Activities
At The Briars you'll find a world of activities at your door step. Join a daily programme (please see the seasonal programme pages) or trek out on your own. Organized activities presented take place over a week period, so may not take place during a shorter stay.
The cost of the following activities are included in every package, according to the season:
Outdoors:
- 4 Plexipave courts (2 night-lit) for tennis, basketball, ball hockey
- beach volleyball
- badminton, volleyball
- Boating:* pedal boats, canoeing, kayaking, Lady Simcoe cruise
- mountain biking
- horseshoes, croquet, bocce
- swimming (lake or outdoor pool)
- cross-country skiing (groomed trails, rentals available)
- snowshoeing (rentals available)
- skating (pond or Lake Simcoe)
- guided nature/history/energy and nordic poling walks
Indoors:
- swimming (solarium pool)
- sauna
- whirlpool
- exercise studio
- yoga classes
- billiards
- ping-pong
- darts
- foosball
- Saturday evening dinner-dances
Outdoors, guests are surrounded by the beauty of nature—blue Lake Simcoe, woodsy riverbanks, towering trees. These are an integral part of life at The Briars. Marked pathways guide nature-lovers through verdant gardens, along country laneways, through a private 50-acre nature reserve and along the 1,000-foot lakefront.
Golfers, of course, have loved The Briars course for decades; we can assure you that the course has never been more beautiful or in better condition.
The Briars lakefront is fully equipped with canoes, kayaks and pedal boats. The twelve-passenger Lady Simcoe, our own tour launch, carries guests on Lake Simcoe cruises.
Indoors, guests find an agreeable mix of fitness and games facilities.
Quieter times are enjoyed in the inn's secluded nooks (many with fireplaces). In particular, "The Top" is a splendid reading retreat and boasts an eagle's eye view of the entire estate.
Popular Drinkwaters' Lounge has live musical entertainment most evenings during the summer and on weekends during the winter.
The Briars Saturday evening dinner-dances are one of Ontario's most enduring cottage country traditions.