Traveling the World with Kids - 13-Day Canada Trip: Blue Mountain Skiing + Toronto Day Trip

For this trip to Eastern Canada, compared to the busy self-driving days earlier, the following itinerary relaxed my nerves as the driver.

Day 5~7: Blue Mountain Ski Resort

Day 8: Toronto New City Hall—University of Toronto

Preparation before skiing: ski jacket, ski pants, ski socks, ski goggles, ski hat, waterproof gloves, warm packs, etc. You can buy everything in advance in China. In China, Decathlon offers good value for money, with complete kids' ski suits, pants, and socks available. We bought a few items from Taobao, but the rest were mostly from Decathlon.

Let me introduce Blue Mountain Ski Resort first. Blue Mountain Ski Resort is located in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada, on the shores of Lake Huron, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. On sunny days, you can see the lake from the top of Blue Mountain. It's about a 2-hour drive from Toronto.

Blue Mountain Ski Resort is the largest alpine ski resort in Ontario, covering 251 acres, with an average annual snowfall of 110 inches. It has over 40 trails of varying difficulty, including 12 beginner, 19 intermediate, 8 advanced, and 9 expert trails, so skiers of all levels can find suitable slopes. The resort has 11 chairlifts, 2 freestyle ski parks, and 7 gladed areas.

If you have no skiing experience, you can just stay in the two green areas on the left and right to learn. The green area on the left has 'Kids at Blue,' which offers courses specifically for children. The green area on the right is for adult beginners called 'Newbie.'

The official website reports weather conditions, the number of open trails, lifts, etc., daily.

At Blue Mountain, children over 2 years old can take dedicated kids' courses. Many skilled parents also bring their kids directly to ski.

For children aged 3-5, it's recommended to choose a half-day or full-day course with a dedicated coach. Usually, one coach takes a few children, and if you're lucky, it can be 1-on-1. On weekdays, a half-day course costs 84 CAD and a full-day course costs 144 CAD.

For beginners, the non-weekday full-day Newbie package at 109 CAD is the best deal, including a full day of skiing from morning to night. I'm not sure if the official website made a mistake, but the staff told us that a full day is from 9 AM to 9 PM, a total of 12 hours. If starting at 3:30 PM, the half-day ticket at 89 CAD is suitable.

If you already have skiing experience, you only need to pay for lift tickets and equipment rental.

Every winter, there is a round-trip bus from Toronto to Blue Mountain, with one bus per day. It departs from Toronto in the morning, arrives at Blue Mountain at noon, leaves Blue Mountain at 6 PM, and returns to Toronto around 9 PM. The one-way fare is about 30 CAD. For round trips, renting a car and driving yourself feels more convenient.

My friend went to Blue Mountain in March 2020 and skied on a blue trail, showcasing the beauty of Blue Mountain.

Continuing with our journey, Blue Mountain had heavy snow a few days before, and when we got up one morning, the snow was already deep.

We had a good night's sleep at the B&B. The B&B we booked this time was great; it even had cereal and chocolate powder, which refreshed my understanding of B&Bs.

After breakfast, we put on warm packs, dressed up completely, and headed out to ski! The snow piled high at the entrance of the B&B, and the kids played around endlessly.

Our B&B was super close to the visitor center.

The kids wanted to make a snowman, but the snow at Blue Mountain was too soft, and after much effort, they couldn't build one.

It took about 10 minutes to walk to the visitor center. I hadn't made detailed plans before coming to Blue Mountain, so I had to use my broken English to confirm the procedures.

The staff here were super nice and slowly explained everything to us.

It took about half an hour to understand all the procedures. The guy at the ticket counter was very friendly and told us where to catch the shuttle bus and how to travel between the two skiing areas.

When we returned to the visitor center restaurant, it was almost 11 AM, so we lined up for lunch.

Combos were more cost-effective than ordering individually, including an extra drink and fries.

The fries at the ski resort were much better than those in China—crispy, large, and freshly fried, with a wonderful aroma. My wife likes fried chicken, I prefer burgers, and Chen Doudou loves hot dogs because of the sausage inside.

