Growing up,

my family did not pack me up with my two older brothers and Fuzzy, our cat, to embark on the typical family summer odyssey of drive, pee, sleep and keep-the-kids-from-killing-each-other-in-the-backseat road trip kind of vacation. The farthest we drove was to our family cottage, at Lac Orford in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. What seemed to this ten-year-old, a full day’s drive involving bathroom breaks, fidgety brothers and my mother’s insistence that she do the cottage grocery shopping in Magog, (ten minutes short of our final destination) was in fact, less than an hour of door-to-door, road trip discomfort at the most.

In later life, my partner and I have had the pleasure of several extended road trips: in particular a Toronto to Boston, beautiful Autumn, two-week stint via Montreal, Quebec City, down through the Eastern Townships and on through the East Coast of the US. This early October trip provided incredible rocky, wet-leafed vistas with majestic whale watching on the craggy and wet outcroppings of the Saguenay. We took in fall foliage,  enjoyed family Thanksgiving and microbrew beers at the Gold Lion Pub in my hometown of Lennoxville; dinner at the Relais & Chateaux ‘s Hovey Manor in the quaint and beautiful hamlet of  North Hatley.  Really, who needs an out of province road trip, when we have some of the best and awe inspiring scenery right here in our own backyard of Southwestern Ontario?

Onto Lake Huron

Ontario’s Southwest  is perhaps one of the prettiest and bucolic parts of the world. This time of year the western sun sits lower and more reflective on the gently rolling hills west of Toronto. We have a weekend house in St. Marys and do the drive every Friday, travelling the 403/407/401 route and effectively avoiding the headache of the 401/427/403 interchange hassle.  Once past Milton, you’re home free and will enjoy the beautiful green, undulating landscapes and rich farm land west of Kitchener, New Hamburg and onto Stratford and St. Jacobs . Looking for more adventure?  Continue up to Ontario’s West Coast  and  Lake Huron, Bayfield,  Goderich  and north towards Southampton, famous for its fabulous sunsets and on any given Saturday summer evening, be serenaded by the skirl of a bagpiper at the foot of High Street.

A Food Lovers Road Trip

The local farmers markets in Stratford and St. Jacobs cater to a wealth of fine restaurants in this part of Ontario; many support the farm to table theory of local cooking and sustainability. Ruth Clausen’s Monforte Dairy and her artisanal cheeses from her casual resto Monforte on Wellington  in Stratford are a must-stop, taste and buy. Stratford is home to such culinary delights as  Bijou, (choose from their 3 or 4 course Blackboard Menu), the Italian favorite Pazzo Taverna (casual pizza downstairs, more formal upstaris at street level) and the new kid on the block Red Rabbit Bistro, chef Sean Collins and general manager Jessie Larsen’s  (two of 11 owners) community-shared restaurant experience serving casual feeds that are “soul satisfying in the way of comfort food.”  For a special night out, the beautiful sun setting dining room of Rundles never disappoints.  Further down the road in St. Marys, Chris and Mary Woolf’s  Little Reds Pub and Eatery, is proud to offer Woolfy’s favourites as well as pub fare highlighting locally-sourced produce and craft beer. (a followsummer favorite!)

Theatre Lovers Applaud

While in Stratford, theatre lovers can applaud Canada’s best and North America’s  largest Classical Repertory Theatre Companies, the Stratford Festival and further down the road, the Blythe and Huron County Festivals. Travel south to Niagara on the Lake and the Shaw Festival—all within a two-hour drive of Toronto. Rumor has it that even the crankiest kid, stuck in the backseat with a boring game of  car bingo will be totally transported by the productions of The Sound of Music currently running at the Stratford Festival and Peter and the Starcatcher at Shaw. On your way through, consider stopping in towns like Shakespeare for antiques, grab some wonderful cheddar in Tavistock, or beach and motorcycle viewing in Grand Bend.

Stop INN and Stay

Some of the best B&B and Inn experiences are to be found along the Old Huron Road as well: the Relais and Chateaux rated Langdon Hall in Cambridge, The Little Inn at Bayfield and the Benmiller Inn and Spa in Goderich or road trip further south to West Montrose and enjoy the Grand River and the historic covered Kissing Bridge views at the boutique-style Olde Bridge Place B and B.

Road Trip Planning

The Ontario Travel and Tourism board has launched a Trip Planning Tool,  where you can ‘Build your BEST OF ONTARIO adventure’, get attractions coupons and choose one of their  hand-picked travel packages, making the planning and organization of your  road trip affordable and accessible.

Plan some leisurely amble time with the ones you love,  pack your car with an overnight bag, yourTom Tom, a well-thumbed summer novel, and tantalize yourself with a Southwestern Ontario road trip.

If you like this followsummer itinerary, simply click on the map below and let Travelabulous help you plan and book your next road trip in Southwestern Ontario!

Road trip well, my friends!