Ontario's 'best' snow tubing park has epic 10-storey drop

Snow Valley Resort is nestled in Barrie, Ontario, an hour and a half outside of Toronto and, during the winter time, the resort's snow tubing park comes to life with three lifts and 13 chutes.

The resort has been open since 1952, and these days offers a variety of winter festivities including skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing, welcoming over 200,000 visitors annually.

"Snow Valley is Ontario's best snow tubing park as we have something for everyone," says Ryan LeBlanc, Snow Valley's Tube Park manager.

"You can plunge down a 10-storey drop reaching speeds up to 80 kilometres per hour, or if you're looking for something a little more relaxing but still with some excitement, we have some smaller hills that will build your confidence for the big drop."

Going up the lift after your ride down is half the fun. One of the three lifts pulls you up the hill while seated in the tube. Attendants are on site to help load you onto the lift, detach you, and offer any other assistance you may need getting down the hills.

Snowtubing is now open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. except for Mondays, closing at 4 p.m.

Tickets must be purchased ahead of time online and there are a couple of options depending on how you want to spend your day.

The chutes have two-hour tickets, which can be used anytime between 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. or all-day midweek tickets. The all-day midweek option is available Monday to Friday. Ticketing starts at $25 for the regular chutes.

How do you make a day of speeding down a snowy terrain even better? Poutine and chicken fingers, duh.

New this season, Snow Valley has a snow tubing slide and dine special where you can take advantage of two hours of unlimited tubing and a meal on Wednesdays for $35. The special runs until March 12 and includes your choice of chicken fingers with fries, valley dog with fries or poutine and a fountain drink.

While it isn't open just yet, Snow Valley is also in the final stages of opening a zipline. The new resort feature spans 14,000 feet long, soars 75 feet high over the tubing park and zooms up to 65 kilometres per hour.

No special clothing is required, but Snow Valley does advise all tubers to dress warmly and check their snow report ahead of time.  Happy snow-shreddin', Ontario.