James AllenAurora is the perfect example of not judging a book by its cover. This small town may not be as famous as Toronto, Alberta or Calgary, but it leaves plenty of fun activities to discover—and that’s where we come in!
Join us here as we shine the spotlight on some cool, unusual and fun activities you can do in this humble town. We’ve also included some useful tips that we think you can find handy during your trip to make sure that you get the most out of your trip!
- Take a photo by the Canadian Moments Mural
- Feast on delicious seafood at AW, SHUCKS! OYSTER BAR & BISTRO
- Learn a new skill at the Aurora Cultural Centre
- Enjoy a movie marathon by Aurora Town Park
- Go on an Arctic Adventure
- Explore Sheppard’s Bush
- Go back in time to the Hillary House National Historic Site
- Spend a nice day at the Aurora Town Square
- Play an elevated game of tag at Lazer Runner
- Admire beautiful plants and trees at Aurora Arboretum
Take a photo by the Canadian Moments Mural
– Media credits: trinitypointdevelopments
Address: 15243 Yonge St, Aurora, ON L4G 1L8, Canada
The Canadian Moments Mural on Yonge Street is one of the most famous sights in the humble town of Aurora. It’s been around for more than 20 years and it’s still popular today to the point where a trip to the town wouldn’t be complete without taking a photo of it.
You can thank artists William Lazos, Larry Mar, Attila Szany and Andres Correa for this magnificent piece of art. It’s colourful, massive and best of all, tells the history of the country by featuring some of its most iconic moments.
| Pro tips: If you want to take tons of photos alongside this beautiful piece of art without the pressure of time, you can temporarily park your car in the nearby Dollarama. You can also stop by the various restaurants adjacent to the wall so that you can get some high-quality grub before you take some memorable photos! |
Feast on delicious seafood at AW, SHUCKS! OYSTER BAR & BISTRO
Website: https://awshucks.ca
Address: 15230 Yonge St, Aurora, ON L4G 1P2, Canada
Contact details: +1 905-727-5100
Operating hours:
- Tuesday to Thursday: 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM
- Friday and Saturday: 12:00 PM to 2:00 AM
- Sunday: 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- Monday: Closed
If all the walking and activities in Aurora left you hungry as a horse, we recommend stopping by AW, SHUCKS! OYSTER BAR & BISTRO. This restaurant serves a myriad of delicious seafood, all of which are cooked wonderfully, especially the titular oyster.
These oysters are as fresh as they come and they don’t need much seasoning to enjoy. Usually, a splash of lemon juice is all you need or if you’re feeling a bit dangerous, you can also add a dash of hot sauce—just talking about it makes us salivate.
| Pro tips: Parking here is free! You can take this opportunity to stop by the nearby Canadian Moments mural to take as many photos as you want before getting back to your car. If you’re not too big on oysters and seafood, in general, you can order their mushroom risotto. It’s cheap, good for sharing and best of all, delicious! |
Learn a new skill at the Aurora Cultural Centre
Website: https://auroraculturalcentre.ca/adult-classes/
Address: 22 Church St, Aurora, ON L4G 1G4, Canada
Contact details: +1 905-713-1818
Operating hours: Check the website for the schedule
Aurora Cultural Centre is a haven for different forms of art but what we love about it the most is that it encourages people to try new things. Here, people of all ages can learn a new art form or improve upon the foundation that they may already have through hands-on workshops.
These workshops are helmed by talented individuals and the courses themselves are super detailed to make sure that everyone leaves with a new skill.
Whether you’re into drawing, sculpting, painting or anything in between you’re bound to find a workshop here that will pique your interest!
| Pro tip: Make sure to check out their website before visiting to see the updated prices and schedules of each workshop! |
Enjoy a movie marathon by Aurora Town Park
Website: https://www.aurora.ca/en/recreation-arts-and-culture/movies-in-the-park.aspx
Address: Aurora, ON L4G 1H1, Canada
Contact details: +1 905-727-3123
Operating hours: Check the website for the schedule
One of the best things you can do in Aurora’s town park is to enjoy a unique but welcome movie marathon. During its Movies in the Park events, you can enjoy a whole day of blockbusters, chick flicks, horror films and what have you under the open sky!
Snacks and spaces are aplenty during this event so you won’t have to worry about running out of seats as you would in a movie theatre. If you want our advice, we recommend visiting at night so that you can go movie-watching and stargazing in one go—win-win!
| Pro tips: Free popcorn will only be available until supplies last so be sure to be there as early as possible! If you want to get really cosy, you can pack some sleeping bags, pillows and blankets. There are no chairs provided in the park so make sure to bring your own lawn chair if you don’t want to sit in the bare grass. |
Go on an Arctic Adventure
Website: https://www.aurora.ca/en/recreation-arts-and-culture/arctic-adventure.aspx
If you visit this town during the winter, don’t miss out on experiencing the Arctic Adventure event held at the Aurora Town Park. During this festive season, you can engage in various family-friendly activities like ice carving, outdoor skating and tons of exciting games!
