7 incredible places in Ontario that locals don't appreciate nearly enough (I was guilty)

Growing up in Ontario , I think I got a little too used to how much was right outside my door.

Lakes, galleries, theatre festivals and stunning stretches of wilderness all felt normal simply because they were familiar.

It wasn't until I moved abroad that I started looking back at some of these places differently.

Distance has a funny way of turning the ordinary into something you suddenly realize was pretty special all along.

From skating through downtown Ottawa to bopping along the shores of Georgian Bay, here are eight Ontario spots I should have appreciated more when I actually lived there.

The Grotto in Bruce Peninsula See on Instagram I didn't appreciate just how spectacular the Bruce Peninsula was when I had relatively easy access to it.

Georgian Bay was always beautiful to me, but it was also familiar enough that I lumped it into the general category of Ontario lakes and didn't think too hard about it.

The Grotto is wild, though, with its limestone cliffs, rugged caves and crispy blue waters.

After moving to the Mediterranean (which is obviously amazing in its own right, too), I've gained a new appreciation for how beautiful (and uncrowded) Ontario's freshwater landscapes are.

They're a bit rougher and less glamorous in the obvious sense, but the scale and clarity of the water are something else.

The AGO See on Instagram The AGO was always just part of Toronto to me, so I never really stopped to think about how lucky I was to have it so close by.

Of course, France has some seriously epic galleries, but the accessibility doesn't feel quite the same.

When I was younger, I could wander in for free, and later take advantage of free admission nights.

I could also take classes there and spend time making and learning about art instead of just looking at it (the linography course was a personal favourite of mine).