Blue Mountain Collingwood is a spot I haven't visited since I was maybe 12 years old. When the opportunity came up to check out Blue Mountain this past weekend we were curious to see how things had changed. With my Lay's Chip Trips once again, we were able to save a few bucks on this trip. In total a day for four at Plunge is about $42. We saved on one free child's admission. It was a lovely treat to stay in Weider Lodge at the base of Blue Mountain and Plunge was a hoot. I'd very much recommend this venue for kids even younger than ours. Plunge is an aquatic area with a plunge pool, a couple of water features indoors and pools outside. There are numerous hot tubs for all ages and, as you can see in the video, even spouses can enjoy the rope swing into the deep end. Modelled after old style boathouses, Plunge is quaint and picturesque. There are many Plunge! packages that come with a stay here. I would say this water park is more suited to children even younger than ours. It's like a starter water park.
The village at the base of Blue Mountain is amazing. Excellent and unique shops include Hatley's Scoops, an ice cream parlour with Hatley's merchandise. We timed it so that the gorgeous children's wear and adult's equestrain - themed items were on sale half price. That was unexpected and a lovely little highlight. Picked up cute little horse rainboats for my daughter who does therapeutic riding programs and loves horses. Restaurants here are pricey. Luckily the drive to town is very short and many restaurants are affordable there. Also many rooms come with kitchenettes. Before we left town we were able to take the gondola up the mountains ($20) for four of us and hike throughout the moutains up top. This was a lot more fun that I thought it would be, but bring proper hiking shoes for kids if you plan to do this.
More big chairs or Holy Smokes the kids shrank again!
Hiking at the top of Blue Mountain: An unexpected treat, but leave your Crocs at home.
We arrived on Saturday and there were horse-drawn carriage rides being offered. Also there is rock climbing and mountain biking and an endless array of activities for all ages. Weider Lodge was affordable for a two-night stay (under $500 for the four of us in a bachelor suite with fully stocked kitchen.) It was a chalet style room and quite nice, but the beds were hard and kids slept on a pullout sofabed. Before we left Collingwood, we visited the Westin Trillium House, a newer building that is cleaner and simply a lot nicer. The rooms were spacious and much more modern with TVs in every room. Next time I would choose a stay here instead - even if that meant paying a bit more. Blue Mountain Resorts, owned by Intrawest, are clustered around the village. One building is Weider Lodge in Blue Mountain Inn and the rest of the buildings have other names. Westin Trillium House is about a two-minute walk from Weider Lodge. For kids there is a playground, a pool at every lodging resort building, and scheduled events if you time it right. We just missed the outdoor movie night, but I am plotting for next year already. The town square has a cute fountain that's essentially a very small splash pad. There is something to do every season at Blue Mountain. In the fall there are numerous festivals. There are some truly lovely opportunities to enjoy Collingwood throughout September and October. The Apple Festival is one highlight I would head back for if money were unlimited here at my house. In the winter of course Collingwood is well known to skiers. I highly recommend this venue and will come back.
I am participating in the Lay's Chip Trips program by Mom Central on behalf of Frito Lay Canada. I received Lay's Chip Trips and a gift card to offset my trip costs to facilitate this post. The opinions on this blog are my own.
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