Toronto Winter Events List (Plus Photo Walks and Workshops by Tdot Shots)

Ready for some winter fun? How are your snowman building skills? ❄️ ☃️

We have tips for you! Are you are an active type looking for a walk, ice skating or perhaps skiing or snowboarding? 🏂 ⛸️. Or maybe you prefer warm indoor locations and a mug of hot chocolate? ☕ Either way we have got you and your friends and family covered.

Regardless of your taste in activities and energy level we have a great list of fun spots to hit and events to check out in the city from November to February. There are a lot of fun and creative events around the city during winter. And it’s great for photography. We know! We take photo walks all year round! During this season we schedule Tdot Shots events – before and after the holidays – including photo walks and meetups. Join us!

Skating in the snow! Lots of fun at City Hall / Photo by Mike Simpson – Tdot.com

Our Winter Picks!

Santa Claus parade – November 23
Distillery District – holiday festival – November 13 to January 4
Winter Solstice parade in Kensington Market – Dec 21
Little Canada – open year round
AGO / Art Gallery – open year round
ROM / Royal Ontario Museum – open year round
Aha Khan Museum – open year round
Skiing and Snowboarding at Earl Bales Park and Uplands
Ice Skating – College Park, City Hall, Bentway
Tdot Shots photo walks and workshops – see schedule at tdot.cc

Overview

Santa Claus Parade 🎅

Santa kicks things off in November. We love this long-term Toronto Christmas tradition. The 121st Santa Claus Parade runs downtown on November 23rd, starting at Christie Pits and winding through the city with floats, marching bands, and festive vibes. It’s one of the oldest Santa Claus parades in the world and attracts ten of thousands of spectators. The route showcases Toronto’s holiday spirit and brings smiles to the faces of children and families lining the streets. Arrive early to stake out a spot on the route!

Distillery District 🎄

Another outdoor tradition is the Distillery District’s Winter Village, which runs from November 13, 2025, to January 4, 2026. This holiday market transforms the historic cobblestone streets into a magical wonderland with many vendors, a towering Christmas tree, and festive food and drink options. This is one of the most popular places in the city so you may want to choose an early weekday to avoid crowds. Check in advance if there are fees or suggested entry times.

Winter Solstice in Kensington Market 🔥🕯️

Solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year – and in Kensington Market they host a spectacular celebration on December 21st. The festival features fire warming stations, live music, theatrical scenarios, giant puppets, and fire arts that honor ancient traditions of welcoming back the light. This non-profit, commercial-free event has been bringing the community together since 1988 with street theatre, lantern parades, and a magical evening atmosphere that culminates in a fire finale at Alexandra Park.

Kensington Market light festival / Photo by Ryan via Flickr

Little Canada 🍁

Open year round, Little Canada is a huge indoor attraction featuring miniature replicas of Canadian landmarks and cities at 1:87 scale spanning 45,000 square feet. With an array of dioramas representing different regions from coast to coast, visitors can “travel” the country in under two hours. Little Canada builds detailed, immersive environments (like Niagara Falls, Old Quebec, or downtown Toronto) that thrill kids and adults alike.

The intricate details include moving trains, fascinating tiny human figures, and a day-night cycle that brings each scene to life with thousands of lights and immersive sound effects, showcasing Canada’s beautiful cities and landscapes. All of Canada is covered – the exception being the Prairies, which are under construction. We visited in December and loved the place! Review coming soon!

AGO and ROM – Art Gallery of Ontario / Royal Ontario Museum 🎨 🖼️

AGO and ROM are indoor favorites all year round – but why not go in winter? There are fewer tourists in the city during the colder months and thus more room to roam through the galleries and exhibitions. Both museums offer world-class collections and special winter programming that makes them perfect destinations when the weather turns frigid, allowing you to explore art, culture, and natural history in comfort.

Highlights include: impressionists and Canadian artists at AGO and the Indigenous and ancient civilizations artifacts at the ROM.

Aga Khan Museum 🏛️

Aha Khan: Beautiful and inspirational museum with amazing landscaping – Photo via City of Toronto and Doors Open

In the north of the city is another museum, the Aga Khan Museum, which houses approximately more than a thousand rare objects of Islamic art and artifacts. The collection spans from the eighth to the 21st centuries, showcasing arts of Muslim civilizations from the Iberian Peninsula to China.

The stunning architecture by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki uses light as inspiration, creating beautiful patterns throughout the building – it’s North America’s first museum dedicated entirely to Islamic art and culture. Be sure to take some photos of the exterior and the beautiful landscaped grounds.

Ice Skating & Skiing ⛸️ ⛷️

Toronto offers fantastic ice skating locations throughout the winter. City owned rinks open by end of November and should stay open until March. Others may have shortened seasons focused on Dec-Feb.

For a central location we always look forward to hitting the ice for a skate at College Park off Yonge St. between College and Gerrard. The Bentway’s 220-metre figure-eight skate trail under the Gardiner Expressway opens December 20 and features free skate rentals on select nights, plus hot chocolate, live music, and illuminated art installations. Nathan Phillips Square‘s iconic outdoor rink has been a Toronto tradition for over 60 years, offering skate rentals and a prime location in front of City Hall. For waterfront views, Harbourfront Centre‘s expanded rink is open until March 1, 2026, with free skate rentals every Saturday. Other popular spots include Evergreen Brick Works with its snow-covered gardens, Colonel Samuel Smith Park‘s peaceful figure-eight trail, and Sherbourne Common with Lake Ontario views.

For downhill skiing right in the city, Earl Bales Ski & Snowboard Centre in North York is now the only alpine skiing centre within Toronto’s boundaries. The centre features a beginner hill with a rope tow and a main hill offering a couple of runs accessible by a chairlift. The ski season runs from January through mid-March, weather permitting, with weekday hours from 3 PM to 9:30 PM and weekend hours from 9 AM to 6 PM. They even have rentals and lessons, making it a convenient option for city dwellers looking to hit the slopes without leaving Toronto.

Earl Bales Park snowboard action – hit the slopes in the city! / Photo via City of Toronto

We also had a blast snowboarding just north of the city at Uplands Resort. Check out our review and photos!

Tdot Shots Photo Walks and Meetups

Through November and December we host cooler weather events like meetups and workshops. In February be sure to join us as we explore places like U of T (pretty in winter) and the various downtown festivals including Illuminite on Yonge St.

Visit our events site Tdot.cc.

Wrapping up

We love this city and events in the cold are actually often really enjoyable. Plus you have to stay active in the cooler months. So we hope you found this list useful. By all means leave a comment or reach out and share your thoughts and pics. We welcome you to share with us on social (Instagram): Tag @tdot_shots and use #tdot_shots and we’ll check out your media!

Contribute

We welcome your comments and contributions. If you have visited these spots we’d love to hear from you. We can publish your writing and photos across our socials and websites. Contact us!