After eating and drinking our fill, we took the shuttle bus to the other side to accompany Chen Doudou to her class.

The resort shuttle bus is free and comes every 5 minutes or so. Just tell the driver your destination, and they'll take you directly.

Then we paid and collected ski boots, skis, and helmets.

Getting ski boots and a helmet for Chen Doudou took a while; she was still young, and the smallest boots were a bit big.

We arrived early at the Kids Club and handed her over to the teacher.

Attach the ticket to your clothing to prove you've bought a ticket.

Before class, we explained the challenges she might face, then let go and left her with the teacher.

My wife said a few words to the coach, mentioning that she's shy and only speaks Chinese, not English. The coaches were all nice and simply told my wife not to worry. So my wife left, and Chen Doudou, tougher than I imagined, followed the coach, starting her first skiing experience.

We got lucky; she had a Chinese-Canadian coach, so communication was no problem.

I consider my wife and myself to be relatively laid-back. When we handed her over to the coach, people asked if I was nervous—she's only 3 years old. But I really wasn't nervous. The coach was more professional than us, and since she didn't cry when following the coach, I quickly slipped away.

Maybe it's because she had already experienced goodbyes at daycare and kindergarten, so she wasn't worried.

Maybe skiing, something she'd never tried, was one of the games that interested her.

Maybe the teacher was good with kids, keeping her focused on skiing.

My thought was simple: It's normal for first-timers not to ski well. She's young and lacks strength, so it's natural not to be able to slide. Even among us, in our 30s, how many can ski?

Try hard, don't be afraid of failure. With parents away, let her build courage and learn to be alone with strangers.

Hanging around with her was boring, so we had some fun ourselves, like burying me in the snow.

Now that I think back, I feel a bit regretful—we wasted a full 2 hours.

After the kid's class ended, we talked with the Chinese-Canadian coach. He said he only teaches on Tuesdays and Sundays. He told us our little one was very talkative, calling herself the eagle and the coach the chick, playing 'eagle catches chick.' She has good balance for a first-timer, but lacks strength. We then took the shuttle bus back to the guest services on the right, bought tickets, and started our 2-day skiing.

The Newbie-specific learning area has Step 1 to Step 5, five stages of learning. If you have a Newbie ticket, there will be coaches in this area to teach you how to go from a complete beginner to an early skier. The following describes the learning steps for skiing (downhill skiing):

Step 1: How to put on skis, how to move forward, and how to take them off.

Step 2: How to walk sideways up a gentle slope while wearing skis, slide down a small slope, and come to a stop.

Step 3: Easy Rider, a small hill where you need to take a magic carpet up. It's an upgrade of Step 2. Learn to brake by using the pizza wedge to slow down—the wider the wedge, the easier it is to reduce speed. After controlling speed with the pizza wedge, learn to use your toes to turn left and right.

Step 4: Undergrad, a steeper slope than Step 3, with a steep turning section. Before moving to Step 4, practice a lot on Step 3. On Step 4, make many turns to control speed.

Step 5: Graduate, much steeper than Steps 3 and 4, on a different level. Practice thoroughly on Step 4 until you've mastered turns before attempting Step 5. Step 5 requires taking the Graduate chairlift.

Once you pass Step 5, congratulations! You can directly go to the green runs. If you're comfortable on green runs, you can move to blue runs. After blue runs, you can take on the most difficult black runs.

This counts as a blue run.

The Newbie-specific practice area, from Step 1 to Step 5, felt like leveling up in a game.

On the first day, we brought our daughter to the practice area, but she refused to wear the skis. The three of us were basically revolving around her. She learned the basics of Step 1 and Step 2.

Some people learn skiing fast, others slow. I think I'm the latter. For simple Step 2—sliding down a small slope and opening the pizza—I practiced about 7 or 8 times. At that point, I was a bit nervous: how could I move to Step 3 and try something harder?

For dinner, we stored our skis at the Ski Valet to make eating easier.

