Within the city of Ottawa:

Pinewood Orchards: An apple orchard on NCC land in the Greenbelt (Kanata). Very picturesque. Although the store is open daily, I believe apple picking takes place only on weekends. You can also purchase their apples at their stand along Carling Avenue, near March Road.

Apple Hill Fruit Farm: A small pick-your-own apple orchard in Barrhaven (Nepean). They also offer wagon rides on weekends. NOW CLOSED

Log Cabin Orchard: A 10 acre, pick-your-own orchard featuring 7 varieties of apples on a 33-acre farm in Osgoode. The store front is a 172 year old log cabin which is the original homestead on the property from 1840. I have not yet visited this orchard, but it looks great!

Harvest Moon Orchard: This orchard in Carp does not offer pick-your-own apples, but they have a very nice store and the apples are freshly picked. Note: They hold a special event called “Heritage Apple Days” each year in October.

Dekok Berry Farm: This berry farm in Kanata offers pick-your-own apples on Saturdays.

East of Ottawa:

Cannamore Orchard: A large apple-picking operation with many activities for children, and a large store for browsing. A great family outing. This is one of the biggest apple picking operations in the region. It’s located in Cannamore, which is SW of Casselman.

Ferme Dagenais: A biodynamic farm with pick your own organic apples (and pears). They also have a health food and natural products store on site. Located in Embrun.

Verger Nation Sud: A beautiful apple orchard overlooking the South Nation River (in Plantagenet). Absolutely delicious apples. It’s best to call ahead, as this is a small part-time operation for the owners. 613.673.1170.

Les Vergers Villeneuve and Blueberry farm: A pick-your-own apple orchard in the fall, in a very picturesque setting. They are located in St-Pascal-Babylon, which is near Rockland.

Avonmore Berry Farm: Primarily a strawberry picking operation, but they also have pick-your-own apples in September and October. They are located in Avonmore, which is SE of Casselman.

Pine Hill Orchard: A more traditional apple-picking experience, in a lovely setting with very welcoming owners. You can read more in my blog post located here. Open daily from September 1st until the end of the apple-picking season. Located in Bourget, which is south of Rockland.

Strathmore Orchard and Winery: Primarily a winery that sells fruit wines (raspberry, strawberry, apple, and cranberry), but their web site says they also offer apple picking. They have a gift shop and special events throughout the year.

Domaine Cleroux: A small orchard located in Casselman, open only for a few weekends in the fall. They also have a sugar shack and beautiful store where they sell maple products (which I wrote about here). Check their website for open house dates in the fall, before Christmas, and during the maple season.

South of Ottawa:

Mountain Orchards: A very large orchard located south of Ottawa, in Mountain (near Kemptville). It was quiet when I visited on a weekday in September, but on weekends, things get crazy busy. They have wagon rides, a donut machine (kids of all ages love this!), preserves and pies for sale, and of course, lots of apples! They also have a giant corn maze and a straw jump.

Kilmarnock Orchard: An apple orchard located right by the Kilmarnock lock on the Rideau Canal (near Smiths Falls). They have a large store, and you can pick your own apples.

Smyth’s Orchard: Located in Dundela, the home of the original McIntosh apple. There are some interesting displays about the McIntosh apple, and a large store. They also have a second hand shop with lots of antiques and other stuff. The orchard is east of Prescott, about an hour’s drive from Ottawa.

Quebec:

Verger Croque-Pomme: A very large and popular apple picking operation located near Thurso, Quebec (east of Ottawa, across the Ottawa River). They also sell apple wine and cider, including ice cider (which tastes delicious – similar to ice wine).

Note: It’s best to call ahead to any of the above places, as the length of the apple season varies each year.

Wheeler's entrance

If the mild winter weather is filling your head with thoughts of spring and the maple syrup season, you may want to get a head start by visiting Wheeler’s Maple Sugar Camp and Pancake House. Located in the beautiful Lanark Highlands (about 90 minutes from downtown Ottawa), Wheeler’s is a year-round destination providing outstanding recreational and educational facilities. With groomed trails, a maple museum, farm animals, and a beautiful log restaurant, visitors can easily spend a half-day enjoying the sugar camp, even off-season.

