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The small-time port of COLLINGWOOD , 20km west along the bayshore from Wasaga Beach, has a clutch of fine early twentieth-century buildings dotted along its main street, Hurontario - red-brick facades decorated with geometric designs and roughly dressed sandstone sills. More importantly, the town is also the gateway to the Blue Mountain , a segment of the Niagara Escarpment whose steepish slopes are now a major winter sports area, mainly for alpine skiing though several cross-country trails have also been developed. To get there from Collingwood, take the Blue Mountain Road (Route 19) which reaches - after about 10km - the downhill ski slopes at the Blue Mountain Inn (tel 705/445-0231, fax 444-1751, www.bluemountain.ca ; $80-100), a large and modern lodge that is the centre of wintertime activity. This is not, however, the best place to stay: instead continue along the Blue Mountain Road for another 400m as far as the Blue Mountain Auberge (tel 705/445-1497; $60-80), an informal and attractive lodge, built in Alpine style with a dozen rooms, sauna, kitchen and barbecue area, that's tucked into the wooded slopes of the Blue Mountain. It's a great location and reservations are advised both in the winter and summer, when hikers use the Auberge as a jumping-off point for the Bruce Trail , which passes close by. The Auberge doesn't hire out ski gear, but this is readily available from outlets nearby. In total, the Blue Mountain has 39 downhill ski slopes of varying difficulty with a maximum vertical drop of 219m. The prime season is from mid-December to mid-March. A one-day lift pass costs $40 and the lifts rarely get crowded. Operated by PMCL (tel 705/737-0330, www.pmcl.on.ca ), Toronto-Owen Sound buses stop in Collingwood and at the Blue Mountain Inn at least a couple of times a day, sometimes more.
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