Durham Region has SO much to offer but one of the coolest sights was just outside of Durham, in Kawartha Lakes Region.
Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden
Address: 708 Ski Hill Rd, Cavan-Monaghan ON
Currently open Monday – Sunday (closed Tuesday and Wednesday) from 9:30am – 6:00pm and closed seasonly from November 16 to April 15th.
Admission per vehicle (under 15 passengers) is $20.00
The grounds of Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden are spectacular with rolling hills of trees. The grounds are covered in platforms of gold statues that you can see all over from the top of the Temple. Inside of the Temple is the area where prayer is held. It is a sacred area where photography is not allowed and silence is asked.
I felt like I was in another Country and could not get over how cool this experience was! Even the kids were in absolute awe.
One space we’ve visited before and wanted to take the kid’s to again was Neb’s Fun Word…
Address: 1300 Wilson Rd N Oshawa ON, L1K 2B8
Neb’s Fun World is located in Oshawa and just a short drive from our hotel. It has a variety of activities including a large arcade, bowling alley, indoor playground, amusement rides and indoor golf! There is endless amounts of fun stored inside this space. They also have quick to grab food options if you want to stay for lunch or dinner.
I was very excited to try their indoor Mini Putt as it’s new and I know they put a lot of work into it. There are three themes to choose from with only 6 holes in each theme.
We did enjoy the arcade and winning prizes. They have a great selection of arcade games and prizes to choose from.
One of our favourite spots in Durham Region is Pingle’s Farm for the ALL that’s always going on!
Address: 1805 Taunton Rd, Hampton, ON L0B 1J0
Pingle’s Farm is one of the BEST stop’s in Durham Region for their super cute outdoor playland where the kids can roam and enjoy all the fun the farm has to offer. Including; farm animals, bouncing pillow, slides, tic tac toe, farm hoppers, giant bubbles, ride on tricycles, basketball, sandpit and more!
There’s always something going on at the farm! Jump on the tractor and find out what’s in season for picking. When we were there it was strawberries, wildflowers, sunflowers and lavender.
On the weekends the farm offer’s a wide variety of food options.
Before you head out you NEED to stop by their market and grab all the delicious food items they have in-store! From fresh produce, frozen meals to baked goods and delicious drinks. Their market is open 9am – 6pm, 7 days a week (including on long weekends!).
Don’t forget to try and pre-book your tickets to ensure your spot to experience the farm.
It was a hot summer and we couldn’t wait to visit Cedar Park Resort to cool down!
Address: 6296 Cedar Park Rd, Bowmanville
Seriously, the water park and swimming area here is just EPIC. Plus you can pay to play for the day. Just remember to book online to ensure your spot! We were lucky we booked online because as we arrived at noon there was a sign saying they were sold out.
Cedar Park Resort is an RV Park, so naturally there are a lot of people who are enjoying the property as part of their package.
You are welcome to pack a picnic and enjoy one of their many picnic tables or bring a blanket to picnic on their grounds.
We enjoyed lunch from their snack shop and followed up with an ice cream treat for the kids before we left for the day!
The water park itself has many areas to enjoy. Including a gradual pool with deep end and diving board.
A shallow splash pad area with run through sprinklers, fountains and palm trees.
Three epic waterslides – wristbands sold separately. Must be 48 inches to ride.
And the most fun is the epic splash zone with climbers, slides and a dumping bucket. The best part is it’s surrounded by a wadding pool so while you run around and play you’re in water up to your ankles. It’s very refreshing.
There is limited options for seating, some benches and chairs line the perimeter of the water park.
Change rooms and bathrooms are available but lockers are not.
Also located at Cedar Park Resort is a pretty cool playground with multiple playground structures including giant slides and it’s all surrounded by sand. It can get pretty hot so I would suggest wearing some sort of footwear. There are also plenty of picnic table surrounding the playground.
We tried our hand at their 18-hole mini putt. It was an additional charge of $8.00 per person to play but their course was a lot of fun and we enjoyed playing before we headed back to our hotel for the night!
Lakeview Park
Address: Oshawa, Ontario
I was not expecting this park to be so much fun. Living in Halton we obviously have the pleasure of living so close to Lake Ontario but our waterfront isn’t as fun as this location.
