PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY DAY TRIP

In between Toronto and Ottawa in Ontario you can find a municipality called Prince Edward County, commonly known as “PEC” or “The County”.

PEC is well known for it’s beaches and it’s boozing and over the last several years tourism has boomed in this little heavenly coastline county. When I found myself with a couple days off at the beginning of summer I decided to make a quick Prince Edward County day trip with my boyfriend to see what all the hype was about for myself.

There is loads to see in Prince Edward County and even more to drink.

Seriously, if you’re a fan of drinking, you’re going to love a day trip to Prince Edward county. I tried looking up how many wineries/cideries/breweries there are in the County and failed. The answer is a lot. Just type “cider” into Google Maps watch the area light up in red. Wineries seem to be a speciality of the area and though we do love red wine we decided to stick with cold ciders on this summer trip. Please, don’t be a dick, drink responsibly.

COUNTY CIDER COMPANY

I was stoked to check out County Cider Company as I’m a big fan of their popular Waupoos cider. We decided to do a pre-booked tasting where an expert walked us through a bunch of the current offerings with great detail. Samples included a new blood orange infused cider and even a wine cider (I had no idea that was a thing). My favourite? Still the classic Waupoos, which we decided to enjoy a pint of on their garden patio. I loved this patio, we sat on what looked like a picnic bench cut for two amongst the rows of apple trees listening to Depeche Mode and The Cure while watching staff chop wood for their pizza wood oven. We ended up staying here much longer then planned and only left as dark clouds rolled in. Before dipping we popped into their barn shop and bought some bottles of cider; Waupoos (of course) and Tortured Path (such a brutal name, love it).

CRIMSON CIDERY

CIDER SLUSHIES. I used to love slushes as a kid so when I saw this cidery did cider slushies obviously I had to give them a try. You can get a single flavour pint or give the tasting flights a go. Why choose one when you can have ‘em all? The flavours rotate daily and we got apple, peach, and a couple ones I can’t remember probably from sugar overdose clouding my brain. Be warned, these were basically frozen sugar shots. We honestly weren’t sure at first if there was even any alcohol in them. As a fan of drier ciders it was a bit intense for me, but the sugar high was a little fun. The apple one was my favourite, tasted like a frozen juice box. Childhood memories.

BEAN COUNTER CAFE

Breaking up all the cider with my other favourite beverage, coffee. Bean Counter Cafe is located in Picton and is a caffeine haven. Whatever coffee or tea beverage you can think of, they have it, hot or iced. They also have loads of options you wouldn’t think of, like a drink called the Mean Bean, a vanilla espresso blended creation which honestly looked like a coffee milkshake. Skip the Tim Horton’s mud that they try to pass off as coffee and check out the Bean for some bean juice (not sure my feelings yet on calling coffee bean juice, just trying to be trendy here.)

Make sure to take a break from the bevies to get some food in your belly.

Cafes, pubs, lakeside patios, garden meals, fine dining, the PEC has something for everyone. A little note, a lot of places do not take reservations and get reallllll busy. Expect lineups, have back up plans, and arrive extra early if there’s a particular restaurant you really want to dine at. Don’t be us, roaming from place to place for hours like starving zombies.

THE ACOUSTIC GRILL

The Acoustic Grill was a happy unplanned accident that resulted in a beautiful food baby belly. Apparently every other person for miles around was hungry at the exact same time as us and we spent two hours going from place to place seeing long lines and even longer waitlists. Getting hangry I insisted on waiting at the closest place, The Acoustic Grill, a rustic tavern that features live music and a simple pub-grub menu. I was super impressed with my veggie burger, the sweet potato poutine with veggie gravy, and the gluten free bun that I didn’t have to pay extra for. My meat eating boyfriend got a beef burger that he could barely finish and loved the poutine as well. We washed down our meals with a couple different Waupoo ciders on tap. The vibe was great, prices super affordable, and service excellent. It may not be one of the many fancy dining establishments in PEC, but I highly recommend it.