I’ve been to Wheeler’s twice: once in the fall of 2010, and again this February. Both visits were outside the maple syrup season, so I was able to enjoy all the activities without the crowds. Of course, I didn’t actually get to see the maple syrup being made, which is certainly part of the fun of going to a sugar camp, but there were more than enough other activities to keep me entertained.

One of Wheeler’s unique features is its extensive trail system running through the 730-acre sugar bush. There are six trails, ranging from 1 to 7 km, and visitors are welcome to walk the trails for free year-round. In the winter, you can bring your own snowshoes or skis, or you can rent snowshoes at the restaurant for $5/pair for 2 hours. Two of the trails are stroller-friendly when there’s no snow, and one of the trails has a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk through a wetland and beaver pond. Dogs are welcome on the trails, provided they are leashed and you pick up after them.

The trails are wonderfully quiet in the off-season, and provide great opportunities for wildlife watching. Here’s a short video showing my visit in the fall:

While walking to the trails, you may come across the free-range sheep. The last time I was there, they were hanging out at the small barn, with their other sheep friends who were stuck behind the fence. The free-range sheep were very interested in our dog, keenly watching him and not running away as we walked past (we kept a good distance though).

There are also two Scottish Highland steers on the property. In the winter, they stay in the barn area with the sheep, and in the summer, they’re in a field close to the road.

In addition to the trails and farm animals, Wheeler’s also has two museums. The first is the Maple Heritage Museum, housed in a beautiful log building beside the restaurant. This museum is said to have the most extensive collection of maple artifacts in the world. You’ll see an amazing variety of spouts, sap buckets, sugar moulds, and sap tools, and a really beautiful collection of antique glass syrup containers. There are also old photos of maple syrup production, and a display showing how First Nations people made maple syrup.

There is also a chainsaw museum in a building near the sheep barn. I have never seen this museum myself (I think it was closed when I was there), but make sure to ask about it if you enjoy looking at antique machinery.

With all this walking and touring, you’ll probably be hungry for some pancakes, so it’s time to head over to the main attraction: the gorgeous Canadian Lodge Style restaurant. Made from huge cedar logs reclaimed from century-old barns, the restaurant fits beautifully into its surroundings. During the maple syrup season, you may even have a view of the sap running through a tube outside your window.

The restaurant provides table service – no cafeteria-style ordering here. We each ordered a pancake, one piece of French toast, and 3 maple sausages. I was a bit shocked at the size of the pancake when it came out; it had to be at least 4 times bigger than normal! As we poured copious amounts of maple syrup on our meal, we laughed about how eating pancakes is just an excuse to eat dessert for dinner.

Feeling jumpy yet sleepy from the carb and sugar rush, we paid our bill and headed home. And this is where I learned a good lesson about the Lanark Highlands: do not rely on your cell phone. After developing a sudden flat, only to find that our spare tire was also low, we found ourselves with no cell service and 15 km from the nearest gas station. After limping the car to the highest point we could find, we were finally able to catch a signal and call CAA. Thank goodness we ate that big pancake meal at Wheeler’s, because it was 9pm before we finally made it home. Arriving in a blaze of emergency lights, we unloaded the car and freed our dog from the backseat – surely his most exciting car ride yet.

Location: 1001 Highland Line, Lanark Highlands (McDonalds Corners)

Phone Number: 613-278-2090

Website: http://www.wheelersmaple.com

Reservations: Not required; first-come, first-served on spring weekends (group reservations accepted at other times)

Hours: Daily from 9-5; if you go for a walk, make sure you are out before 5pm when the gates close

Cost: Free parking and admission to the grounds; $2 donation suggested for Maple Museum; $5 for 2 hours of snowshoe rental

Extras in Maple Syrup Season: Horse-drawn wagon/sleigh rides on weekends in March and April and during March Break (check website for dates); maple taffy-on-snow; special Easter activities

Nearby: Victory Farm Alpacas; Temple’s Sugar Camp and Restaurant; Baird Trail (a very nice trail that shows the progression of a former farm property reverting to a natural state)

Note: Click on the links to see my original article for each tree farm.

Ottawa West

Ian’s Evergreen Plantation: This is one of the largest Christmas tree farms in the region. In addition to Christmas trees, they also have a herd of (real) reindeer, and they have some beautiful walking trails. Located in Ashton.

