Most people living in Toronto have probably heard of Blue Mountain, located in Grey County, as a local getaway spot. However, it’s probably safe to assume that most of us don’t know much else about Grey County. At least I didn’t. But a few weeks ago, my girlfriends and I were invited to come and experience a few days in the area and see some of the attractions and activities it has to offer.
While we did spend a few days at Blue Mountain (you can read all about that experience HERE), we also had a great day exploring Grey County. Here are some highlights from our trip and everything you need to know about booking your next girlfriend (or couples) getaway from the city.
Accommodations
The Resting Place B&B (at Coffin Ridge)
This is not your typical bed & breakfast. For one thing, the owners don’t live there (so you actually have to take care of your own breakfast). Also, this house is huge, spacious, beautiful and located right next to the Coffin Ridge winery. Besides the beautiful space, this is a great spot to catch a sunset and the wrap-around porch is ideal for sipping and enjoying your morning coffee while the birds chirp away.
The house itself boosts several common areas, a large and open kitchen, an entertainment / games room / gym, and three bedrooms (2 on the top floor, 1 on the bottom) with two twin beds and 2 double beds.
You can stay here for $500/night with a two-night minimum ($400 during the low season of November through April).
I loved, loved, loved this spot and highly recommend it.
Visit Cideries
Grey County is Ontario’s largest apple growing region, producing 23% of Ontario’s apples. So this is THE spot for cideries. If you love ciders, you have come to the right place!
The Ciderfest took place during our visit. This is a great event that makes it super affordable and fun to visit various cideries in the area. To participate, you will need to purchase a passport book for $30 on weekdays or $50 on weekends. This gives you food and hard cider pairings at each of the 7 possible Cider stops.
During our visit, we stopped, ate, drank and shopped at the following cider houses.
Coffin Ridge – I can’t decide what I like more: the beautiful outdoors area situated above the vineyard, overlooking Georgian Bay or the tasty ciders they offer (I bought a bunch to bring home). This was personally my favourite, so if you’re only going to visit one cider, make this your stop! The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable and if you ask really nicely, you might even get a chance to meet with the cider maker.
The Cheese Gallery – the food offered here is probably one of my favourites. It’s a great spot to stop for lunch and / or coffee. Located in the beautiful town of Thornbury, The Cheese Gallery is a often visited by local artists and has a great selection of handmade household items for purchase (I may have purchased a thing or two here). We sampled a few ciders from the soon-to-be-open Spy Cider House. Also a must-try!
Georgian Hills Vineyards – Another cute little spot with a great outdoor space to enjoy your drinks and food. However, my favourite drink here was the ice wine (yes, I bought one to bring home).
Beaver Valley Cidery – unlike the other cider houses, the ciders here were bottled in wine glass bottles vs. cans. There was such a large variety of options to choose from, all with very distinct flavours. The ciders were paired with sushi (store bought I’m pretty sure).
These 4 cideries are also part of the Grey County’s Saints & Sinners Trail. The Saints and Sinners Trail brings together 20 alcohol beverage producers making beer, wine, cider and spirits across Simcoe, Grey and Bruce Counties (13 are based out of Grey County).
You can either get yourself to the various cideries along the either the Apple Pie Trail or the Saints & Sinners Trail, OR, get on the Beer Bus, which we did and I highly recommend.
Beer Bus
We had the most amazing experience thanks to the Beer Bus and our driver Ben; who also happens to be a DJ on a local radio station. I’ve done a bus tour once before when I was in Napa and this is the only way I would recommend doing tours if you’re planning on visiting more than 2 spots. Mainly because you don’t want to be driving when consuming alcohol and you definitely don’t want to worry (or figure out directions) when you’re having fun.
You can find a list of their tours online and the prices range from $95 per person to $150 per person (for their 5-hour, Axe throwing and winery / beer / cidery tour). If you want to plan a private tour, contact Grey County Tourism and the Beer Busy (manager@thebeerbus.ca) who can assist you with suggested itineraries.
Food
We did most of eating at the various cidery stops. However, here are some other dining options that we experienced and that I would highly recommend to help round out your getaway.
Chef Zach Keehig – During our stay, we had very intimate and wonderful dinner experience that was lead by Chef Zach Keehig. Zach took special care providing us with delicious, local food, presented with flowers and plants that he foraged himself. You can hire him for a very reasonable rate of $100 per person, 3 people minium. Not only was the food delicious and beautiful, but the whole experience was very unique. I would highly recommend hiring him!
Thornbury Bakery Café – this Cafe is a landmark in the quaint and beautiful town of Thornbury for over 80 years. There are so many great options to choose from for breakfast or lunch and don’t even get me started on the bakery options. There are tons of options here for those with dietary restrictions too. It’s definitely a must-stop if you’re in the area.
Relax at the Spa
Scandinave Spa – located near Blue Mountain, this is a must stop if you’re visiting with your friends. In fact, this was my first visit here too and it was the perfect way to end our getaway. We started off with a walk through their forest trail. It’s a certified forest bathing experience, and something that I have actually been practicing with my kids for years, but never knew there was a term attached to it. You probably might have also as well – as it’s basically meditating while taking in nature. If you want to try this, I recommend that you do it alone. While we weren’t really in the mind frame for this exercise when we arrived (we were too hyper and excited), it definitely helped us calm down a little and get relaxed before we entered the baths.
We didn’t get any services done during our visit but to be honest, the Scandinavian (outdoor) Baths are pretty sufficient ($65 to access the Baths only). You can probably spend all day outdoors here just taking it all in, relaxing, reading or writing, and bathing in a three cycle rotation of hot pool, cold dip and relaxing (on Muskoka chairs, hammocks or pool chairs with shade).
Important to note that Silence is golden here and this is NOT the place to come and catch up with your girlfriends. They literally having people watching to see if you are talking. So keep that in mind. There is also a no technology policy so don’t bother coming here to get Instagram worthy photos (although it’s very insta-worthy).
They do have a small cafeteria with pre-made food available if you want a snack or lunch. We grabbed some to go before we made our trip back to Toronto.
For booking vacation experiences in Grey County, simply get in touch with Grey County Tourism at tourism@visitgrey.ca. They can help you plan your itinerary and connect you with the appropriate businesses/vendors (bookings are made directly with the vendors).
Disclaimer: Grey County Tourism provided me with this gifted experience. The views and opinions expressed in this blog, however, are purely my own.