Ultimate Family Road Trips
TORONTO IS CROWNED by the vast expanse of York Durham Headwaters’ undulating hills, woods and farmland.
It is bejewelled with apple orchards and sugar shacks. It is ribboned with bike trails, hiking and romantic getaways that entice us. Here are three awesome itineraries for family adventure. (Check each one for schedule and hours of operation)
YORK REGION
Our day begins at Brooks Farms to fill our bags with the freshest Ontario produce, while the kids discover the Playland. Bounding across giant jumping pillows, climbing straw pyramids, riding cars and trains, playing with farm animals and getting lost in the corn maze is exhausting for us, but exhilarating for them. A picnic on the grounds is in order before heading to Treetop Trekking to climb the Treewalk Village, tree-wee low-rope obstacle course and zip line in arboreal bliss. Afterwards, a visit to nearby King Cole Ducks Ltd should be obligatory. Their range of products is amazing: from duck eggs, sausages, burgers, smoked breasts, legs and wings to spadini and duck pizza. For a unique interactive dining experience we head to Market & Co. in the Upper Canada Mall.
It’s a combination of chef’s hall and farmers market with eighteen artisans from bakers to shuckers and marketfresh restaurants. As night falls the stars shine at David Dunlap Observatory, the largest telescope in Canada, where Family Night programs introduce us to the wonders of the world of astronomy.
DURHAM REGION
Armed with a list of available apple varieties and an empty half-bushel bag from Archibald’s
Orchard & Winery we’re free to roam through the orchard and fill it with 20lbs of fruit. Freshpressed sweet cider, a range of hard ciders and iced apple wine, and warm aromatic apple pie,
crisps and dumplings are available in the Apple Market. Munching on our apples, we tower above the Oak Ridges Moraine at
Treetop Eco-adventure Park, and navigate through twelve obstacles in the trees: suspension bridges, log and Tarzan rope swings, cargo nets, barrels, floating logs, J ropes, ladders and platforms, and a zip line all the way down. Courses are age and height-appropriate. For the older kids and the young at heart there’s even a course for combat archery! We’ve packed a lunch and make our way to Pathways on Pleasure Valley
for a picnic in tranquility. Horses await us for a serene trail ride through 225 acres of breathtaking landscape. It’s a short jaunt from horseback riding to the York
Durham Heritage Railway. All aboard! The train whistles as we sit back to enjoy dinner and a themed ride. There are several family trains, and kiddie-themed trains like Day out With Thomas™, Fall Colours, Polar Express Train Ride and Santa Trains.
HEADWATERS REGION
There are six to eight varieties of apples at Spirit Tree Estate Cidery from which to pick our own and fill either 5lb or 20lb-bags. After apple picking, we relax in the Ciderhouse Bistro with salt-cured maple leaves fried in cider tempura batter and drizzled with maple syrup. Add to that apple cinnamon buns, crisp pizza, local Limousin beef burgers, a Croque Monsieur of toasted apple bread, apple smoked cheddar, smoked ham, and shredded apple in cider Mornay sauce, and a wood-oven baked Normandy apple bread made with cider, chopped apples and honey to go. It’s all so delicious, and begs for pairings with apple cider (blended and single varietals,) and pear and pumpkin ciders. A few minutes away, the newly constructed Badlands Trail leaves us awestruck with wonderment at the unique geological phenomenon of the rusty red Cheltenham
Badlands. Inspired, we head to the Alton Mill Arts
Centre. There are twentyfive studio artists, galleries and a heritage museum to explore at leisure, as well as classes and workshops in pottery, watercolours and encaustic painting for us to express our creativity. A luxury stay at Hockley Valley
Resort promises panoramic views, invigorating hiking and exceptional farm-to-table dining. (80% of the ingredients on the menu come from the onsite fruit and vegetable farm.) The resort is renowned for its spa services, range of amenities and activities, and the Adamo Estate
Winery. In winter, snow covers the rolling hills for skiing and snowboarding. In summer, the golf course beckons. www.yorkdurhamheadwaters.ca