Fire and Ice is all kinds of nice

Arrowhead Park hosted their first Fire and Ice Night of the winter on their famous 1.3 km long Ice Trail on Saturday, January 14. It’s one of the region’s most popular winter attractions, and one of the province’s most sought-after winter ‘bucket list’ experiences.

It was a perfect night with temperatures at minus five, no rain and a clear sky. The trail was lit up with over 100 tiki torches along with two roaring campfires at the rest stop.

It was definitely the place to be whether with family, friends, loved ones or on your own. Crowds were gathering in the parking lots with bags and toboggans, by the rest area and along the roads with some families loading up strollers to take young children along. Arrowhead encourages everyone to bring their family and watch their kids whip around the track with the perfect backdrop of snow-covered evergreens, or surprise your loved one with a romantic, hand-holding skate through the forest day or evening.

Looking through the crowd, not many locals were to be seen but there was an abundance of distant visitors to the area who came to experience the beautiful trail at night, to warm up by the campfire and even roast marshmallows and share hot chocolate.

People of all ages use the Ice Trail and enjoy the experience to the fullest whether young or old. A young man, Chris, and his two girls travelled from North Bay to meet up with his sister and family who travelled from Barrie to attempt the Ice Trail for the very first time. The two girls were getting a feel for the ice near the resting station before heading out onto the trail. Good times were had by all.

(From left) Naani (age 6), Chris, and Nimkii (age 4) from North Bay joined up with family from Barrie to check out Fire and Ice Night

A travel magazine recently named Arrowhead’s Ice Trail one of the top 19 natural skating rinks in the world.

“Travel+Leisure is one of the most reputable travel brands in the world. To receive this international recognition is a tremendous, tremendous accomplishment for the Arrowhead Ice Skating Trail, and a further testament to the amazing work being done by the team at Arrowhead Provincial Park,” said Jordan Mulligan, Marketing Manager of Muskoka Tourism.

Weather permitting, Arrowhead Provincial Park hosts Fire & Ice Nights on select Saturday nights in January and February. Fire and Ice Nights are scheduled for the following dates (check @ArroPark on Twitter for updates):

• Thursday January 26, 2017 – expected to be less busy
• Saturday February 4, 2017
• Saturday February 18, 2017
• Sunday February 19, 2017
• Saturday March 4, 2017
• Thursday March 9, 2017 – expected to be less busy

The Ice Trail is open daily from 11am until the park closes – that’s 5pm in January, 5:30pm in February, and 6pm in March. On Fire & Ice dates, the trail is open from 11am – 3pm, closed from 3pm – 6pm for maintenance, and then open from 6pm – 9pm for Fire & Ice.

Important Information:

• Skate rentals are available at the park for $10.
• Helmets are recommended on the trail, but not mandatory.
• Admission is $17 per vehicle.
• Dogs are not permitted on the ice skating trail or on cross country ski trails at Arrowhead Provincial Park. They are permitted on snowshoeing trails at the park.
• Baby strollers with rubber wheels (no metal wheels) are permitted on the skating trail, as long as the parent is comfortable. Use of baby strollers on the trail is at the parent’s own risk.

Don’t forget that Arrowhead also has a tubing hill, snowshoeing trails, and some of the best cross-country ski trails around. There are even winter cabins for rent. It’s all part of the abundant winter fun available in the Huntsville area.

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