There is something about taking a ferry that changes the pace of a trip. For a few minutes, the car is parked, the shore starts to recede and there’s nowhere else you need to be until you reach the other side.
That rhythm suits Frontenac.
Stretching north from Kingston through farmland, forests and lakes, Frontenac County is a region where food, agriculture and community are closely connected. And just a short ferry ride from downtown Kingston, Wolfe Island offers another side of the region entirely, with small-town charm, local restaurants and a creative community worth exploring.
We spent our time discovering the people and places that make Frontenac special, from island pubs and bakeries to flower farms and honey producers. Along the way, we found that some of our favourite experiences weren’t just about what was on the plate, but the conversations, landscapes and people behind it all.
Enjoy a Classic Island Dinner at Wolfe Island Pub & Pizzeria
Wolfe Island Pub & Pizzeria
1223 Main Street, Wolfe Island
After catching the ferry from Kingston to Wolfe Island, we made our way to Marysville for dinner at Wolfe Island Pub & Pizzeria, better known to locals as The WIPP.
It had the feel of a classic island pub and pizzeria: locals catching up, tables settling in for a meal and pizza at the centre of it all. The kind of place where you can settle in after a day of exploring and feel right at home.
We ordered the signature WIPP pizza, loaded with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, green peppers, onions and green olives. We also tried the all-beef WIPP burger with fries.
There’s something to be said for a good old-fashioned pub dinner, especially after a ferry crossing. No fuss, no frills, just satisfying food and the welcoming atmosphere of a small community.
And with a full day of island exploring ahead of us, it was exactly the kind of introduction to Wolfe Island we were hoping for.
Spend the Night on Wolfe Island
Hotel Wolfe Island
1237 Wolfe Island 96, Wolfe Island
Rather than catching the ferry back to Kingston that evening, we settled in for the night at Hotel Wolfe Island.
More than just a place to stay, the hotel is a restaurant, music venue and gathering space that has become part of the island’s community. Throughout the year, it hosts concerts, festivals and events that bring visitors and locals together.
Staying overnight is a lovely way to experience a little more of island life. There’s no need to rush back to the ferry after dinner, and you can wake up ready to explore the shops, cafés and food experiences around Marysville.
As we’d discover the following day, the hotel’s approach to food is another excellent reason to visit.
Browse, Sip and Snack in Marysville
Fishtale Shop + Lured Bake Shop
1245 Main Street, Wolfe Island
The next morning, we made our way to Fishtale Shop and Lured Bake Shop, where Wolfe Island’s creative and food communities come together under one roof.
Fishtale is colourful and eclectic, with Canadian-made goods and plenty of Wolfe Island finds mixed throughout the shop. There’s an immediate sense of discovery as you wander between gifts, souvenirs and locally inspired treasures.
Inside, Lured Bake Shop adds coffee and small-batch baking to the experience, making this an easy place to settle in with a warm drink and something delicious before browsing.
We opted for coffee and a scone, a combination that proved to be an excellent way to start the morning. And with so many interesting things to look at, it’s the kind of shop where a quick visit can easily turn into a much longer one.
There’s something particularly appealing about seeing food alongside the work of artists and makers. Both are expressions of the people who live here, and on an island with such a strong creative community, the combination feels natural.
We can also confirm that browsing is more enjoyable with a scone.
Meet the People Behind the Plate at Hotel Wolfe Island
Hotel Wolfe Island Restaurant
1237 Wolfe Island 96, Wolfe Island
After a morning exploring Marysville, we returned to Hotel Wolfe Island for lunch, where we found one of the clearest connections between the surrounding landscape and what landed on our plates.
Hotel Wolfe Island is proudly Feast On® certified, recognizing its commitment to sourcing and celebrating Ontario-grown and Ontario-made food and drink. Our conversation with Chef Brad Long helped bring that commitment to life.
Brad spoke about a chef’s responsibility not only to make food taste good, but to feed and nurture people. Supporting nearby growers and producers is central to that philosophy, connecting what’s on the menu to the agricultural community around it.
