The postponement of the ISMRM meeting to July opens a number of opportunities for things to do outside the City of Toronto. 

The quintessential Ontario recreation is canoeing.  The canoe was developed by the Indians of Eastern Canada and was a means of transport on the many lakes and rivers of the province.  These lakes are often disconnected by short segments of land necessitating portaging.  The canoe is an ideal craft for this kind of travel and has become a holiday activity for many people around Southern Ontario. 

Several Provincial Parks are located within two to four hours of Toronto and provide ideal canoeing opportunities (www.ontarioparks.com).  The best known Ontario park is Algonquin Provincial Park, which attracts canoeists from around the world to its pristine lakes and forests.  It tends to be rather busy in the summer and requires advanced booking.  The most picturesque park is Killarney Provincial Park about four hours north of Toronto in the direction of Sudbury.  This park allows for a combination of canoeing and hiking.  One of the newest parks only two hours from Toronto is Massauga Provincial Park which consists of lakes and some segments of the Georgian Bay Islands.  It is located just south of Parry Sound and is accessed through Ossler Provincial Park.  Car camping is also available in all of the Provincial Parks.

There are a number of rivers, some with white water, which may be of interest to canoeists.  The Petawawa River on the north side of Algonquin Park is a good beginner river for white water canoeists.  The French River flowing from Lake Nippassing into Georgian Bay is part of the historic fur trading route and is a moderate-to-easy paddle. 

Kayaking is becoming increasingly popular on the open water such as the islands of Georgian Bay.  Paddling anywhere up the eastern side of Georgian Bay is very attractive, with many thousands of small bare-rock islands.  A good place to rent kayaks is White Squall (www.whitesquall.com), which is located just north of Parry Sound.  Trips from one day to a week can take you out into Georgian Bay and to some very spectacular granite islands.

Commercial outfitters are located in the vicinity of all of these Provincial Parks.  For example, Algonquin Outfitters located near the southwest corner of Algonquin Park can provide everything needed for a canoe trip including equipment, sleeping bags, tents, packaged foods, and even a guide if one felt that was necessary.

A good location for the purchase of camping equipment, clothing, maps and books is the Mountain Equipment Co-Op (www.mec.ca/Main/home.jsp), which has a store at 400 King Street West, one block north and two blocks west of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

For people more inclined to hiking, the Bruce Trail (www.brucetrail.org) extends 800 Km from Tobermory in the north to Niagara Falls in the south.  The route is mainly through the wooded Ontario countryside following the limestone Niagara Escarpment.  Some sections of the Trial do travel along local country roads.  Tobermory on the north end of the Bruce Peninsula is an ideal location for open water kayaking on Georgian Bay and Lake Huron or for scuba diving on a number of wrecks located in the clear fresh water around the point. 

For the more culturally oriented, Southern Ontario hosts two major theatre centres.  The first is the located in Stratford, Ontario, which houses the Stratford Festival of Canada (www.stratfordfestival.ca/index.cfm) and has four theatres (Festival, Avon, Tom Patterson and Studio Theatres) and a major program in Shakespearean plays.

The Shaw Festival (www.shawfest.com/about/about.html) is located in Niagara-on-the-Lake about an hour and a half drive from Toronto.  It is also home to several theatres and a very interesting restored town on the south shore of Lake Ontario in the midst of the vineyards which lie between Lake Ontario and the Escarpment.

A short half day outing on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday would be to go to the St. Jacobs’ Farmer’s Market.  This is the centre of Mennonite country and is a good place to get pure maple syrup, handmade quilts or to generally browse the produce, livestock and other delicacies that are available.  Just north of the market, the Town of St. Jacobs is a very attractive Mennonite community with an excellent bakery and a number of gift shops.  St. Jacobs is located just one hour west of Toronto.

The local planning committee wishes you all the best at the meeting in Toronto in July and hopes you are able to take some advantage of the opportunity presented by the new midsummer timing of the meeting.