EXPERIENCES

The Forestside Supper Club is a limited-seat monthly dining series featuring guest chefs, seasonal menus, and fireside evenings in the Hydda. Designed around shared tables and unhurried conversation, each gathering offers a more intimate way to experience food, place, and community at Hårtwood.

Upcoming dinner: March 1st | 5pm

With over 10 years of experience as a Registered Massage Therapist, Lesley offers an elevated massage experience grounded in precision, presence, and care. Treatments are delivered in the privacy of the guest’s room, offering the rare luxury of uninterrupted rest before and after the experience.

Explore a rotating selection of thoughtfully sourced wines with a relaxed guided tasting at the Hydda wine bar. Standard tastings begin at $19, featuring a curated flight of our current by-the-glass selections, with expanded or customized tastings available for groups of four or more.

To arrange a tasting, simply reach out in advance with your group size and preferred timing so we can ensure one of our wine team members is available.

Just beyond the forest, another kind of quiet waits.

Led by a team deeply committed to their dogs and the land they run on, Winterdance offers an immersive dogsledding experience through the snowy trails of Haliburton. It’s not a theme-park ride — it’s rhythmic, elemental, and surprisingly peaceful. The sound of paws on packed snow, breath in cold air, the glide of runners through the trees.

An unforgettable way to move through winter — wild, guided, and deeply Canadian.

There’s something timeless about lacing up skates in a small Canadian town.

Throughout the Highlands, you’ll find outdoor community rinks and, when conditions allow, stretches of natural ice that invite a slower kind of winter afternoon. It’s simple, nostalgic, and quietly joyful — whether you’re circling hand in hand under rink lights or carving wide arcs across a frozen lake.

We’re happy to point you toward the best local ice during your stay.

A short drive from Hårtwood, the Haliburton Highlands Nordic Trail Association manage two beautifully groomed classic and skate skiing trail systems through rolling Canadian Shield terrain.

These are community-built, thoughtfully maintained trails — wide corridors, steady climbs, long glides through quiet forest. It’s the kind of skiing that clears your head and warms you from the inside out.

Day passes are available on site and rentals can be organized with Algonquin Outfitters in Haliburton.

Winter, the way it’s meant to be experienced — steady, simple, and deeply invigorating.

The Highlands are a true snowmobiling destination — hundreds of kilometres of groomed trails winding through forest, over frozen lakes, and across exposed Canadian Shield.

Staging is welcome at Hårtwood, with access points to the trail system just up the road, making it easy to head out directly from your stay. The network is maintained by local clubs and connects to Ontario’s broader trail system, offering everything from scenic half-day loops to longer touring routes between communities.

We’re happy to help you navigate permits, trail conditions, and local recommendations before you arrive — so all you have to do is suit up and go.

For those craving a little more speed, Sir Sam’s offers downhill skiing and riding just outside Eagle Lake.

It’s a classic Highlands hill — varied runs, long groomed cruisers, and beautiful lake views from the top. The atmosphere is relaxed and unpretentious, with enough vertical to get your legs working without the scale (or crowds) of a major resort.

Rentals and lessons are available on site, making it an easy winter add-on during your stay.

Wide tires. Packed snow. Forest at eye level.

Fat biking has quickly become a winter favourite in the Highlands — a way to ride through groomed trails when the ground turns white. It’s steady, immersive, and surprisingly intuitive, even for first-timers.

Rentals and guided options are available locally, and we’re happy to help coordinate your outing.