MacGregor Point is a hidden gem when it comes to Ontario provincial parks. We’ve had the opportunity to visit several times now and each time we’re thrilled with the experience. Located along Lake Huron, the park offers many summer and winter activities, along with year-round camping. We visited the park this past weekend for a day trip and got to experience winter in a provincial park for the very first time.

We planned our trip to MacGregor Point when we heard about one of it’s fantastic winter features – the Outdoor Skating Trail. We’ve always wanted to try the Arrowhead skating trail, but the drive is just too far for a short trip. So when we learned that MacGregor Point also had a similar trail, we knew we had to take advantage of it.

Unfortunately the weather didn’t completely cooperate with us. We had an absolutely beautiful day for our visit, but the temperatures were starting to rise.  When we arrived, staff let us know that the trail had been closed that morning. We were pretty bummed out, since that had been the main reason for our trip, but we decided to stay and see what else the park had to offer.

We made our way to the the skating rink to see what it looked like, and were surprised to see that even though the trail was “closed” there were several skaters. The ice was extremely rough and slushy, but we decided to give it a go anyways.

Let me tell you, if the ice had been in better shape, we probably would have been out there for hours. The trail is in the Algonquian campground, with one of the roads used for the ice pad, giving you the feel of skating down a trail in the forest. Its about 400m long and is a pretty cool experience. At the start of the trail a yurt is set up, providing a heated space to put skates on. (cause we all know that the absolute worst thing about outdoor skating is trying to tie up the laces in the freezing cold with no gloves on)

Dave, my dad and K only did one loop before calling it quits (they were just sinking into the slush) but J and I stuck it out for two loops. It was a lot of fun, even though it was only a short skate.

Wanting to make the most of our time, we also explored the rest of the park, which looks completely different in the winter time. While the weather wasn’t great for skating, it was perfect for walking along the beach and spending time at the playground.

MacGregor Point has some fantastic winter trails and we saw plenty of people snowshoeing and cross country skiing. The boys were troopers on our long walk, and K thinks he’s like to try skiing sometime.

I knocked two things off my 101 Things in 1001 Days list with our trip to MacGregor Point this weekend – #12 Go skating outdoors and #13 Go for a walk on the beach in the winter. I’m excited to be making some progress with my 101 Adventures and to be trying new things! Experiencing a provincial park in the winter isn’t something I would have even considered a couple of years ago – winter sports and winter outdoor activities have never been my “thing”. But I’m continuing to try and get outdoors, despite the conditions, and this was a perfect way to spend the Family Day weekend. It’s a winter day trip I would highly recommend!

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Thanks so much for stopping by!  I often post about my 101 challenge and my outdoor adventure with the kids with the hashtags #101in1001 #101adventures or #whatmattersmost.  You can join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.  Or, you can follow me on Bloglovin or subscribe via e-mail to be alerted to each new post!