Lost in Northern Ontario: A weekend road trip to visit some friends in Timmins

A few weekends ago, I went up north to visit some friends in Timmins, Ontario. It was a fun, relaxing weekend catching up and enjoying the great Canadian outdoors that I’ve really grown to love, especially this year after being cooped up for a few months.

Here are a few highlights from the weekend!

In order to break down the drive a bit, we decided to drive a few hours north to Algonquin Park to stay a night in a tiny little cabin that I came across on Airbnb.

We spent the afternoon kayaking and paddle boarding. Although the weather wasn’t ideal, it actually turned out to be very enjoyable. We were the only people on the lake.

The mist made it eerie and calm and we enjoyed the sound of loons crying out in the distance. It was very serene. It was a small little taste of Algonquin Park and I’m looking forward to coming back here in October for a camping trip. More on that later!

The cabin was bare-bones in the sense that it did not come equipped with anything (no utensils, kitchen or cooking items) so I prepared some burritos the night before and froze them. We cooked them over a fire. No fuss, super easy. They were incredible. Probably one of the best burritos I’ve had to date!

The next morning, we left bright and early and made our way up north. The drive was quite beautiful. Before we arrived to Timmins, we stopped by Reindeer Way Station, a farm which I also discovered on Airbnb. The owner Steve (who is a geologist turned reindeer rancher), happily agreed to give us a tour of his reindeer farm. Anyone who knows me, knows about my obsession with Christmas so naturally, spending a few hours with reindeer and getting to learn more about them was right up my alley.

When I asked Steve what led him to being a reindeer rancher he grinned “Reindeers are the best. Why not?”. I laughed in agreement.
Why the hell not?
I was expecting a quick tour with a close encounter with reindeer but it was more than that. It was really more of an experience. We walked through the woods and admired the reindeer and then proceeded to feed them reindeer moss, which they absolutely love.

Steve also has peacocks, rabbits and guinea hens.

A few things I learned about reindeer:

Both male and female reindeer grow antlers!
Male reindeers lose their antlers in November but females keep theirs much longer (until spring) which means that Santa’s reindeer must be all women as they are depicted as having antlers on December 24th. Some might argue that they are mythical and fly so they could very well be male, but I like to think of the herd as bad-ass women.
They really LOVE reindeer moss.

After an amazing two hour tour of his incredible farm (which by the way could totally be a museum or an attraction on its own), we made our way to Timmins to meet our friends.

I have to be honest, aside from catching up with Dan and Caitlyn (our friends), Timmins isn’t a place I would consider visiting for any reason in particular. It’s in the middle of nowhere and there’s not much to do. What it does have going for it, however, is that it’s surrounded by lakes and forest. Only minutes outside of the city, lies dense forest and you’re surrounded by wilderness. It’s beautiful.

On our first day, we went for a hike to a waterfall. It had rained earlier in the day so the air was cool and damp, perfect for an afternoon hike.

The next day, we went canoeing on a lake that flowed into a creek. Funny enough, the creek was called ‘Christmas Creek’ and that creek then flowed into another lake called ‘Christmas Lake’.

Reindeer? Christmas Creek? Christmas Lake?

I think the universe is subtly telling me that it’s going to be a great holiday season ahead.

We did some fishing and I was reminded how much I really enjoy it. I didn’t catch anything but it was still very fun and relaxing.

All in all, it was a nice little getaway.

Helpful tip from this trip: Whenever you decide to go somewhere or are visiting a friend outside your town or city, do a little research and find unique local attractions. You’d be surprised what you might find. I might have never experienced a reindeer farm and it’s something I won’t ever forget!

Happy travels!