There are over one million apple trees in Apple Country. If each tree can produce about 45-100lbs of apples, and a 9-inch pie requires about 2-3lbs of apples, that’s roughly 15 million to 40 million apple pies. Blue Mountain, here we come!
Over the years we’ve visited here, over the hills and far away. The apples, the orchards, the cider, the spirits, and all the outdoor appeal for romance or multi-generations of family travel packed into this one adventuresome destination of Blue Mountain.
The apple of my eye is a refreshing glass of cider.
Spy Cider House and Distillery overlooks pastoral countryside of rolling hills that make us forget where in the world we are.
Seated on the patio with crisp skinny fries lavished in cheese, and the most wholesome chocolate chip cookie, gooey and chocolatey and lightly salted, we feel totally unwound and excited for a cider flight. My tasting includes Golden Eye, the signature cider, made predominantly from Spy apples with some Gala and Ida Red, and fermented down to zero sugar. Conspiracy Theory is a refreshing blend of sour cherry and blueberry. Never Say Never, which tastes like a juicy apple, is a single varietal Macintosh apple, and is absolutely delicious. Royal Tea is infused with local Beaver Valley honey and Assam tea for a totally unique cider with smooth and subtle, sweet and bitter notes that marry together perfectly. The Estate Blend uses twelve different heirloom varietals for a clean, dry, crisp, full-bodied apple with a hint of sweetness, and yet there is no sugar. That’s part of the ethos here: don’t add sugar to any of the cider. The ingredients are simply: apples.
Cider is a historic beverage and yet somehow new to the scene, but it is a true taste of Ontario.
All the apples are pressed on site, and once fermented into a cider, select batches are distilled into a smooth apple brandy, Mata Hari, with notes of caramel, baked apple and autumnal spices. A triple-distillation reveals a very pure and nuanced Spy Vodka with vanilla notes. An infusion of juniper, lemon, coriander, sage, lavender, cucumber and apple soaked for 24 hours, reveals the spirit of the valley in Spy Gin--very clean, smooth, approachable, and a true taste of place.
A short drive through the valley below leads us to Goldsmith's Farm Market and Bakery, a veritable cornucopia of beautiful Ontario produce including jars of local honey that shine like liquid gold. The selection of warm fresh-from-the-oven pies wafting their seductive aromas to embrace us is like heaven in a display case. There is Peach and Blueberry, Apple Crisp, and Thornbury Pie, which cradles within its buttery crust a gorgeous mélange of sun-kissed berries. How can I choose just one? My eyes fall on a sign that reads, “Sharing is Optional.”
In addition to the market, the town of Thornbury is like a specialty food shop spread out to include bakeries, cideries, restaurants, wine bars and cheese galleries. Ontario apples pair with Ontario cheddar, so the range of grilled cheese sandwiches one can taste along the Apple Pie Trail is out of this world.
At Thornbury Cheese Gallery we sink our teeth into a sandwich of thick melty smoked Ontario cheddar within crunchy toasted sourdough, enlivened with local apple compote, jalapeño and ginger for an haute cuisine grilled cheese with notes of sweet and spice that make everything nice. It is simply divine, and begs for a glass of wine or cider to pair with it.
The cheese gallery is an emporium of thoughtfully selected popular and unique cheese and charcuterie from across Ontario, Quebec, PEI and around the world. There are cheese blends for fondue and raclette, and unusual finds like an Italian Nero Fumé, a blue cheese smoked in lapsang souchong and enrobed in chestnut honey. We want everything we see here.
It wouldn't be a proper visit to Ontario's Apple Pie Trail without stopping in at our go-to apple orchard, T K Ferri Orchards, home of Honeycrisp, Macintosh, Gala, Courtland, Golden Delicious, Mutsu, Ambrosia and Bay Beauty—unique to this property, with a hint of pear—among other varietals. Here, we pick apples from row upon row, and stock up on ambrosial cider.
