Winter in the Wild 2019

Every year over the Family Day long weekend, Algonquin Provincial Park hosts The Winter In The Wild Festival to celebrate winter in the park. It’s a great weekend to head to the park to learn about all the things that they have to offer, including outdoor activities like skating and snowshoeing, guided tours, and various presentations and demonstrations on things like winter camping. This year was my first time attending the festival, which was extra special because I was invited by Camper Christina to help her demo her hot tents and talk about winter camping, which I was really excited to do. Last year’s plan to do the same thing was cancelled because Christina was recovering from a concussion, so I was super happy to get the opportunity again this year.

I arrived at the park on Friday evening, met with Christina, and she filled me in on what to expect over the next couple of days. It seemed pretty simple – we would be on our site during a specific time to talk to visitors that were interested in checking out different ways of winter camping. On our demo site there was Christina’s two homemade hot tents as well as the igloo building demo. I spent the weekend solo in Christina’s homemade tipi hot tent – you can read about that here – while she stayed in her other tent.

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How People Winter Camp

On Saturday morning we spent some time walking around the campground, talking to friends, and checking out all the other camper’s set ups. It was a great opportunity to check out the other demo sites, and to have a look at all the different kinds of hot tents that were setup – there were so many! Being able to get a close up look at all the different winter camping options is one of the best parts of this festival – where else could you get to see so many different kinds of hot tents setup, talk to the owners, get tours etc? For anyone interested in investing in their own hot tent (like me!) this experience is invaluable.

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Saturday morning passed by very quickly and was fairly quiet, but while we were eating lunch visitors started to show up and wander through the campground – it is at least a couple of hours drive for most people after all! The site demos officially started at 3 pm and we were ready to go, which was a good thing because it was a very busy afternoon as visitors stopped by to ask questions, visit, and check out the homemade hot tents. I did my best to explain how the tipi was made, to show them the inside, and answer any questions.

However it wasn’t all work – I managed to sneak away during a “slower” time and check out some of the other fun activities that were going on during the festival. The skating rink was bustling with lots of people – some using the pucks and sticks that are provided by the park. The Friends of Algonquin Park had a BBQ all afternoon with delicious burgers and hot dogs, and the warming tent was busy with people gathered to talking about winter camping, while the young ones (and maybe some older ones) were enjoying marshmallows on the fire. Back on our demo site, the igloo build was moving along and visitors were chatting with Christina about her homemade tents.

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Other Festival Activities

There were many other activities that were going on throughout the park. Earlier on Saturday, Hailey and Duane from The Camping Family were talking at the visitor center about winter gear, there were nature walks hosted by park staff, and at night well after the sun went down, there was a wolf howling walk. I chatted with another camper the next morning and they said that the park staff had howled a couple of times and they were greeted with a howl back from a local wolf – how amazing! My family and I have heard the wolves only once before in Algonquin – in the middle of the night when my hubby woke us all up to hear – but it’s pretty rare, so I know the people on this walk must have been so happy to experience the wolves howling back.

On Sunday, the campers were able to chat with park staff and offer our feedback about winter camping, and give suggestions for next year. This was just wonderful as it is clear that the park is truly invested in what us campers have to say, and that they take our feedback into consideration to make sure our experience just keeps getting better.

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With 53 hot tents this year – compared to only a handful just a few years ago – it’s clear that this community is growing fast as more people are pushing their boundaries and getting out to experience all that winter camping has to offer. A hot tent is definitely on our shopping list, so maybe we’ll see you out there next winter!

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed learning about this festival. If you have any questions about winter camping, the festival, or just want to say ‘hi’, don’t hesitate to drop a comment below! Also, be sure to check out Camper Christina’s YouTube channel where you can watch videos on the weekend and also see how she built her hot tents.