Rural road trips and the charms of Ontario farms

Hop in the car and enjoy farms, fairs and more in the countryside

You don’t have to live on a farm to experience life on a farm. In autumn, just in time for the harvest season, there are plenty of ways for urbanites to connect with their rural side, from farm markets and pick-your-own produce to festivals and family-friendly fun.

Pick-your-own

In Ontario, apple-picking season starts in mid-August and typically runs through to October, with different varieties peaking throughout that time. Most pick-your-own apple orchards also offer a day of fun on the farm, like wagon rides and corn mazes. So, whether you have kids or are a kid at heart, apple picking is a fun (and tasty) way to celebrate Ontario’s agricultural heritage.

At Spirit Tree Estate Cidery in Caledon, for example, there are 15 apple varieties to choose from. And, after working those biceps, you can relax afterward in the Cider Gardens and fill up with a wood-fired Spirit Tree pizza – paired with a hard apple, pear or pumpkin cider. Or, at Hy-Hope Farm in Pickering, you can pick apples and go for a round of golf, then reward yourself with a slice of freshly baked apple pie.

Nature’s Bounty Farm near Port Perry offers unique varieties, such as Silken and Macoun, and you can top off the day with a private gourmet picnic on the apple farm. Plus, there’s a pick-your-own hot pepper patch with nine varieties, from mildly spicy to knock-your-socks-off hot.

At Forsythe Family Farms near Uxbridge, pick-your-own isn’t limited to apples. There are also strawberries, sweet peas, beans, tomatoes and pumpkins. Bring the kids along for the Barnyard Adventure playground, pedal kart tracks, cedar hedge maze, two-acre corn maze and sunflower trail, in bloom mid-September. On weekends until October, there are also wagon rides, themed scavenger hunts and an animal cuddle station – with lots of bunnies.

Pingle’s Farm Market in Hampton also offers pick-your-own strawberries, corn, tomatoes, apples and pumpkins, as well as sunflowers and wildflowers. The farm’s harvest festival offers a circus-themed corn maze, a mini corn maze for toddlers, wagon rides, live music, coffee shacks and a fall-inspired menu, with flame-roasted corn, chunky harvest chili and fried apple sundaes. There’s also a year-round farm market that offers local products, including gourmet grocery items and locally butchered meats.

To make it easier to find rural adventures, Perth County’s Farm Gate Map pinpoints farm gate stores, self-serve stands and seasonal pick-your-own experiences. Highlights include Pumpkinpalooza at Harwill Farms in Gowanstown, where you can pick your own pumpkins while the kids enjoy a corn maze, and McCully’s Hill Farm in St. Marys, with pick-your-own pumpkins, horse-drawn wagon rides and a pumpkin catapult.

Fall fairs

Embrace Ontario’s agricultural heritage at one of many fall fairs. The annual Erin Fall Fair, for example, is a celebration of the town’s rich agricultural heritage, with tractor pulls, horse shows, traditional fair competitions and live entertainment. There’s also a vintage tractor show and ‘xtreme’ cowboy race, along with artisanal foods and locally grown produce. This year, the fair takes place Oct. 6 to Oct. 9.

This year, the Bolton Fall Fair is celebrating 165 years. Taking place Sept. 21 to Sept. 24, it features livestock displays, horse shows and competitions showcasing the best produce, baking and crafts from local residents. And for agricultural enthusiasts, the International Plowing Match & Rural Expo (IPM) in Headwaters is a five-day festival from Sept. 19 to Sept. 23, where skilled tractor experts compete in plowing showdowns. There are also livestock parades, live entertainment and hundreds of vendors and exhibitors.

Other farm experiences

There’s more to experiencing Ontario’s agricultural heritage than tractor pulls – from farm-to-table gourmet dinners to relaxing farm stays.

On the grounds of Landman Gardens near Grand Valley, for example, is a traditional Scottish-style Blackhouse, with a living roof of sedums and grasses.

The farm hosts the popular Blackhouse Dinner Series, a multicourse seasonal menu of ingredients grown on the farm or sourced locally (think pork tenderloin with an apple bourbon sauce). Its farm store also sells pasture-raised pork, chicken, turkey and eggs, as well as baked goods.

For a different type of farm experience, Ontario Honey Creations in Mulmur is a chance to be a beekeeper for a day. You’ll don a beekeeping jacket, veil and gloves, then open the hive and hold a frame of honey. You can even harvest the honey in the manual extractor and bottle your own jar of raw honey. Afterwards, sample some of the farm’s honeys, including honey with walnuts and mead, hot honey and whisky-smoked honey.

For a longer retreat, farm stays are a way to connect with nature over the weekend or longer. You can channel your inner cowboy or cowgirl in a covered wagon at Texas Longhorn Guest Ranch in Strathroy, where you can partake in guided horseback trail rides, hearty ranch-style meals and campfires under the stars. Or, at Wellandport’s Riverside Oasis Farm, stay in a Mongolian yurt overlooking the Welland River while enjoying nature walks and organic, farm-fresh food.

At Alabaster Acres in Caledon Village, you can book a “glamping” farm experience; a large canvas tent houses a working wood stove, king-sized bed and comfy furnishings. Outside, there’s a barbecue, fire pit with lounge chairs, string lights, battery-operated candles and hammock. Facilities include an open-air shower and open-air, clawfoot bath.

Whether it’s a weekend retreat or a day at a fall fair, there’s no shortage of opportunities to enjoy country life at the peak of harvest season.

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