Summer Day Trips for Teens

Forget indoor climbing gyms. Take a family climbing lesson on the limestone cliffs of Milton’s Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area. Read this for some outfitter suggestions.

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Learn the ins and outs of mountain biking at Kelso Conservation Area’s Mountain Bike Skills Zone, which features wooden bridges, rollers, rocks, and logs to help riders learn how to properly tackle technical features in a controlled environment.

The Grand River’s gentle currents make it a great choice for first-time paddlers. Area outfitters such as Grand Experiences, Grand River Rafting and Heritage River Canoe and Kayak Co. make it so easy to gear up and go.

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See what all the buzz is about and take a stand-up paddleboard lesson on the shores of Lake Ontario in Burlington or give wakeboarding a try at Binbrook Conservation Area. Boarder Pass Canada operates a two-tower cable wake boarding system that provides the ultimate wakeboarding experience and is appropriate for people who have never tried the sport.

Defy the law of gravity with a thrilling free-fall experience at Oakville’s iFLY Toronto. You’ll get a real sense of what skydivers experience during the free-fall portion of their jump at this indoor facility.

Stoney Creek’s Fifty Point Conservation Area, Brantford’s Pinehurst Lake Conservation Area, Hamilton’s Christie Lake, Valens Lake Conservation Area and Burlington’s downtown shoreline are all great choices for a few hours of sun and sand.

Brand-conscious teens will be thrilled with the collection of stores that awaits at Halton’s Toronto Premium Outlets, including Coach, Kate Spade, J. Crew, Bench and dozens more. If your teen prefers to hunt for vintage finds, head to Hamilton’s Ottawa Street or the vintage shops of Paris.

Plan a trip to the Art Gallery of Hamilton. It’s Canada’s third-largest public art gallery and is home to over 9,500 works of art. Just down the street you’ll find the Art Gallery of Hamilton Design Annex. Time your visit with one of the hands-on classes offered here, shop for unique art pieces in the Art+Design store, and take in one of the gallery’s experimental exhibitions. A great way for out-of-towners to tour through some of the city’s independent art spaces, including galleries, shops and studios, is to attend the monthly James Street North Art Crawl. It’s held on the second Friday night of every month.

Spend a day exploring around Hamilton and Burlington and catching up with the region’s amazing collection of food trucks.

Hamilton Halton Brant’s festivals are a fun way to enjoy music together. September’s SuperCrawl tends toward artists that are a little edgier. Past performers have included Monster Truck, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Daniel Lanois, The Sadies and Hayden.

For today’s social media savvy teens, you didn’t do something cool unless there’s a selfie to prove it. Hamilton Halton Brant has some share-worthy spots for your teen’s summer posting pleasure, including:

• Flying in a WW2 bomber at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
• Chatting on their smartphone in Alexander Graham Bell’s childhood home
• Hand feeding a giraffe its breakfast on African Lion Safari’s Wake Up The Wild experience
• Standing beside one of Hamilton’s hidden waterfalls