This is also a great opportunity to take beautiful photos of Aurora while some of its parts are engulfed in a blanket of snow. Although the holidays will be over by this event, you can’t help but feel joyous when you see a sight like this.
| Pro tips: If you want to visit Aurora for this reason alone, we recommend stopping by mid-February, as this is when the event is usually held. We also recommend bringing your own helmet if you’re planning on joining the outdoor skating event. |
Explore Sheppard’s Bush
– Media credit: theeyesoftoronto
Address: Industry St, Aurora, ON L4G 7B3, Canada
If you’re looking for a more nature-centric activity to do in Aurora, then Sheppard’s Bush should be on your itinerary! It’s one of the most beautiful spots in the small town thanks to its lush trees, which are especially pretty during fall when the leaves start to turn orange.
You can explore this nature by hiking through the Oak Ridges, which is a fairly easy in-and-out trail that takes around an hour and a half to complete. We say that it’s easy because the trail mostly consists of flat gravel, which also makes it wheelchair-friendly—pretty cool!
Then if you want to take a break in the middle of your journey, you can set up a picnic and feast on your favourite snacks.
| Pro tips: We don’t recommend wearing short-sleeve garments when hiking here, as there are some mosquitos along the way. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to apply some repellant before visiting this conservation. If you’re planning on bringing your dogs, make sure to keep them on their leash to avoid unwanted accidents with other explorers on the trail. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a more cost-efficient way to explore Sheppard’s Bush, you can also ride your mountain bike through the trail! |
Go back in time to the Hillary House National Historic Site
Address: https://aurorahs.com
Address: 15372 Yonge St, Aurora, ON L4G 1N8, Canada
Contact details: +1 905-727-8991
Operating hours:
- Tuesday to Saturday: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
- Sunday and Monday: Closed
Entrance fee: $5.00
Hillary House is an interesting piece of architecture nestled in the busy street of Yonge. It’s a must-visit attraction for two main reasons: pure vanity and rich history.
Whether you’re a fan of architecture or not, it’s not hard to be in awe of its Gothic Revival architecture. This style was famous during the 19th century and is evident in both its exterior and interior, which is why visiting it is like going back in time.
It was once the residence of four Canadian physicians and today, it serves as a museum that features interactive displays and exhibits that tell the story of Aurora.
| Pro tips: It’s always advised that visitors book in advance instead of doing walk-ins since the house is a famous attraction in the humble town. Be sure to check their website regularly to see if you can time your visit to one of the place’s events and workshops. |
Spend a nice day at the Aurora Town Square
Website: https://www.aurora.ca/en/town-services/aurora-town-square.aspx
Address: 50 Victoria St, Aurora, ON L4G 1R3, Canada
Aurora Town Square is the main attraction in the entire town and rightly so, as it’s located in the heart of it. You can easily spend an entire day here and not run out of things to try thanks to the establishments like shops and eateries dotted around the square.
If you’re more into artsy stuff, you’ll be pleased to know that there are also a handful of bookstores, antique stores and art galleries here! However, the main highlight of the square is the iconic clock tower, which you should definitely take a picture of while you’re here.
As for restaurants, you’ll find just about every cuisine there is so you won’t have to worry about the picky eaters in your group!
| Pro tip: If you’re looking for a great nightlife space while you’re in the area, we recommend checking out Aurora Artisan Bar & Grill. This place offers good food, refreshing drinks and live entertainment! |
Play an elevated game of tag at Lazer Runner
Website: https://lazerrunner.co
Address: 2 Allaura Blvd #10, Aurora, ON L4G 3S5, Canada
Contact details: +1 905-503-5600
Operating hours:
- Tuesday to Thursday: 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- Friday: 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Saturday: 10:30 AM to 9:00 PM
- Sunday: 10:30 AM to 7:00 PM
- Monday: Closed
Pricing: $9.00+
Planning to do something exciting with your family? Then a friendly and exciting game of laser tag at Lazer Runner should be right up your alley!
Action-packed is an understatement when it comes to this tag arena, as you’ll be right in the crosshairs of elimination for basically the entirety of your time here. Fortunately, you also have the power to eliminate other people using your trusty laser gun—an eye for an eye!
Aside from the laser tag arena, you can also try your hand at a myriad of arcade games that will bring back memories of old gaming titles.
| Pro tips: As much as possible, we recommend visiting this place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as you’ll be treated to significantly cheaper rates! If your kid’s birthday is coming up, you can also use this arcade as a venue to give them one of their most memorable days of the year with their friends! |
Admire beautiful plants and trees at Aurora Arboretum
Website: https://auroraarboretum.ca
Address: Aurora, ON L4G 7H4, Canada
Contact details: [email protected]
Operating hours: Open 24 hours
The Town of Aurora features a plethora of beautiful wildlife and the best place to visit to prove this claim is Aurora Arboretum. One of the most breathtaking things to see here is the different species of trees ranging from Red Oak to White Oak and Dark Walnut.
You can witness these flora species during your walk on one of its three trails. What’s great about these trails is that they’re fairly easy to get through and they loop around the area, making them perfect for leisurely walks.
Aside from these plants, you can also spot some majestic creatures living their best lives here including the famous Canada Geese.
| Pro tip: Be in the loop of the latest events happening in Aurora Arboretum by checking the calendar on their website. Some notable activities you can try here include tree planting, mustard pulling and vine pulling. |
