Getting Oriented

Wedged between three Great Lakes—Ontario, Huron, and Erie—and peppered with thousands of smaller lakes, Southern Ontario is a fertile area of farmland, wineries, forests, and waterways. Within a two-to-four-hour drive north, west, or southwest of Toronto are small towns, beaches, ski resorts, and rural farmland that feel light-years away from the city lights. Toronto sits at the eastern edge of Southern Ontario, a region that makes up no more than 15% of the province but is home to nearly 95% of the population and most of its major attractions. Head north and you hit the Muskokas and Algonquin, west for Stratford, and south–southwest to Niagara Falls and the Niagara Wine Region.