids have all have swimming lessons for years. Not the kind that schools do, but lessons at a proper swim school. One child is in a training squad and is almost at a competitive level, so it's something we'd be looking to continue. We pay about AU$23 per 30-40min lesson each week, which feels pricey compared to the amount we paid in NZ. Anyone able to give me a ball park cost for lessons in Canada? Or recommendations for decent pools/swim schools? It would definitely be a consideration when deciding where to settle.

Those of you with kids who are not into active persuits, what cultural activities and interesting places do you visit with you kids on weekends and holidays? Are those places stupidly busy?

Oakvillian

Of course, it depends on where within the GTA you are (access is easier from the outer suburbs than from the downtown core) but here's my take on your questions from the perspective of Oakville and the western GTA.

Hiking: the Bruce Trail is a pretty good walk, and eventually I hope to have covered it end to end, small pieces at a time; sections locally, including side-trails, run through some of the regional Conservation Authority lands and include some great hikes of anything from a handful of kilometers to a half-day circular trek. The Bruce Trail itself runs all the way from Niagara up the Bruce Peninsular, for over 500 miles through a mixture of public land, conservation areas, and some private property. There are also a number of provincial parks and other conservation lands where hiking (and cross-country skiiing or snowshoeing in winter) is easily accessible for suburbanites.

Time on the water: there are any number of sailing and powerboating clubs of varying degrees of exclusivity and expensiveness, most of which offer summer moorings and winter haul-out/storage services. There are also lots of boats on trailers in driveways. Many municipalities have public slipways, with varying fee structures for use. There is a certificate of operator competence for boating (for any boat with a motor, even an auxiliary motor for a sailboat) which was introduced a few years ago and, by all accounts, is policed quite fiercely. Boats with engines bigger than 10hp also require registration. Lake Ontario is big and carries commercial shipping; there are myriad smaller lakes where rules for pleasure craft (engine size, speed limits, rules for towables) vary enormously.

Scouts Canada is a thriving organization (I've been a volunteer leader for a few years now). Programmes are probably quite different from those in Aus or NZ - for obvious reasons, a lot of emphasis is placed on winter scouting and watercraft. The Scout organization owns a surprising amount of property in southern Ontario, and camps are extensive and varied. Winter camping, under canvas in properly cold weather (best I've done yet is daytime highs of -18, nighttime low of -30-something), is surprisingly good fun! Most groups meet weekly in school gyms or church halls; there aren't many groups that own their own meeting spaces. Annual fees are pretty reasonable, with additional costs associated with adventure training or camping activities on a per-camp basis. Scouts Canada is fully co-ed, though there are some groups (mostly in places where there is a strong Girl Guides company) where there are few girls registered.

Can't give you a steer on costs for competitive swimming programs, but the Town of Oakville does group and private swimming instruction at its pool facilities following the Lifesaving Society's graduated programme - usually around $75 for a course of 8 half-hour group lessons. There are both privately-run swimming clubs and the town's aquatics club who provide competitive swimming stuff, and have furnished a handful of Olympians in past years. Some of my neighbours' kids swim competitively with Oakville Aquatics, and swim meets seem to include just about every other municipality in the GTA, so you pays your money and you makes your choice...

As for cultural stuff, there are countless options. My kids all participate in the local children's choir, so that takes up quite a lot of non-sporting leisure time. There are active theatre groups, plenty of art studios offering instruction... As for "places to visit" we have been to all sorts of events at a nearby Country Heritage Park; there's maple syrup festivals in the early spring; museums and galleries are a bit hit-and-miss but it depends what you're used to (having previously lived within easy reach of the South Kensington museums and the Tate/NG/NPG in London, I found Toronto's ROM and AGO a bit parochial...) But there are some surprising hits - my OH, who thought she'd be deathly bored by it, really liked the Radial Railway museum north of Milton. As for over-popularity: we've stopped going to some of the more popular hiking trails on public holidays - it rather destroys the tranquility of the countryside when you have to queue up to walk along the path!

dbd33

When we are not building the barn, or the fences, or otherwise renovating, I sit on a horse and let it carry me around. We often walk in Ontario. We don't take a gun but are observant of the hunting season as we don't want some drunken yahoo shooting our dogs. I used to camp a lot, here and on holidays down east and in the US. Still no need to carry a firearm, just stick the food up the bear pole. I, and unrelatedly, another poster here, had great fun from joining the sailing school at the bottom of Bathurst. Once you`ve taken the course you can sign out various craft and go sailing around the island. Cheap and easily arranged. I went on to more expensive sailing and she to aeroplanes. All lakes have marinas for boat storage. A boating license and a radio license are needed (everything in Ontario needs a license) but they're not expensive nor difficult to obtain. My children swam, one became a lifeguard and then the summertime manager of that big pool on the beach. That all went very well. One sailed on tallships, she`d finish school, get on the boat, and come back in September. She went on to sail all over before choosing a coastal university. They were also in Scouts, "Boy Scouts" despite being girls and the troop being of mixed gender. Ice hockey, btw, is very rarely mentioned in this computer department. Professional football, American and real, gets talked about but the hot topics are childen's "soccer" and all levels of cricket; lots of colleagues have children who play cricket.

Tirytory

My son (just turned 10) swims competitively... With a club called Musac based 2 hrs north of Toronto. We just paid $900 for the first season of three, that includes membership to Swim Ontario, and he swims 8 hours a week and does land training.

My daughter has just joined at the youngest level and her fee was $130 I think for 1 hour a week.

Cyan

One of the toughest things I found was finding a half decent badminton club, and/or even finding court time at the local "sports centre". In the UK, badminton is everywhere, and even sheepish hamlets have a club in the local district league.

After moving to the GTA, I did find some clubs but standard and set-up varies, and some are quite cliquey. To use a Harper term, you don't find many 'old stock' Canadians playing the games, and most double matches at clubs are usually a China versus India affair....

dbd33

If you want to mingle with cradles take up curling instead.

el_richo

In Vancouver i ski in the mornings, sail after lunch, then enjoy the beach for the rest of the day.

Almost Canadian

Just out of interest, during such days, what would be the temperature on the hill and the temperature on the beach?

Partially discharged

Good one.

Sports bars that feature draught beer that is poured into glasses that are pre-chilled are often great places to meet the dreaded 'cradle' in their natural element. Don Cherry's is their favourite place.

Partially discharged

I lived in Brampton and Etobicoke from 1989 - 1994 and played badminton at some high schools. Many of the players were of chinese or indian background and were very good.

el_richo

I don't notice the temperature. I'm too busy living the Vancouver dream.

Tangram

Alright for some

JonboyE

If there is a school hall, community centre, or recreation centre around here that does not have a badminton club it is only because the school hall is right next to the community centre or the community centre is right next to the recreation centre. Ms. JonboyE plays at three different clubs.

You do have to be able to cope with non-white people, especially if you want a decent standard.

Novocastrian

You know that Cyan is a bit off-white too?

Cyan

How very perceptive old chap...lol. Never been called off-white, but might remember that next time when I'm confused for a Mexican across the border.