At lunch, we had pickerel dredged in masa cornmeal and served over greens with thyme vinaigrette, sweet-and-sour red onions and tartar sauce. The St. Lawrence salad combined greens and wild rice with roasted salted pecans, blueberries, shaved Grana Padano and browned butter vinaigrette. We also tried The Tom Green, a buttermilk and garlic-marinated fried chicken sandwich on a house-made bun.
The pickerel was a particularly fitting choice on an island surrounded by freshwater. There are plenty of ways to talk about a “taste of place,” but sometimes it really can be as straightforward as eating fish while looking out at the water that defines the destination.
Beyond the restaurant, Hotel Wolfe Island’s role as a gathering place makes it worth checking the events calendar before planning your visit. Whether you’re staying overnight, catching a show or simply stopping in for a meal, it’s a lovely example of how food and community come together.
Make Time for Ice Cream at Jean & Aggie’s
Jean & Aggie’s General Store & Ice Cream Shoppe
1202 Wolfe Island 96, Marysville
Before leaving Wolfe Island, we had one more important stop to make. Because really, what’s an island getaway without ice cream?
Jean & Aggie’s General Store is part grocery store, part deli and part souvenir stop, serving both the locals who call Wolfe Island home and the visitors passing through.
It’s the kind of small-town general store that makes you want to browse. Pick up a few essentials, look through the souvenirs and see what little treasures you might discover along the way.
And then there’s the Ice Cream Shoppe.
We went with Tiger Tail and chocolate, because apparently a full day of eating on Wolfe Island still leaves room for a cone.
There’s something wonderfully simple about enjoying ice cream in a small island community. No elaborate experience required. Just a favourite flavour, a little sunshine if you’re lucky and a few more minutes before it’s time to head back to the mainland.
The Ice Cream Shoppe operates seasonally, so be sure to check its hours before visiting.
Taste Honey Among the Flowers at Maple Ridge Farm & Apiary
Maple Ridge Farm & Apiary
3098 Alton Road West, Sydenham
After catching the ferry back to Kingston, we headed north toward Sydenham, where Maple Ridge Farm & Apiary brought together many of the threads we had encountered throughout Frontenac: farming, food, landscape and people who genuinely want you to understand what they do.
The family farm grows seasonal flowers, raises cattle and keeps bees. During our visit, the flower fields were full of colour and activity, with bees moving between blooms throughout the property.
We sat at an outdoor harvest table beside the flowers for a honey tasting, sampling different harvests and flavours, including creamy pumpkin spice and chocolate honeys that quickly became favourites.
Tasting honey this way gives you useful context for what’s in the jar. Honey can change in colour, aroma and flavour depending on the plants bees forage from and the time of year it is harvested. Sitting beside the flowers while tasting it makes the relationship between the land and the food much easier to understand.
After the tasting, Mark suited us up and took us into the apiary, where it quickly became apparent why we started calling him the bee whisperer.
While thousands of bees moved around us, he calmly opened the hives and explained what was happening inside each colony, how the bees work together and what he looks for as a beekeeper.
His calm was contagious. Once the initial awareness of being surrounded by an enormous number of bees subsided, we could actually watch them work. It gave us a new appreciation for something most of us keep in the pantry without thinking much about the extraordinary process required to produce it.
Maple Ridge offers workshops and hands-on farm experiences rather than operating as a general drop-in attraction. Check what’s available and book your experience with the farm in advance.
Meet the People Behind the Food in Frontenac
What stayed with us most about Frontenac was how often someone invited us to look a little closer.
At Hotel Wolfe Island, Chef Brad connected what was on the menu to the responsibility of feeding people and supporting nearby producers. In Marysville, local shops, bakeries and gathering places showed us how food brings island communities together. And at Maple Ridge Farm & Apiary, Mark helped us understand the thousands of bees responsible for something as seemingly simple as a spoonful of honey.
The food was part of a much larger story about island communities, farms, waterways and the people building their lives here. Taking the ferry may slow you down physically, but Frontenac gives you plenty of reasons to carry that slower pace with you once you reach the other side.
Spend some time talking to the people growing, raising, cooking and making things here. The more you know about where the food comes from, the more interesting every bite becomes.
