Winter in a Cabin at Arrowhead Provincial Park
By Ben and Cheryl Coles
If it’s winter and you’re getting that itch to get outside and do some camping, you can scratch that itch at one of 10 Ontario provincial parks that offer winter camping. That’s exactly what we did last February when we spent 3 nights in a cabin at Arrowhead Provincial Park in Huntsville, Ontario.
In the winter, Arrowhead offers 7 pull-through electric campsites for camping as well as 13 cabins. We didn’t want to go through the bother of taking our trailer out of storage, prepping it for winter camping and hauling it up there on the snow covered and salty roads. Instead, we opted for the much easier option of staying in a cabin. We’ve never stayed in a cabin at a provincial park before so this was a new adventure for us.
As we left our home in Kitchener it was around 0°C and void of any snow. During the 285km drive we went from clear and dry to a blizzard with blowing snow and snow covered roads. When we arrived at the visitor centre to pick up the key to our cabin it was a winter wonderland. We drove to the central parking lot for the cabins and unloaded our gear into a couple of the provided plastic sleds. We then pulled the sleds approximately 200 metres to cabin #202, our home for 3 nights.
We entered the cabin and were pleased that it was already cozy and warm inside. The cabin is heated by electric baseboard heating as well as a propane stove. There are four electric outlets, a light, ceiling fan and a table lamp. There is no running water. The cabin is equipped with a kitchenette with a bar fridge, kettle and microwave. There is a kitchen table with 5 chairs, a double bed, a bunk bed that is a double on the bottom and a single on top, a nightstand and a blanket box for gear storage. There is a broom, a vacuum and a mop for keeping the cabin clean. On the screened in porch are two Muskoka chairs and a table. On the patio is a propane barbecue with a side burner. Outside of the cabin are two Muskoka chairs, two picnic tables and a fire pit.
You will need to bring your own food, drinks, dishes, pots, pans, cutlery, bedding and clothing. It’s nice to have some indoor shoes or slippers as the floor is pretty cold. A power bar or extension cords may come in handy if you have electronics to charge such as phones, watches, cameras, batteries, computers etc. We also brought ice skates, snow shoes, ski poles and headlamps.
The park has three heated washrooms in operation; one near the registration office, one at the visitor centre and one in the comfort station by the cabins. The comfort station is heated and has flush toilets, showers and a dish washing station. Next to the comfort station is a winterized potable water fill up station for RVs. The water is always available, regardless of temperature, to fill up your RV tanks. Unfortunately, the dump station is closed so you would have to find an alternative location to dump your black and grey water tanks.
During the winter, the hiking and cycling trails of Arrowhead are turned into 3 snowshoeing trails and 9 cross country ski trails. The cross-country ski trails are meticulously machine groomed. Walking, snowshoeing and pets are not allowed. A big draw to the park is the 1.3 km ice skating trail. This is a looped trail made over top of park roads. It is well maintained with shovelling, flooding and the use of a Zamboni. On weekends in the evening, they host the famed Fire & Ice Nights. Tiki torches line the skating trail for evening skating. Gliding through the forest at night on skates by the light of fire is magical and a must do activity.
The visitor centre is the place to rent skis, skates and snowshoes. It is also where the park store is located and it has a large room with tables and a fireplace for visitors to take a break from all the activities.
We decided to go on a hike in snowshoes to explore some areas of the park. The first place we went was the seven open pull-through campsites. They were all occupied with everything from a class A motorhome, large travel trailers, small travel trailers and hot tents complete with wood stoves inside. We then checked out Big Bend, a geological phenomenon left over from the ice age. The viewing platform provides a spectacular view of the u-shaped curve in the river. From there we heading through the campground to the frozen and snow covered Arrowhead Lake. We walked along the beach and were first to create snow shoe prints in the fresh snow. We then hiked the Stubbs Falls Trail which is a 2km loop. We enjoyed the walk along the Little East River that took us to Stubbs Falls. We had a wonderful view of the falls from the pedestrian bridge. We didn’t go down to the falls as we would normally do in the summer, as that seemed too dangerous in winter conditions. The hike was relatively flat and easy. We then drove to the parking lot at the Mayflower Trail. This is a much more rugged trail. The snowshoes were definitely an asset on the 2 km hilly trail along Mayflower Lake. If you don’t have a set of snow shoes you could hike it without, but you’d definitely need some crampons or ice cleats to attach to the bottom of your boots to get traction on the icy trail.
The next afternoon we went to the skating trail which was only about 100 metres from our cabin. There was plenty of seating to put our skates on and there was shelving to store footwear. Several large fire pits were burning, providing some warmth for the skaters when taking a break. We strapped on our skates and hit the trail. It was at that moment that we realized that we haven’t been on skates in years and neither of us was ever really proficient on skates in the first place. Cheryl took advantage of one of the provided skating aids which is like a walker for ice. By the size of them, they are clearly made for children, but that didn’t stop Cheryl from proudly skating along the path pushing the green plastic walker.
The skating trail is a loop. The far side of the trail is a slight uphill with the close side being a slight downhill. I found the uphill part to be easy enough but the downhill part was a little challenging for me with my Bambi-like abilities on ice. I found it hard to slow down and ended up purposefully crashing into the snow banks to stop. For anyone proficient in skating, this trail would be a breeze.
That evening we returned to the skating trail for the Fire & Ice Night. We wanted to take another stab at it in the evening by the light of the fire from the tiki torches. We were all laced up and waited with all the other skaters as the Zamboni made the final pass, ensuring that the ice surface was perfect. It was time to head out on the trail. Skating though the woods at night by the light of fire is a wondrous and unforgettable experience. People of all ages in awe of the beauty as they glided over the ice.
For more information on winter adventures in the Huntsville, Ontario area, please visit:
https://huntsvilleadventures.com/arrowhead-park-winter-wonderland/
This was an incredible weekend in nature. It snowed most of the time and averaged around -13°C. We stayed cozy and warm in our cabin and we dressed appropriately for the weather outside.
It was now time to head home. We said goodbye to Arrowhead during a picture perfect winter day. Within about 10 minutes of driving the weather turned into a blizzard again. The highway was down to one very slow lane. As we approached the city of Barrie the weather cleared and eventually the roads cleared of snow. The rest of the way home was easy sailing.
If you plan to go, make sure you make your reservation as early as possible. These cabins and campsites book up fast. If you’re just coming for the day you need to go online to get a daily pass up to five days in advance. Even if you have a season pass, you’ll still need to reserve your spot online up to five days in advance. The Fire and Ice night have to be reserved separately than the regular day pass. For more information and prices you can go to the Ontario Parks Website https://blog.ontarioparks.ca/tips-for-checking-arrowhead-off-of-your-bucket-list/.
To see our YouTube video of our adventures at Arrowhead in the winter you can see that here:
We will be presenting a seminar at the Toronto RV Show on Saturday March 1st at 2pm and will be at the RV Lifestyle Magazine booth from noon until 2pm Fri, Sat and Sunday.
Join us at the Kitchener RV Show, March 14 – 16, 2025, where we will present seminars, and visit us at the RV Lifestyle Magazine booth.
