Our guide to Collingwood

Where to stay

Visitors to Collingwood seeking more than a place to crash in between ski runs can find just that at the hedonistic Living Water Resort. Located just east of the Blue Mountains, the resort recently underwent an expansion in the summer of 2016, adding a spa and a fine dining restaurant to the mix. The Living Shore Spa is home to the only Aquapath in Ontario: a 45-minute hydrotherapy circuit of mineral baths with waterfalls and jets, river-like paths with stone bottoms and a series of powerful showers that stimulate pressure points on the head, back and shoulders. It’s enough to ease the stiffest muscles after a full day of carving up the nearby ski hills. An equally deserving escape from the mountains is a meal at the resort’s Lakeside Seafood and Grill, which affords lovely wintertime views over the frozen Georgian Bay with Collingwood’s iconic grain elevators in the distance.

Azzurra

Heather Goldsworthy

Where to eat

Arrive early to Collingwood Bread Company and you might catch owner Glenn Dickson rolling out racks of loaves still crackling from the oven. He uses simple, fresh ingredients, such as organic flour sourced from a local miller and non-homogenized milk from Sheldon Creek Dairy. His signature Collingwood Sourdough is 36 hours in the making and the results are worth waiting for: addictively tart and spongy with a satisfying crust.

For dinner, a visit to Azzurra, one of Collingwood’s longest-standing independent eateries, is a must. Chef Leona Nyman showcases the region’s freshest ingredients through honest, simple recipes, such as gnocchi made from sweet potato with diced apple and smoked bacon, which pleasantly merges sweet and savoury flavours. Chef Nyman takes pride in Azzurra’s lengthy dessert menu and the lemon curd pot – made with local dairy and eggs – is truly a standout: rich, creamy and well-balanced between tangy and sweet.

Where to drink

Variety is the name of the game at Northwinds Brewery, which cranked out a whopping 64 varieties of beer last year – from crowd-pleasing lagers to more experimental batches, such as a ruby red beer made with Ontario beets and a cider-beer hybrid. To accompany the brews, their food menu elevates classic pub favourites and includes a flavourful lamb burger with Moroccan spices and a flat iron steak sandwich topped with a panko-crusted portobello cap. A second location will open in Blue Mountain Village, making it even easier for ski bums to get their craft beer fixes in the near future.