THE MILLER HOUSE

Located next to the lake on the mountain with a patio overlooking lake Ontario from up high, this is an extremely popular dining location in the PEC, and fairly so. We showed up right at 5 as this was the spot me and my boyfriend decided to dine for our one year anniversary and I was determined to get the best table at the restaurant, which we did. The view was absolutely stunning. The menu mostly contains cheese boards, pates with baguette slices, and various flatbreads and we spent a couple hours sharing a few tasty items like the tuna tartare. The small little shareable dishes were delicious though real tiny and on the expensive side for what you got. But really you’re going to the Miller House for the view which we thoroughly enjoyed. At one point there was even a double rainbow going across the sky.

Got to love a sunny day on the beach and the Sandbanks Provincial Park in PEC has three of them for all your sandy seeking pleasure: Outlet beach, Dunes beach, and the Sandbanks.

These beaches get busy as hell in the summer time and after insane lines to access these little sandy beauts in years past, PEC decided to step in with some crowd control. No longer can you take a last minute swing by the sand dunes, all beach goers must now make a reservation online up to five days in advance of their arrival. Once the reservations for the day are filled, you are shit out of luck, so try to keep this in mind when planning a visit. Reservations guarantee you a parking spot at all three beaches and is free, so I think it’s a decent system they have in place.

THE SANDBANKS

The Sandbanks are by far the most popular beach and it we quickly understood why on arrival. A long stretch of super soft clean beach as far as the eye can see with a backdrop of trees and the waves of the refreshingly cool water in front of you. This beach is perfect for families, as the water remains very shallow for quite far in. As a very poor swimmer I was super stoked to realize I could go much further than usual and simply stand if I got tired. My favourite part? The waves. The waves are so fucking fun. As a very mature adult, I brought with me an inflatable alligator (or crocodile? still not sure) and damn, did me and him go for a ride on those waves. (I’ve named the gator Misunderstood). If you timed it right they could carry you a nice bit but they weren’t too crazy that it felt scary in any way. So fun, highly recommend.

DUNE BEACH

Dunes beach is a little different than your average beach. Instead of flat sandy shores there are well, dunes. Huge mounds and hills of sand that are constantly changing shape due to water and wind. It actually has the world’s largest baymouth barrier dune formation. It’s pretty fun (and good exercise) exploring the dunes and finding your own secret little patch of beach amongst them. This beach is definitely a lot less busy than Sandbanks, this may be partly because it’s not the best swimming spot. There are ropes and buoys marking off a small swimming area and beyond that the lake bottom slopes away quick and deep. We tried swimming in a more remote area of the dunes and found it really difficult to enjoy amongst all the plants in the water. Definitely a cool spot to check out and have a picnic like we and so many others were doing, but if swimming is more your thing, the Sandbanks is where you want to be.

LAKE ON THE MOUNTAIN

Lake on the Mountain is definitely worth a visit, especially if you’re checking out the Miller House as it’s literally across the road. A gorgeous lake located 60 metres above Lake Ontario with no apparent source of the constant clean water, it’s considered a bit of a natural curiousity. It has no facilities or beach but it’s a lovely quiet spot to take a stroll or have a picnic. Though we didn’t see either while there, apparently it’s a popular area for canoeing and fishing as well. Located right next to the lake is the other super popular dining establishment in the area, The Inn. We went with The Miller House as we preferred the view and spent the time waiting for a table on the patio roaming around the Lake on the Mountain.

Having a grand ol’ time in the PEC and want to stay overnight?

Excellent decision. Just be aware that during prime time county travelling (the summer) places fill up FAST. Like months in advance fast. Doesn’t mean all hope is lost if you didn’t book a place back in March, I was able to book a night at the lovely Waring House Inn just a couple weeks before. Cheaper than a lot of the fancier resorts, but a hell of a lot nicer than some “here’s a tent in our backyard” bookings on Air BNB, The Waring House is a multi building establishment with an inn, restaurant, conference centre and cooking school. Our room was a bit outdated in decor but had a glorious giant jet tub and breakfast in their garden patio was super charming. Waring House is also just five minutes drive from the main Picton strip.