What to Do This Thanksgiving Weekend in Ontario: Art, Fall Colours and Time at Vettä

Looking for something to do over Thanksgiving weekend in Ontario? Come north of Toronto to Oro-Medonte, where you can explore local artists on the Images Studio Tour, drive through the fall colours of Horseshoe Valley, then spend a few hours moving between sauna, cold water and rest with us at Vettä Nordic Spa.

Some Ontario weekends are better without much of an itinerary. Thanksgiving can be one of them.

The leaves have changed. The air is cooler. The drive itself becomes part of the day. And here in Oro-Medonte, Thanksgiving weekend brings together a few things that feel particularly at home in fall: art, winding country roads, changing forests, good food and somewhere warm to end up afterward.

If you’re looking for a fall day trip or weekend getaway from Toronto, Barrie or elsewhere in Southern Ontario, this is a good weekend to take your time.

What is the Images Studio Tour?

The Images Studio Tour is a free, self-guided fine art tour through Oro-Medonte and the surrounding area. In 2026, it takes place from October 9 to 12, coinciding with Canadian Thanksgiving weekend.

Now in its 43rd year, the tour invites you into the studios of artists working across painting, pottery, sculpture, jewellery and other disciplines. Instead of only seeing finished work hanging on a gallery wall, you get to meet some of the people behind it, see where they create and make your way from one studio to another at your own pace.

And around here, getting there is part of the experience. The route winds from Moonstone through Horseshoe Valley and toward the Lake Simcoe shoreline and Orillia. In October, that means your gallery walls are occasionally replaced by an Ontario forest.

This year, the tour is coming to Vettä too

You won’t have to leave Vettä to find one of the stops on this year’s tour. Find us at Studio N, where we’re welcoming Peter Michalski with pottery, Arnold Veen with woodturning and Angie Jacome with jewellery.

The artists will be in our KOIVU side room, open to the public from 10 AM to 5 PM, October 9–12. Follow the Images Studio Tour signs when you arrive, and please be mindful of spa guests as you make your way through the restaurant.

You can stop in to see the artists as part of the tour, or make it one part of a longer day with us. Visit a few studios in the morning and spend the afternoon at Vettä. Start here and head back out afterward. There isn’t really a wrong order. Although after a few hours on the road, we think a Finnish sauna feels particularly good.

Why visit Oro-Medonte in the fall?

There is something about this part of Ontario that suits October. We’re surrounded by the forests and rolling landscape of Horseshoe Valley, between Barrie and Orillia. The Township of Oro-Medonte has more things to do in Oro-Medonte throughout the year, from trails and cycling to local arts and farm experiences.

In the fall, you notice the season everywhere. Through the windshield on Horseshoe Valley Road. On the walk between buildings. In the trees surrounding the pools. And especially when you step outside after sitting in a hot sauna.

If you’re coming from Toronto or the GTA, the change of pace starts before you’ve even arrived. That’s why we wouldn’t try to fit too much into the day. Pick a few studios. Follow the road. Stop when something catches your attention. Then give yourself somewhere to go where you don’t have to do much at all.

What will you find at Vettä Nordic Spa?

If you’ve never visited us before, Nordic hydrotherapy is surprisingly simple: hot, cold, rest, repeat.

Start with heat. Step inside one of our Finnish wood-burning saunas and stay for the löyly, or spend some time warming up in a steam room.

Then cool down. Step into a cold plunge or simply spend a moment outside in the crisp October air.

Then rest. Sink into one of our hot pools, stretch out on a heated stone bed, find a chair by the fire or settle somewhere among the trees.

Some areas of Vettä welcome conversation. Others are kept quiet for those who would rather spend the time to themselves. And when you’re ready, begin again. There is no prize for getting through the circuit fastest. No perfect number of rounds. The point is to take your time.

Is there a Nordic spa near Toronto for a fall day trip?

If you’ve found us by searching for a Nordic spa near Toronto, welcome. We’re Vettä Nordic Spa, a Finnish-inspired Nordic spa in Oro-Medonte, north of Toronto and close to Barrie and Orillia.

We’re approximately a 90-minute drive from Toronto, depending on where your trip begins and, as anyone from Southern Ontario knows, traffic. But getting outside the city is part of the point.

Vettä isn’t designed to make you forget what season it is. Quite the opposite. Come in October and you’ll know it’s fall. The trees change around you. Cool air makes the walk from the sauna to the cold plunge feel different. Steam rises from the pools. The fires feel a little warmer. And that first step back into hot water after being outside? We’ll let you discover that one yourself.

Why is fall such a good time for Nordic hydrotherapy?