Cedar Hill Berry Farm: This Christmas tree farm is located on a very picturesque berry farm in Pakenham. They offer horse-drawn wagon and sleigh rides throughout the plantation; the best part is riding through a covered bridge over a small river. Be sure to buy some jam while you’re at the store – it’s the best in Ottawa (in my opinion)!

Kings Creek Trees: You can’t cut your own Christmas tree here, but I’m adding them to the list because they have the most beautiful Christmas trees that I’ve ever seen. The trees are brought in from their sister farm in Pennsylvania. They also offer wreath-building workshops that are a lot of fun. Located in Ashton and now Carp.

Ottawa South

Fallowfield Tree Farm: This is a great option for people who want to stick closer to the centre of Ottawa. Located on Fallowfield Rd. in Stittsville, the farm is about 15 minutes west of downtown Ottawa. It has several activities for visitors, including a bonfire, hay rides, a couple farm animals, and a Santa who greets visitors in the parking lot.

Hillcrest Tree Farm: The perfect option if you are looking for more of a traditional farm experience – one that is quiet, peaceful, and very picturesque. They have two beautiful Belgian horses who provide sleigh rides if there is snow. Located in North Gower.

Thomas Tree Farm: If you like a very woodsy experience, this is the place for you. The main activity area is set in a sugar bush, complete with wooden buildings and an outdoor fire. To get to the tree plantation, you can follow a trail through the bush, or take a horse-drawn wagon ride. Located in North Gower.

Ottawa East

Briggs Trees: This is a very old-fashioned type of tree farm, and it’s my vote for the most romantic Christmas tree farm in Ottawa. There are no rows of trees like you see in other plantations. Instead, you head out to the woods, and select a tree sitting amongst other trees of varying sizes. Afterward, you can visit the large gift shop and antique store. Located near Cumberland.

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While you’re there, you can visit the farm store run by Alanna. The store sells alpaca products, including warm hats, gloves, mitts, socks, scarves, and even duvets! There are also alpaca-fibre teddy bears and other toys, as well as yarn and other supplies for fibre artists.

During your visit to the farm, you’ll learn all kinds of interesting things about alpacas. For example, these gentle animals are relatively easy to keep, compared to many other domestic animals. They don’t eat very much, they won’t overgraze, and they are usually quite friendly and easy to handle. And they produce a wonderful fibre that is prized for its warmth and softness. You can even bring the animals to alpaca shows, which Brian Riff says are “like dogs shows, but less intense.”

Here’s something else you probably didn’t know about alpacas. To determine whether a female alpaca is pregnant, you can put her with a male, and if she spits, well then she’s pregnant! That’s certainly an interesting way for a female to handle unwanted male attention!

Alpacas are social animals, so you must keep at least two alpacas together or they will be very unhappy. They have a strong need to be with the herd, as seen during my visit, when we spent some time with an alpaca mother and her baby (called a cria) in the barn. While visiting with these two alpacas, the rest of the alpacas gathered just outside the barn doors, peering in at us shyly and with curiosity. Brian eventually let the mother and cria out of the barn, and they ran happily into the herd to rejoin their friends. (An interesting side story: The Riffs provide boarding services. One of their customers keeps their alpacas at the farm for most of the year, then brings them to PEI on vacation every summer. These alpacas had just returned from their summer vacation, and were being slowly reintegrated back into the herd.)

I highly recommend visiting Victory Farm Alpacas. Spending time with alpacas is good for the soul, something we can all use more of in these busy times.

Location: 1701 3rd Concession Dalhousie, Lanark (3 km North of Watson’s Corners – check your GPS before leaving to ensure it recognizes the road name, or view the Victory Farm driving directions)

Phone number: 613-259-0228

Website: http://www.victoryfarm.ca/

Hours: Fridays 2-7, Saturday, Sunday, Monday 10-4 – other times by appointment

Tours: Available during store hours or by appointment. No charge (but please do consider buying some alpaca products from the store).

Events: This weekend (Nov. 25-28), Alanna is holding her yearly Christmas Sale at the store, where you’ll find sale and clearanceitems and you’ll save the HST on all store items. 