We had dinner again at Grand Central, eating burgers, hot dogs, and fried chicken. After dinner, since she hadn't slept all day, she finally collapsed. That night at Blue Mountain, she finally overcame the jet lag. A friend helped take our daughter back to the B&B, while her mother said she would stay and wait for us—shocking the group!

That night, I was encouraged by my teammate to try Step 3. The rush of coming down was exhilarating. The slopes were practically empty in the evening, and the coaches had gone home. I fell on my first attempt down Step 3, twice. It wasn't that I wanted to fall, but I couldn't control my speed and was about to hit a tree...

I tried again later, going very fast, out of control, speeding downhill without turning, and finally managed not to go out. But when I stopped, I spun 90 degrees like a car drifting. Even I was scared.

At that point, I felt a bit timid about skiing the next day. After two runs like that, I wondered if the next day would be just as thrilling.

Even though the process was thrilling and risky, it was still worth remembering.

On the way back, I looked back at the night view of Blue Mountain Ski Resort—it was truly enchanting and beautiful.

A sunny morning; I knew early on it would be a good day for skiing, with temperatures around -1°C, no need for goggles.

My wife and I really hoped our daughter would take another skiing lesson. After all, prices here were reasonable, and there were more coaches than students. We seriously asked Chen Doudou if she wanted to continue yesterday's lesson. She thought for a moment and gave a very tactful answer.

Chen Doudou: Daddy, I think making snowmen is fun. Let's make snowmen.

I said: Didn't you say after skiing yesterday that skiing is more fun than making snowmen? Why don't you want to ski anymore?

Chen Doudou: I think it's too hard. I can't move.

Though we wanted her to learn, since she didn't want to, we considered her feelings.

We continued with our Newbie course.

It was a wise decision not to rent ski equipment for our daughter. When she saw we had snowboards and she didn't, she started acting up. Daddy stepped in to distract her, playing with snow, and she finally calmed down.

Among the three of us—me, my wife, and Aunt Hui Hui—one stayed with her, while the other two practiced Step 3.

The kid stayed by the campfire near Step 1, cheering for us occasionally.

Sometimes she helped carry my skis.

When she said she was thirsty, I fed her snow directly—she enjoyed it.

With guidance from the Blue Mountain instructors and exchanging tips among ourselves, by the afternoon we were all skilled on Step 3.

From the slope, we could see Lake Huron in the distance. Blue Mountain is right next to Lake Huron, but unfortunately, we didn't have time to walk to the lake.

We continued to eat dinner at the resort's restaurant—never tired of it: rich chocolate, great fries, and newly bought meat sauce.

The kid was full of energy, pressing her mother's head down and saying, 'Mom, eat! Eat quickly! Don't waste it!' It cracked us up.

That evening, I finally tried Step 4. This is the lift for Step 4.

Like my wife, I fell on the first try, and fell again on the second. When I couldn't control my speed, I just lay down.

After falling twice, I learned to open the ski wedge wider and use my toes more to turn. Each subsequent run was great.

On the lift, to the right was Step 5, which was on a completely different level from Step 4. Once you graduate from Step 5, you can ski the green runs.

After about a dozen runs on Step 4, I felt a bit regretful—next time, I must conquer Step 5.

It was relatively early; we left Blue Mountain around 8 PM. We originally planned to skip the next day's activities. The nearby Blue Mountain hot springs weren't good value, and after two consecutive days of skiing, we all had sore backs and legs.

The core team drove to Walmart to prepare some brunch for the next day. The supermarket had a wide selection; we picked some vegetables and meat for tomorrow's brunch.

Vegetables were relatively expensive.

AAA Angus steak, a tray for about 100 RMB—felt quite reasonable.

After shopping, we returned home smoothly.

After two days of skiing practice, we were all a bit sore. The thought of continuing to ski stayed in our minds for only a second.

We packed up the room to check out, had brunch after waking up, and cooked the vegetables, steak, eggs, and Italian dumplings we bought at the supermarket yesterday.