Also Read: Family Trip to Blue Mountain Village
Deep within the Blue Mountains are the caves of Metcalfe Rock, where limestone fissures, forced apart by glacial freezing and thawing, reveal colossal cracks up to eighty feet deep and dark passageways to other worlds. Free Spirit Tours leads us through them. Twisting and bending and sliding in ways I did not think my body could still do, I follow our guide as we descend into the abyss. Within the cold air of the Ice Cave we are blanketed only in tranquility. There is complete silence except for the calm sound of flowing water. It's as though we’re immersed within a meditation tape. There is nowhere better for stress relief than to crawl into this cave and just sit deep within the Earth.
This is not one of those caves where we start at one end and finish at the opposite end. It's eerily simple to get lost, to follow the wrong crevice and get stuck. Evidently, we’ve hired a guide not merely to lead us in, but to lead us out.
As a fifty-something with sciatica and writer’s cramps in my arms, this shouldn’t seem like a possible activity, and yet! It’s the perfect antidote. No amount of physiotherapy could compete with this one exercise. We’re not meant to be sedentary, or neglect our supportive tissues by sitting at a computer all day. A full-range-of-motion-activity like this, with the variety of movement involved, has realigned me. Of course, I am nowhere near as flexible as my son, who is eagerly climbing up ahead of me, but the real therapeutic benefit I feel is astonishing.
Reinvigorated, we walk back down the trail past local residents--Boer goats--just chillin' on the mountainside.
Back at Blue Mountain, the village hums with energy, patios fill with the scent of wood-fired meals, and the mountain itself forms a dramatic backdrop to every moment. There is miniature golf and paddle boats, but we've made a bee line for the Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster.
This is not my cup of tea, but I’m doing it for my son. As our coaster leisurely climbs higher and higher, my heart thumps louder and louder. I am not looking forward to this, in fact I want to get off now. But, that’s not going to happen, so at least I can control the speed. As we reach the top, turn the bend and begin to descend, our velocity immediately kicks up with no mercy. We’re both screaming—my son, out of sheer joy; me, for my life. The contrast could not be clearer. Riding this meteorite down the mountain at Mach 10 feels like the thrill of a lifetime for my son and last rites for me.
Once we reach the end, unbuckle and exit, I collect myself, fix my hair, breathe and, to my son's amazement, acknowledge, ”You know what? That was actually awesome; we need to get back in line right now, and do this again at least three more times!”
The adventure park is chock full of activities that use the mountainside terrain to create a unique zone for play that is as memorable as it is exhilarating. Between the Canopy Climb Net Adventure, Cocoon Crawl Playscape, Lumber Lanes Climbing Centre and Timber and Skywalk High Ropes Course Challenges, we discover the dream playground of every kid and young-at-heart adult.
High up in the air, we lock and unlock our clips to ropes that secure us on beams that challenge our balance and fear of heights, and with each level we feel increasingly accomplished.
As we climb up Lumber Lanes, zip-liners are whizzing past overhead. The Canopy Climb is a multi-faceted challenge including bounce zones, tunnels, bridges and suspended ropes that excite my son as he darts from one platform to the next, and provides a work out and a half for me as I try to keep up.
The Cocoon Crawl looks like a psychedelic pagoda of nets that we climb higher and higher, and when we need to stop, we can lie down on what feels like a massive hammock. This is our favourite of the activities here.
When day turns to night, the woods atop the mountain alight. We follow the enchanting path of Agora: Path of Light on and immersive night walk that transforms the forest into a luminous art installation. Along winding woodland paths, light, sound, and atmosphere combine to create a dreamlike journey through trees and darkness that feels like stepping into a storybook.
We pass signs that ask us questions like, “If you were a forest creature, who would you be and why?” and remind us that our individual stories are interwoven into this magical space, inspired by the cycles of life in nature. We learn about the connections between the tiny mushroom and the powerful wolf--both considered Keystone Species, critical to the survival of other living things in their ecosystem. We wander in wonder as the light installations, based on the five elements of air, space, earth, water and fire, encourage us to consider light as a common language.
Blue Mountain, rising above the southern shores of Georgian Bay, is a four-season, day and night playground that balances adventure with sophistication through a refreshing formula: equal parts thrill, nature, and indulgence. As the saying goes, "An apple a day..."