Start of the Haunted Walk

If you’re looking for a Halloween-themed outing this weekend, you should definitely check out McMaze. Located just north of Cornwall, McMaze is a four-season agritourism destination that specializes in mazes and Halloween activities. In fact, it’s quite a bit like Saunders Farm, but on a smaller scale, with more of a true farm feeling to it.

I visited McMaze last October, on a beautiful sunny day during the week. I was there on my own, having just finished up a mushroom farm tour in Eastern Ottawa (see my Continental Mushroom article here). It must have seemed strange that I was there by myself, especially since I was the only visitor that afternoon, but I was made to feel very welcome. (By the way, like many of my agritourism visits, I wanted to experience the farm as a regular visitor, and didn’t reveal that I write for this blog.)

McMaze is located on a working farm, and has many activities to entertain both adults and children. As the name implies, they have several mazes on the property, the largest being their corn maze, which changes every year (this year’s theme is Canadian Symbols). The maze is very relaxing – it’s more about enjoying a walk through a corn maze than actually getting lost.

There are other smaller mazes throughout the property, including a switchgrass maze, a haze maze (an indoor maze with lights and fog), and a doors maze (an indoor maze with 52 doors). You can also visit the mazes at night – just remember to bring a flashlight!

Besides the mazes, there are a number of farm-based activities to enjoy. There’s an Agricultural Education Centre in the barn, farm animals to visit, and even regularly scheduled pig races! When I visited, there were also numerous kitten and cats running around, and some puppies in the barn.

McMaze is also known for its Halloween activities. For 6 nights each year, McMaze offers “Haunted North”, a frightening experience that includes a wagon ride, Haunted Bush Walk, and a very scary walk through a old farm house. The co-owner, Valerie McDonald, gave me a tour of the house when I visited last year, and it was definitely scary even during the day! Picture an old, abandoned farm house in a field -  that’s what you’ll be going through in the dark, with 30 high-school actors ready to jump out at you at any time!

If you don’t think you can handle that level of scariness (or you’re visiting with children), you can also have some Halloween fun during the day. The mazes and farm activities are still open in October, and you can pick your own pumpkin in a field. You can also access part of the Haunted Bush Walk during the day. You’ll follow a path through the woods, where you’ll come across mannequins in various states of dismemberment, as well as other scary scenes. It was so much fun to do this walk during the day, when you can experience the spookiness without the heart-stopping fear of people jumping out at you at night! The walk itself is very well-done, and there are many very neat set-ups, such as the “soft grave” special effect that you can see in my short video below:

If you want to experience Haunted North or its daytime activities, you’ll need to go before McMaze closes on October 31st. Haunted North runs tonight (Friday) and Saturday, and the daytime activities run until Monday. The cost is $15 for Haunted North, $12 for the daytime activities, and $20 for a combination ticket. You can buy your tickets online or at McMaze.

After the regular season is over, McMaze offers horse-drawn sleigh rides by reservation in the winter, and an Easter Egg Hunt in the spring, followed by their regular summer and fall activities. For more details, see the McMaze website, which has photos, videos, and lots more information to help plan your visit.

Location: 17049 Willy Allan Road, St. Andrew’s, Ontario (north of Cornwall)

Phone number: 613-932-7630

Website: http://www.mcmaze.ca

Hours: Varies depending on the season. Open daily during October. See McMaze website for details.

Reservations: Not required, except for groups (group discounts available).

Nearby: While you’re in the area, you might also want to check out Strathmore Orchard and Winery in Monkland, Domaine du Cervin Winery in Chesterville, and Avonmore Berry Farm in Avonmore.  

McIntosh apples

In 2010, the apple picking season ended earlier than usual. As a result, I didn’t get a chance to visit one of the orchards that I was most interested in: Pine Hill Orchards. So this year, they were the first on my list to visit (good thing, because I’ve had no opportunity to go apple picking since then, other than picking apples from a really old tree in the farmer’s field behind our property). 

Pine Hill Orchards (or Vergers des Pins in French) is located east of Ottawa in Bourget, which is south of Rockland. The orchard is next to the LaRose Forest, a 26,000 acre publicly-owned forest with excellent recreational and nature-watching opportunities.