The steak was thick, didn't look good when fried—I think it was overcooked.

We thought checking out at 11 AM would be relaxed, but the cleaning crew knocked on the door at 10 AM while we were still eating brunch. We negotiated to leave by 11 AM, then wolfed down the food and cleaned the dishes as best we could.

On the way out, we did some shopping at Walmart in Blue Mountain for food and drinks. Masks were already sold out, but we were calm—no big deal—and bought some steak.

The kid insisted on buying Peppa Pig English picture books, but when we got back, she hardly read them.

The drive from the supermarket back to our friend's place in Markham took about 2 hours. For dinner, we cooked a super delicious egg fried rice together.

On Chinese New Year's Eve in Toronto, I fried two sunny-side-up eggs for my dear wife, feeling my cooking improved a bit.

The plan was beautiful, but execution was random. We wandered around and first took everyone to the new Toronto City Hall. We looked for parking nearby and ended up at the Sheraton Hotel opposite the new City Hall. It was unforgettable—parking cost 40 CAD per hour.

(Probably when we parked, they said it's 40 CAD for up to 2 hours. My poor English interpreted it as 20 CAD per hour. Oops.) After parking, we realized the parking lot next door was only 10 CAD per hour. The Sheraton parking was way too expensive.

In front of the new City Hall, there was a large Toronto logo sign, dazzling when lit up at night. The summer fountain had become a natural ice rink in winter. Next to the new City Hall was the old City Hall building, which had more character.

Here you felt a bit of a cosmopolitan city, with dense skyscrapers.

In the garden next to the new City Hall, there were many squirrels, very friendly and not shy at all.

After visiting the new City Hall, we went to the nearby University of Toronto, found a good parking lot with a flat rate of 20 CAD for the whole day.

The University of Toronto, founded in 1827, is located in Toronto, Canada's largest city. It originated as King's College in 1827. After nearly 200 years of vigorous development and rigorous academic spirit, it has become a world-leading public research university and is widely recognized as Canada's top comprehensive higher education institution.

The main campus of U of T is the St. George campus in downtown Toronto, with two other campuses: Scarborough and Mississauga. As one of the few remaining collegiate universities in North America, besides its regular structure, U of T has 12 undergraduate colleges, each with its own history and characteristics, enjoying significant financial and administrative independence.

We visited the St. George campus. The most famous college at U of T is Trinity College, where several scenes from the Harry Potter movies were filmed.

The college welcomes tourists. Coincidentally, someone had booked a tour of Trinity College that day, and we joined in to see the dormitories, dining hall, and study areas.

The first-floor hall corridor.

The college memorial corridor on the basement level.

On the way to the student dormitories.

Student study rooms.

The entire university campus is integrated into the city streets; there are no walls, and in the center of campus, you don't feel the city's noise.

In front of a landmark building at U of T, the kids ran around happily.

The CN Tower was clearly visible in the distance, reminding me of our first day when we climbed it and couldn't see anything.

Lovely North American black squirrels jumped around the campus cheerfully.

Another noteworthy thing about the University of Toronto is its top-notch library system, with a collection of about 19 million volumes in 675 branches and resource centers, second only to Harvard and Yale in North America. We passed by one of the university's libraries.

After spending some time there, we prepared to head back for Chinese New Year's Eve. First, we returned the rental car at AVIS.

This was our first Chinese New Year's Eve overseas. There was no bamboo shoot braised pork, no four happiness meat rolls, and our parents weren't around. But we had a group of friends. We were very touched by the sumptuous dinner our friend's family provided. After 5 days and 4 nights of traveling, enjoying a perfect Chinese meal brought a different kind of happiness.

In the end, we drank too much, and my mind went blank. My wife said I fell asleep sitting with my head down.

I'll write another post about the 3-day Eastern Canada tour separately.

Travelogue index:

1. Day 5 - Blue Mountain Ski Resort

2. Day 6 - Blue Mountain Ski Resort - Walmart

3. Day 7 - B&B - Markham

4. Day 8 - Toronto New City Hall - University of Toronto