Blue Mountain is Ontario's largest ski resort and one of Canada's most established, set on a steep ridge above Georgian Bay, where the slopes fall away toward the water. It was founded in 1941 by Jozo Weider, who started here with just a few runs and a rope tow, but over the following decades it has grown into the four-season destination it is today. Much of the pedestrian village at its base now stands on land that was once the Weider family's farm, and it's become the heart of the resort. Compact and car-free, Blue Mountain Village is a cluster of brightly painted buildings where cafés, restaurants and bars spill out onto the streets, and with the slopes rising right behind the rooftops, the skiing is never more than a short walk away.

There's terrain for every level here, spread across more than 40 runs. Beginners get wide, gentle slopes to learn on at the southern end of the hill, intermediates have rolling, flowing runs to open up on, and stronger skiers head to the northern end for the steeper pitches. That's also where the glades are, a chance to leave the trails and thread through the trees. The runs are short, with 220 metres of vertical, but they're well groomed, and the compact layout makes the whole hill easy to get around. Several terrain parks add jumps and rails for freestyle skiers and boarders, and around 30 trails are lit for night skiing. Snowmaking covers almost the entire mountain and lays down the base, while natural snow off Georgian Bay tops it up through the season. The lifts usually start turning in December, and skiing carries on into early spring.

Blue Mountain is just as good when you step off your skis as when you're on them. You can ride a tube down the snow-tubing lanes, skate a loop up at the summit, or head out on the snowshoe trails. There's plenty to do off the snow as well, like the outdoor thermal baths at Scandinave Spa and the heated pools at the Plunge! Aquatic Centre. The dining covers a lot of ground, from cafés and casual pubs to international kitchens and more upmarket restaurants. In the evening, the après-ski scene runs through the Village's pubs and bars, with patios open in the cold, live music at the central square, and light displays strung through the streets after dark.

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