Cornwall and SDG Counties bursts with fall colour at this time of year – but there’s more than just changing leaves. As the seasons switch, this is a place that caters to fun experiences that would make for perfect dates, trips with friends, and a place to bring families together. Read on to reveal the top 11 things to do in Cornwall and SDG Counties!
1. Quench Your Thirst
Cornwall and SDG Counties is an emerging mecca for wine and beer enthusiasts. Touring between breweries and wineries is the perfect fall day well spent. Beautiful countryside? Check. Refreshing bevvies? Check. Ambience through the roof and trend-setting brew houses? Check. The hardest part about a wine and beer tour in Cornwall and SDG Counties is deciding where to stop first!
Stone Crop Acres is known for treating their grapes like family. They are hand-harvested, crushed and pressed on-site in Morrisburg. Each wine is crafted in their own winery in small artisanal batches. With a patio and tasting room, Stone Crop is open for weekends during the fall. Look here for exciting live music, too!
Stonehouse Vineyard is a five-acre vineyard, situated in a park-like setting in Lochiel. In addition to a beautiful stone house, a large, renovated timber and beam barn houses the winery and store, providing scenic views of the surrounding vineyard and farmlands. Drop by for a Stonehouse store tasting or patio tasting or book a unique package!
2. Pick Your Own Fall Adventure
Fall is family time at Avonmore Berry Farm as the farm welcomes apple and pumpkin pickers of all ages. There are lots to see and do at the farm, with wagon rides, picnic areas, numerous play areas to explore including a hay mow, swings, sand area and more. Start a new fall family tradition by savoring local produce – pick your own apples and choose a family pumpkin. Complete the experience by celebrating a last hooray to summer and eating an ice cream or enjoying fresh baking on site at “The Pantry”. Or, just have fun reveling in the time spent at a local farm!
Harvest season is calling! Apple and pumpkin picking is a tradition in SDG Counties and places like Avonmore Berry Farm,Cannamore Orchard and more are ripe for making memories with the family. Some farms even have special children’s play areas, wagon rides, cider tastings and pumpkin carving during harvest season! Imagine swinging in a hay mow, picking sweet apples right from the tree and hopping on a wagon touring the farm. A perfect day in the countryside!
3. Set The Night Ablaze At Pumpkinferno
Its pumpkin spice season, which means pumpkins are in full bloom! Celebrate everyone’s favourite winter squash by attending the annual Pumpkinferno. After 10 seasons, they have perfected the art of pumpkin carving to create an enchanted spectacle that is not to be missed. Held at Upper Canada Village, this hauntingly beautiful and spellbinding outdoor exhibit showcases close to 6,000 awe-inspiring, hand-carved artificial pumpkins. Once lit, the night-time backdrop makes for an incredible sight! Pumpkinferno is the most inspiring and memorable event you can experience this fall.
4. Have Fun On Two Wheels
See the fall colours unfold before your eyes while biking along the Waterfront Bike Trail, spanning the length of Cornwall and the South Dundas Glengarry Counties. This marvelous meandering cyclist recreational path encompasses the entire waterfront in Cornwall promising amazing views of the changing fall foliage as a backdrop to the blue of the water. Be sure to stop in Cornwall’s Lamoureux Park along the way to enjoy the relaxed pace that fall brings!
Enjoy traffic-free cycling along the beautiful St. Lawrence River on Cornwall’s Riverside Trail. Bike rentals are available at Marina 200 to make the cycling trip even easier! With amazing scenery, fun attractions, cozy restaurants, cool breweries and fascinating stories, your new fav cycling route awaits in Cornwall!
5. Get Crafty This Fall
Leave no leaf unturned and no pint un-sipped this fall when discovering locally-crafted beer at Rurban Brewery – the first brewery back in Cornwall in about a century. This fiercely independent brewery crafts quality beer with all-natural ingredients where taste matches the unparalleled commitment to customer service here. Come explore the taproom at Rurban, open throughout the week, to get a taste for a local brew!
Humble Beginnings Brewing Co. is just down the road in Ingleside and has a surprise in store for this fall: it’s crafting a Welcome Great Pumpkin (Milkshake Spices) ale this season which should hit shelves in October! This small-batch brewery, taproom, bottle shop and beer garden, has even been designated as a bicycle-friendly brewery.
You don’t have to be family to love this place – stroll around and get in the know at Wood Brothers Brewing. This microbrewery offers tours, frosty beers and friendly brew masters – as well as events! Lastly, crafted locally using small batches of select apples from SDG Counties, the Upper Canada Cider Company is the newest on the scene and uses minimal filtration and all-natural ingredients. Look for their Three County Cider as the first available to fill your glass.
6. Swing Into A New Season
Hit the links in Cornwall at Summerheights Golf Links, featuring two dynamic 18-hole golf courses in one location. Dating back to 1962 Summerheights continues to be family owned and operated and evolve as the game does. Enjoy the matured MacLennan South Course – this one requires some smarts on the tees – and finishing, too! Don’t be shy with your putter to finish strong on this course. The Matheson West Course within Summerheights is the newest featuring large greens, tree-lined fairways and water. Round out the day at the lively Clubhouse to share your hole-in-one story.
7. Upper Canada Playhouse
The Upper Canada Playhouse sets the stage for enlivening professional theatre in Morrisburg. Operating for more than three decades, The Playhouse produces an April to December season with a minimum of eight productions built and rehearsed onsite and plays to an audience of over 40,000 patrons annually. It operates out of a charmingly converted, 275-seat former toothbrush factory! The August and September shows include Wally’s Café and Norm Foster’s, Come Down From Up River. Don’t forget to take the time to look at the mural on the outside of the theatre while you make your way in!
8. Its the Season to Get Spooked
As we head into spooky season, follow along as Phantoms of Yore will be back at the Historic SDG Jail in October. The Phantoms of Yore is a community focused organization which partners with heritage and historical sites in Ontario to host public investigations into paranormal activity. The Historic SDG Jail was constructed in 1833 and was active until 2002, serving as both a minimum and maximum security facility throughout its history. The jail has long been known as a site for paranormal activity – and you could be there to witness it!
For 3.5 hours you will learn the sordid history of the jail as well as the best practices of paranormal investigation before you journey inside the jail in the darkness to discover the ghosts that reside there.
If you can handle the spooky stuff then make your way down to Cannamore Orchards this October for their Acres of Terror event! Book quickly as this popular event fills up fast. Enjoy a spooky wagon ride, a fun house meets haunted house hybrid, a spooky village and an extra scary fog maze.
9. Time Travel to the 1800s
This living history museum is not to be missed! Be transported back to the 1860s at Upper Canada Village with authentic buildings, activities, and historic interpreters bringing history to life. In mid-September, experience an 1860s Fall Fair Weekend and Quilt Show with old fashioned games, contests and treats! Regular visits make way for an unforgettable fall experience at the end of September: Pumpkinferno! It’s returning again this fall, and rumour has it, some of its most popular exhibits will be revived this season.
10. Take a Tour of the Town
Gather some friends and sample some of Cornwall’s best bites on a Downtown Food Tour with Cornwall Food Tours. It’s known as the perfect way to learn about the city and surrounding area – a little history is paired with delicious food and drinks by the tour host. Invite your family and friends for a memorable experience with Cornwall Food Tours!
11. Enjoy an Evening of Laughter
Head over to Aultsville Theatre for a night full of laughter with your pals. Headlined by Derek Seguin, who has 20 years of experience touring North America and was named SiriusXM’s Top Comic of 2015, you’ll be busting your gut before the night is over.
Edited & Updated By Rosanne Lake and Lindsay Medeiros