Part of the appeal of Nordic hydrotherapy comes from contrast. Warmth feels different when the air outside is cool. Cold feels different after you’ve spent time in a hot sauna. And rest feels different after you’ve experienced both.

Ontario gives us a pretty spectacular backdrop for it. In summer, Vettä is green. In winter, snow changes the property completely. But for a few weeks in between, the forest turns. Gold. Orange. Red. Then slowly, the leaves begin to fall. You don’t need to travel very far to feel like you’ve gone somewhere.

And while you’re here, take a look at what’s coming next

This fall feels a little different at Vettä. If you visit over Thanksgiving weekend, you may notice something new taking shape among the trees. That’s TAIVAS, the newest addition to Vettä.

With its opening planned for later this October, you’ll be visiting while work is still underway. Take a look while you’re here and see how the structure and new saunas are coming together. For those who have been visiting us for years, it’s a first look at what’s next. And if this is your first visit, you’ve picked an interesting time to find us.

A different way to spend Thanksgiving

Canadian Thanksgiving falls on Monday, October 12 in 2026, the final day of this year’s Images Studio Tour. For many of us, Thanksgiving means gathering around a table. We like that tradition. But gathering doesn’t necessarily have to start at dinner.

It can happen driving along a country road together. Walking into an artist’s studio and finding something neither of you expected. Sitting beside someone in the sauna. Taking a coffee outside. Or having a conversation that gets longer because nobody is checking the time.

There is room for both. A Thanksgiving table later. A little time together first.

Simcoe County, this fall is also our chance to say thank you

This October means something else to us too. Vettä is celebrating five years in Oro-Medonte. Over those years, our neighbours from across Simcoe County have visited, returned, brought friends and family, celebrated milestones and made Vettä part of their own traditions.

So this October and November, we’d like to give a little something back. Eligible Simcoe County residents save $20 on Hydrotherapy or $30 on Hydrotherapy + Massage on qualifying weekday visits.

In October, the offer is available Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; in November, Monday through Thursday. Thanksgiving Monday, October 12 is excluded as a peak date. A valid driver’s licence with a Simcoe County address is required at check-in, and the discount cannot be combined with other promotions. See the full Thank You Simcoe County offer before booking.

That means Thanksgiving weekend doesn’t have to be the end of your fall plans. Come back on a quieter eligible weekday. Watch the trees change a little more. Take another sauna. Stay a little longer. It’s our way of saying thank you, Simcoe County, for five years together.

How to spend a fall day in Oro-Medonte

You don’t need a complicated itinerary.

Morning

Leave Toronto or the GTA and head north toward Oro-Medonte. If you’re already here in Simcoe County, even better. Take the long way. Choose a few stops on the Images Studio Tour rather than trying to see everything. Meet the artists, look around and give yourself enough time between stops to enjoy the drive.

Midday

Follow the tour through Horseshoe Valley. Stop for lunch, visit another studio or make your way to Vettä to see the artists exhibiting in our KOIVU side room. Don’t treat every stop as another item to check off.

Afternoon

Change into your robe and leave the itinerary behind for a while. Warm up in a Finnish wood-burning sauna. Step into the cold. Settle into a hot pool surrounded by the changing trees. Rest on a heated stone bed or find somewhere quiet by the fire. Then begin again when you’re ready.

And while you’re here, take a look at TAIVAS as it comes together ahead of its planned opening later this October.

Evening

Stay for something to eat. Take another circuit if you feel like it. Watch the daylight change through the trees. Then head home. Or make a weekend of it.

What else is there to do in Oro-Medonte in the fall?

The Images Studio Tour is a particularly good reason to visit over Thanksgiving, but there’s more to this part of Ontario than one weekend. Fall is a good time to explore local trails, cycling routes, farms, arts and culture, and the changing landscape throughout Horseshoe Valley and Simcoe County.

Barrie is to the south. Orillia is to the north. And there’s plenty in between. You can make the weekend as full or as empty as you’d like. We have a preference for leaving a little room.

This Thanksgiving, take the long way

Stop at the studio that wasn’t originally on your list. Take the road with the better view. Spend another ten minutes in the sauna. Stay at the table after you’ve finished eating.

Thanksgiving gives us a reason to notice what we’re grateful for. Maybe it can also give us the time to actually enjoy it.

The 2026 Images Studio Tour takes place October 9 to 12 throughout Oro-Medonte and the surrounding area. Vettä is Studio N, with Peter Michalski, Arnold Veen and Angie Jacome in our KOIVU side room from 10 AM to 5 PM. Follow the signs on arrival to find your way.

And when you’re ready to warm up, we’ll be here among the trees.

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