The playground of the park is SO unique! The main playground is a very tall structure with many different climbing components, slide and one GIANT slide. Underneath you will even find hidden hammocks to lay on.
There is another playground structure that’s fairly large for Little ones. It’s surrounded by rubber flooring.
On the other side of the main playground is a rope climber and two zip lines, plus swings.
My favourite feature of the area was the restaurant located just beside the playground where you can dine in or take out. We ordered fries and onion rings from the convienent take out window and sat at one of the many picnic tables.
The park lining the water was huge and surrounded by green space and large trees!
We also took a walk towards the sandy beach where we played in the sand and watched the swimmers.
On the short walk we walked past a splash pad with a clear dumping bucket.
We also passed the Oshawa Museum and a few historical buildings.
I wish we had planned to spend more time here because realistically you could have spent the entire day exploring this space.
We saw the Lightening McQueen car at the Canadian Automotive Museum
Address:
99 Simcoe St. South, Oshawa, Ontario L1H 4G7
We visited the Canadian Automotive Museum and were pleasantly surprised to find Lightening McQueen there! Another highlight from the museum was the same kind of car you would see in the movie – Back to the Future.
The museum offered a fun scavenger hunt at the time with a reward for the kids.
We ended our very busy staycation at Parkwood National Historic Site (or, so we thought)
We were planning on just walking the grounds and enjoying the beauty of Parkwood Estates including their beautiful and large, rectangle water fountain and gardens but we saw they had tea at The Tea House and couldn’t resist reserving a spot. After I booked it, I read the reviews on Google and was a little skeptical.
We ended up having an amazing time. Service was great. Everything came out timely. The kids loved it and were catered to. The food and desserts were all fresh and delicious. I’m happy we went!
Fun fact: Parkwood Estates was in many well-known movies like, Billy Madison!
While we were venturing around I came across an article on an event called Aquino with the Ontario Regiment RCAC Museum.
Address: 1000 Stevenson Rd N, Oshawa, Ontario
It’s Canada’s largest collection of operation military vehicles!
While we were in Oshawa, they just so happened to be holding an event through the same weekend we were there! We were able to catch the very last reinactment show at ‘tank weekend’!
Keep up with the museums events through their website and social media! It was one of the “coolest things” my Son (and Husband) has experienced to date.
They were even offering tank rides at an additional fee! If we weren’t so exhausted from all our adventures we would have gone. I’m sure my Husband is still sad he didn’t get to!
I highly recommend this Museum!
Our Home-tel was the perfect space to spread out and enjoy!
Address: 1011 Bloor St E, Oshawa
We used our Avoin Rewards and booked a hotel room through TownePlace Suites in Oshawa.
Our room had two queen beds, a kitchen table and chairs and a kitchenette! It was perfect. The kids brought colouring supplies and sat at the table and crafted during our down-time and I caught up on all my Bravo shows.
Plus; the hotel had complimentary breakfast, a delicious bistro with an amazing breakfast, lunch, dinner and and bar menu with patio (yay, room service) plus a swimming pool and gym!
It was the perfect place to staycay!
There were soooo many items still on our list.
We had such a packed visit that we didn’t get to experience everything. Like a true mom’xplorer while I was in the area, my list only grew.
So we WILL be back!
But if you go make sure you explore;
Watson Farm – for all the farm fun! They also have amazing events including outdoor movie night which I REALLY wanted to do and is on our summer bucket list! I’m super sad we didn’t make it!
Elgin Park in Uxbridge is one of those very rare original parks that you just need to make time for.
Oshawa Zoo looked so fun and even offers Pony Rides! The kids would have LOVED this experience.
And lastly, Soper Creek Wildlife Rescue! I just saw this space the last day through another Instagram post! I would have made this experience a priority with my Littles! We are the biggest animal lovers and I think this would have been one of their favourite experiences.
But.. wow. Durham has so much to explore. My list is wayyyy bigger than I’ve even written about.
If you want us to come back and explore again soon! Let us know! Let me know what I should add to my list. We can’t wait to explore Durham Region again soon.