There is a particular kind of hunger that only seems to arrive on an Ontario fall road trip.
Maybe it’s the cooler air. Maybe it’s the sight of apple trees heavy with fruit or farm stands piled with squash and pumpkins. Or maybe it’s simply that driving a country road in September makes stopping for fresh cheese curds, warm cider donuts and a glass of Ontario wine feel less like an indulgence and more like an obligation.
Whatever the reason, Lennox & Addington County is a very good place to arrive hungry.
Stretching from the shores of Lake Ontario north into rural South Eastern Ontario, this is a landscape of small towns, farms and history, with the Loyalist Parkway providing one particularly scenic route through it all. And while you could certainly hurry through, that would rather miss the point.
We spent a day and a half exploring Lennox & Addington, meeting the people behind its cafés, wineries, restaurants, farms, galleries and orchards. Along the way, we even hopped on a ferry to discover the creative and agricultural spirit of Amherst Island. What emerged was a road trip that felt quintessentially Ontario: familiar foods, local makers, agricultural traditions and plenty of reasons to pull over.
Start with Coffee and a Community of Goats
The Giddy Goat Cafe
6 Speers Boulevard, Amherstview
Our first stop was The Giddy Goat Café in Amherstview, where owners Katrina McKinnon and Jeff Scott have created something much bigger than a place to grab coffee.
The couple opened the café almost five years ago, building it around a simple idea: they wanted people to walk through the door, feel welcome and hopefully leave feeling a little better than when they arrived.
Even the name has a story. For Katrina, “goat” connects the modern-day Greatest of All Time with a phrase she remembers hearing as a kid: “quit acting the goat.” That playful spirit has since taken on a life of its own.
Look around the café and you’ll find goats everywhere. Miniatures, sculptures and assorted goat-themed treasures. The best part? Many were gifts from guests. The growing collection has become a physical representation of the community that’s formed around the café.
We settled in over a chicken, brie and apple sandwich, followed by a lemon loaf and blueberry scone. The sandwich is exactly the kind of combination fall calls for: savoury chicken and creamy brie offset by the sweetness and crunch of apple.
It was also our first hint that this trip would be as much about the people feeding us as the food itself. Kat and Jeff’s affection for what they’ve built, and for the people who walk through their doors, is hard to miss.
Coffee finished, take some time to explore Bath and the Loyalist Parkway before continuing west. The waterfront, historic streets and views of Lake Ontario make the drive itself part of the experience.
And conveniently, there’s wine ahead.
Slow Down for Wine and Pizza on the Loyalist Parkway
Bergeron Estate Winery & Cider Co.
There is something wonderfully incongruous about pulling into a small Eastern Ontario winery and discovering that on top of the wine, there’s a delicious pizza waiting that you simply must eat.
But first, the wine.
Bergeron Estate Winery & Cider Co. is a small operation and so the process remains remarkably hands-on.
During our visit, we learned that the grapes and wine are processed without the heavy machinery you might associate with larger wineries. That manual approach makes the experience feel particularly close to the agricultural roots of winemaking: fruit comes in from the vineyard and human hands do much of the work required to turn it into what’s eventually poured into your glass.
It’s a useful reminder that Ontario wine is, first and foremost, an agricultural product.
And then there’s the pizza.
Ours arrived topped with prosciutto, tomato and garlic, the salty richness of the prosciutto playing against the acidity of the tomato, with enough garlic to make its presence appropriately known.
Bergeron also offers camping on the property and hosts weddings, so this can be more than a quick tasting stop. But even over a leisurely late lunch, there’s something satisfying about sitting at a winery along a rural Ontario road, eating pizza and drinking something made right where you’re sitting.
Take the Ferry to Amherst Island for Gardens, Art and Farm Life
Amherst Island Ferry
There’s something about boarding a ferry that makes even a short crossing feel like the beginning of a new adventure.
The journey from Millhaven to Amherst Island takes approximately 20 minutes, offering a chance to leave the busy mainland behind and take in the views across Lake Ontario. Before long, you’re arriving in Stella, a small island community where winding country roads, historic farms and wide-open landscapes set the pace for the afternoon.
And while the island itself is worth exploring, it’s the people and places tucked away along those roads that make this detour particularly special.
Rossland Gardens
6400 Second Concession Road #2, Stella
At Rossland Gardens, the line between nature and art becomes wonderfully blurred.
This historic Amherst Island farmstead is home to botanical gardens, natural trails, a Canadian fine craft gallery and small-batch preserves made with ingredients grown or gathered on the property. But what makes it particularly memorable is the thoughtful way the entire property has been brought to life.
As we wandered the gardens with Darlene, she pointed out benches positioned throughout the grounds, each offering a different view of the surrounding landscape. Rather than simply being places to rest, these were invitations to stop, sit and appreciate the scenery as you might a painting in a gallery.
It’s a lovely way to experience a garden. Suddenly, you’re noticing the details: the way the plants frame a view, the textures of the landscape and the history rooted in the property. Some of the lilac trees, we learned, have been standing here since the farmstead’s earliest settlers.
That same creativity continues indoors, where Darlene’s glasswork sits alongside pieces by other Canadian fine craft artists. And with preserves made using ingredients from the property, there’s a connection between what grows here and what eventually finds its way into visitors’ homes.
Rossland Gardens is the kind of place that rewards slowing down. Give yourself time to explore, find your favourite view and simply take it all in.
Topsy Farms
If Rossland Gardens is an invitation to slow down, Topsy Farms is an invitation to get cozy.
