But before you bail on your winter getaway plans, I've got some good news: There's one destination that offers a wealth of superb winter vacation options and accepts Canadian currency at par. You don't need a passport, visa or travel insurance to visit, and you may not even need to catch a flight to get there.
Where is this tourism wonderland, you ask? Sorry for the disingenuousness, but I get frustrated when Canucks assume that their home and native land can't satisfy their vacation needs. As a travel writer I've covered the Great White North more than any other country, and besides loving Canada as my homeland I also love it as a place to explore, relax, admire, ski, traumatize spa attendants...you get the idea.
Here, then, are a dozen travel stories I've written over the past 15 years that feature scores of prime Canadian winter vacation options. (For those of you who rightly point out that none of them feature a warm, sandy, watery destination with umbrella drinks, just wait until next week, when I'll be blogging about my family's upcoming trip to the Great Wolf Lodge indoor waterpark in Niagara Falls.)
1. The Toronto Star: Powder Highway's laid-back resorts, mountain towns
2. The Globe and Mail: A whole new way to see Niagara Falls
3. Mostly Amazing: The Great Canadian Travel Draft: Round 1 -- Rounds 2 and 3 -- Round 4
4. The Star: Sunshine basks in powder and glory in the Rockies
5. The Globe: Eight great Canadian winter breaks
6. Mostly Amazing: I think that I shall never see, a room as lovely as a tree sphere
7. The Globe: Sea to Sky Gondola climbs Sky Pilot massif in spectacular fashion
8. The Globe: A winery fit for Game of Thrones: The Thompson-Shuswap vintners
9. The Star: From skiing to dogsledding, Ontario offers winter escapes
10. The Globe: White nights at Blue Mountain
11. Mostly Amazing: Think snow tubing is lame? Think again...
12. The Globe: One peak leads to another at Whistler