The orchard itself covers 50 acres, with 6000 trees and 20 varieties of apples. The Doran family has owned the orchard since 1995, and has planted cherry, pear, and plum trees, as well as grapes, to go along with the apple trees. As Paul Doran said to me, “It was a retirement project that went crazy.”

When you arrive, you may be greeted by one of the family’s dogs: a very sweet husky, or an elderly hound mix. Then you’ll make your way over to a farm stand where you can select from one of several basket sizes to pick your apples. The smallest is $5, and the largest is $25. You can also borrow a wheelbarrow to carry more than one basket.

When picking, you can fill your basket with any varieties of apples that take your fancy. Paul Doran told us to eat as many as we like, and then pick our favourites. I felt a bit guilty sampling so many apples, but I have to say that it made the experience really fun, and I would gladly have paid more money for the apples we did purchase.

The Doran family also used to make and sell wine under the label Chateau Bourget. However, Paul says that they got out of that business because “it simply doesn’t pay”. Instead, he focuses on the pick-your-own apple business, and it’s obvious that he really enjoys it.

Pine Hill Orchards is one of those small, family-run businesses that makes Ottawa such a great place for agritourism. We felt so welcome, picking our apples in the orchard amidst other families, on a quiet Saturday afternoon in the fall. Oh, and the apples were delicious too!

Location: 1818 St-Felix Road, Bourget (check your GPS before leaving – it may show up as Hammond or Clarence-Rockland)

Phone number: 613-487-2064

Web site: No official website, but they are listed on the Real Ontario site at http://www.realontario.ca/index.php/ontario-tourism-listing?pid=8821

Hours: Daily 9am-6pm, from September 1st to the end of apple-picking season

Tours: Pine Hill Orchards offers school and classroom tours. The tour includes a wagon ride, apple picking, fresh cider, and other activities.

To read about other orchards in the Ottawa region, please see my blog entry from last year, located here.

Dairy goats at Alpenblick Farm

Just over a week ago, I attended a Locavore Tours outing to Alpenblick Farm in Ashton. We spent the day petting the very tame farm animals (including the beautiful goats in the picture to the left), learning about organic farming, and sampling organic milk, hamburgers, and swiss cheese. What a fun day!

To read my article about the tour, please visit to the Local Tourist Ottawa blog (click here). Then sign up for the next Locavore Tour to Alpenblick Farm, taking place on Saturday, September 17^th. The cost is only $20, and that includes transportation from the Eagleson Park & Ride, and an organic lunch at the farm!

Here are some additional pictures:

Locavore Tours is a new tour company founded by Jasen Brousseau, an Environmental Studies student who aims to reconnect people to their food. He organizes bus tours to local farms, where participants meet the farmers, learn about organic and sustainable farming, and enjoy a chef-prepared, organic lunch.

Locavore Tours’ next tour is on Saturday, August 13th. The destination is Alpenblick Farm, an organic, off-the-grid farm located in Ashton. On this tour, visitors will:

• Get a tour of the farm
• Visit with the farm animals
• Witness vintage Swiss cheese making
• Enjoy a lunch prepared by an Organic Chef
• Have the opportunity to purchase food directly from the farm (at a special Locavore Tours discount!)

All this for only $20 per person!

Transportation is by school bus, with pick up at Eagleson Park n Ride in Kanata at 9:30 am, and drop-off at approximately 2:30 pm.

I can guarantee that this is going to be a fascinating tour. I met Robert Oechsli from Alpenblick Farm last year at Herbfest, and he is a super-interesting guy. I can’t wait to see his farm and discover more about how he is farming sustainably and organically.

To sign up for the tour, please visit www.locavoretours.com, and click “Tour Sign Up”. The tour is limited to only about 20 people, so sign up early to avoid disappointment.

Murray's Market cheese plate

Earlier this month I attended my first Girl Geek Dinners Ottawa event. The evening brought 20 or so women (and a couple guys) together for a wonderful foodie tour of the Ottawa ByWard Market, led by Paola St-Georges from C’est Bon Cooking.  As someone who spends most of their time in the rural areas surrounding Ottawa, it was great to explore downtown for a change. To read about the tour and all the great stores we visited, please visit the Local Tourist Ottawa blog, where I wrote an article located here.