This working sheep farm has been part of Amherst Island’s agricultural landscape since 1972, and its farm shop, The Wool Shed, is a little slice of woolly heaven.
Inside, you’ll find everything from Canadian wool blankets and bedding to yarn, sheepskins and handmade goods. It’s the sort of place where you walk in expecting to browse for a few minutes and quickly find yourself imagining how many blankets you could reasonably fit into your car.
There’s something particularly fitting about visiting in the fall. As the air gets cooler and thoughts turn toward cozy evenings at home, the layers of wool, soft textures and handmade products feel especially inviting.
Beyond The Wool Shed, the farm also offers seasonal experiences and a trail leading to its Sugar Shack when conditions allow. It’s another lovely reminder of the agricultural traditions that continue to shape life on Amherst Island.
And if you’re looking for a practical souvenir of your fall road trip, a locally made wool blanket is a pretty excellent contender.
With our island exploring complete, we made our way back to Stella for the ferry crossing to the mainland. Next up? A proper sit-down dinner overlooking the Napanee River.
Settle in for Dinner by the Napanee River
The Waterfront River Pub & Terrace
By dinner, we’d reached downtown Napanee and traded farm fields for a table overlooking the Napanee River.
The Waterfront River Pub & Terrace has character to spare. The interior has an almost castle-like quality, packed with quirky and extravagant details, while card games waiting on the tables invite you to settle in rather than rush through dinner. In warmer weather, the waterfront patio is an obvious draw.
We started with hummus and mini naan alongside a glass of Waupoos cider (another little nod to Eastern Ontario in the glass) before moving on to braised lamb shank and mushroom duxelles ravioli with scallops.
The lamb was the sort of slow-cooked dish that suits the season: rich and tender, built for the point in the year when evenings are getting cooler and dinner starts calling for something substantial.
Crème brûlée finished the job.
This is exactly the stop where you come sit down after a day on the road, watch the water and enjoy the hospitality of a small Ontario town.
Tomorrow, we’re getting up for cheese.
See Nearly a Century of Ontario Cheesemaking
Wilton Cheese Factory
If you grew up in Ontario, there’s a good chance cheese curds are tied to a few good memories.
Road-trip snacks. Farmers’ markets. Chip trucks. Poutine. That unmistakable squeak when they’re fresh.
At Wilton Cheese Factory, those curds come with nearly a century of family cheesemaking behind them.
The operation is part of A.M. Jensen Limited, and the Jensen family’s cheesemaking history dates to 1925. Today, the family also operates Jensen Cheese in Southwestern Ontario, carrying that tradition across two parts of the province.
Cheddar is naturally the star here, ranging from fresh curd and extra mild through to very old cheddar. But you’ll also find cheeses such as Colby and marble alongside flavoured bricks including hot pepper, onion and garlic, and olive.
There’s a little food education hiding in that orange cheddar, too. Wilton uses annatto, a colouring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree, rather than artificial dye to give its orange cheddar its familiar hue.
And then, of course, there are the curds.
Eating fresh cheese curds practically within sight of where they’re made is one of those wonderfully uncomplicated food experiences. No elaborate plating required. Grab a bag. Listen for the squeak. Try not to finish them before the next stop.
Because the next stop has donuts.
Pick Apples, Get Lost and Eat the Cider Donut
Spring Meadow Orchards
10143 Loyalist Parkway, Greater Napanee
If you wanted to build an Ontario autumn experience from scratch, you would probably need an apple orchard.
Then you’d add pumpkins, a corn maze, fresh cider, and obviously, donuts. Spring Meadow Orchards delivers the whole lot.
This family-owned orchard is the kind of place where stopping “just to buy some apples” can easily consume an afternoon. Rows of apple trees stretch across the property, with both pick-your-own and pre-picked fruit available. You’ll find familiar Ontario favourites such as McIntosh alongside varieties including Honeycrisp and Russet.
And picking the fruit yourself changes your relationship with it, even if only slightly.
Apples are so ubiquitous in our grocery stores that it’s easy to forget how seasonal they really are. Standing beneath the trees in September, reaching up and twisting a ripe apple from its branch, reconnects an everyday food with the landscape that produced it.
That’s especially true in Ontario, where apples are one of our major fruit crops and fall harvest has become part agricultural season, part cultural ritual.
There are seasonal vegetables and pumpkins to bring home, a picnic area, fresh cider and a corn maze substantial enough that we’d recommend sensible shoes and at least one member of your group with a functioning sense of direction.
Then there are the apple cider donuts.
They’re exactly what you want after walking through an orchard: tender, sweet, warmly spiced and tasting unmistakably of fall. Grab one while you’re there. Actually, grab more than one. This is not the moment for restraint.
Community recommendations for Spring Meadow repeatedly single out both the orchard and its fresh donuts, which suggests we are far from alone in this assessment.
This Is What Fall in Ontario Tastes Like
There are flashier ways to travel for food.
But there’s something deeply satisfying about a trip built around foods that are woven into everyday life here: apples pulled from a tree, cheddar made by a family that’s been in the business for generations, wine produced on a rural property, a sandwich from the neighbourhood café and a warm donut eaten during harvest season.
None of these experiences needs to shout.
Together, they tell a story about Lennox & Addington that is rooted in agriculture, small businesses and the people who have chosen to make a living feeding their communities.
You drive the back roads. You stop when something looks interesting. You talk to the person who made what you’re eating. You leave with more cheese than you intended to buy.
And somewhere along the way, you realize the food was the reason to take the long way around.
