Some of the top reasons to paddle in winter include fewer crowds, improved visibility, and unique wildlife-viewing opportunities. Winter paddling can be great for your mental health and physical fitness, and it can give you a new perspective on familiar paddling locations. Cold weather paddling has the added benefits of no insects and less harmful direct sunlight.

Northern Ontario’s cross-country ski network is a world apart from southern trail systems. Forget highway traffic and overbooked resorts; up here it’s endless boreal forest and the sound of your skis on corduroy snow. Expect warming huts, wax benches in the parking lot and trails that stay perfectly groomed long after a snowfall. From Thunder Bay to Sudbury to the Soo, here are five of the best places to clip in this winter.

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