Snowshoeing Outdoor Adventures with Tapley Nature Trails North in Ontario

Snowshoeing Outdoor Adventures in Muskoka

The world of Ontario in the winter is much more interesting on a pair of snowshoes...you actually stop to smell the pines, see animal tracks and snap a few great photos of winter scenery.

Tapley Nature Trails is organizing customized winter snowshoe adventures with and additional twist including on the trail natural history about Muskoka and the Canadian shield.  The tours are customized by for groups from two to twelve and are priced individually depending on locations and amenities. Locations include provincial parks,

Photo: Muskoka Georgian Bay Ontario by Robin Tapley

Most adventures include snow shoes, warm beverage, light snack, taxes and interpretive naturalist guide.  

Overnight accommodation can be arranged at local resorts and lodges in Muskoka.  

Read more about Robin Tapley. Email Robin Tapley

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About Robin Tapley

Robin Tapley has been called one of the best naturalist/astronomers in Canada. He has
developed and delivered guided naturalist and adventure expeditions throughout Canada and the
world including unique destinations like Mount Everest, the Galapagos Islands, Madagascar,
Antarctica, Mongolia, New Zealand, Patagonia and Muskoka. Robin founded Tapley Nature
Trails in 1992 a consulting company primarily involved in helping resorts, developers and
adventure companies to understand and utilize their natural surroundings as key components to
their programming and marketing campaigns. He is, currently, Head Naturalist and Astronomer
at Canada’s first JW Marriott The Rosseau Resort and Spa in Muskoka. He is developing an
adventure park and a series of nature trails with three other development projects in Muskoka
as well as consulting on the Long Point Eco Adventure Centre in Long Point Ontario, which
was designated in 2012 as Ontario’s second best adventure attraction and is currently one of the
four finalists for an award with TIAC. He has also held the position as Executive Director for
Nature Trails where he held the position of Naturalist and Astronomer for three Delta Resorts.
He was the project manager for the Echo Valley Observatory and consulted on a variety of
Environmental Sustainability projects with the Land of Lakes Tourist Association, Canadian
Wildlife Service, Algonquin Provincial Park, Peninsula Lake Cottage Association and the
Woodland Heights Development Project.

History of Snowshoeing

The Legend of the Snowshoe by Robin Tapley

Snowshoeing, an ancient form of modern technology, was once the standard mode
of snow travel in North America. Winter travel was a challenge as the cold season
progressed and a blanket of white draped across the landscape. The automobile
is to modern society today as the snowshoe of the past was to hunters, trappers,
prospectors and explorers.
Anyone living through the cold winters of Canada, owned them or made them and the
basic design has remained the same. Snowshoes were as important to taming the West
as were the axe and flint-lock rifle.
In comparison, the cross-country ski entered America in the early 1800s when the
Europeans began to arrive. They introduced the ski, which did not overtake the
snowshoe until the 1960s. Snowshoes and skis are thought to trace their origin to a
common ancestor called "shoeski". Invented in 4000 B.C. in central Asia, it was a solid
piece of wood with a crude binding. This basic invention made it possible for people
to migrate into farther reaches of the Northern Hemisphere.Those that migrated to
northern Europe and Asia eventually developed the ski, and those that crossed the
Bering (Aleutian) Land Bridge into North American developed the snowshoe. The
snowshoe, having gone through many changes, was finally brought to perfection by
the Athabascan Natives of the northwest coast and the Algonquin of the St. Lawrence
River Valley. Though many styles now exist, all follow the same traditional frame style
developed by the First Nations people.