5 Reasons Why You Should Visit Prince Edward County in Canada!

The Oeno Gallery, Bloomfield Ontario

If you’re looking for a quieter get away, look no further.  Prince Edward County, locally known as “The County”, is beautiful with  winding country roads surrounded by farms and wineries.  Its quaint little towns , like Picton, Wellington and Bloomfield, pop up unexpectedly. 

Isn’t Prince Edward County where the mussels come from? 

Nope. Don’t confuse Prince Edward County and Prince Edward Island. They’re two completely different places.  Prince Edward County  (PEC) is on the shores of Lake Ontario, situated about 2 hours and 20 minutes northeast of Toronto, or about 2 hours and 45 minutes southwest of Ottawa.

Prince Edward Island (PEI) on the other hand, is in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.  The famous and delicious mussels are from Prince Edward Island (hence PEI mussels).

To give more context, here's a map.

Now that we have that cleared up…

What’s there to do?

1.Wineries

There are tasty wines.  Surprisingly,  PEC is on the same latitude as the Bordeaux region of France (at least that was a surprise to me), so they’re growing similar grapes, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot.   But PEC is growing Carmenere and Malbec, which I usually think of as being grown in South America primarily.

Since we were only in PEC for a long weekend, we only visited two wineries – Sugarbush Vineyards and Winery and Karlo Estates.

View from the corkscrew bike racks at Sugarbush Vineyards and Winery.

2. Provincial Parks

Located on the shores of Lake Ontario is Sandbanks Provincial Park.  It has freshwater sand dunes, reported to be the largest baymouth barrier dunes in the world; walking trails (we did the Dunes trail),  and campsites.  I recommend making reservations for a permit through the Provincial Parks website.  It was roughly $21 CAD or about $15 US. Annoyingly, you can only make reservations five days in advance of your visit, but it was easy enough to do.

TIP:  If you're from the U.S. remember to use a credit card that doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee when making reservations.

Even though it wasn't a beach day at Sandbanks Provincial Park, the view is still beautiful.

3. Art

There are lots of little galleries in the towns of Picton, Wellington and Bloomfield.  There’s  even a free outdoor art gallery, the Oeno Gallery, situated on the grounds of the Huff Estates Winery.

Outside the Oeno Gallery

The art at the Oeno Gallery is often whimsical!

4. The Food

Where’d we eat?

We had some pretty good meals, and a couple meh meals. I recommend making reservations whenever possible, as the best restaurants tend to get crowded. Our favorite places in Picton were:

Bocado:    We had tapas – a cheese plate, croquetas, and patatas bravas

Luso Bites:  Hubby had a breakfast sandwich and I had toast with Azorean cheese from St. George in the Azores.

The Lunchbox:  Our sandwiches held up so well for traveling, that we went twice.  Once I had a guacamole sandwich, another time I had an apple and brie sandwich.  Hubby had ham and cheese. 

We also picked up sandwiches one day at Sprigwich in Wellington.  I had a veggie sandwich and Hubby had a smoked ham and swiss.  While our sandwiches were really tasty, it was crowded, so be prepared to wait.

Bonus: If you're a mustard fan like me, stop at the Cressy Mustard Co., shop in Picton. We bought chardonnay mustard, honey pineapple mustard, and maple horseradish mustard.

5. Relaxation

Where’d we stay?

We spent three nights at the Royal Hotel in Picton.  A One Key Michelin hotel it was lovely.  Check out my post on Michelin Keys. Upon checking in, we were presented with a welcome glass of the local sparkling wine.  Once in our cozy room, there were chocolate cookies. There was  also a French press and a kettle for coffee and tea.  The view from our room wasn’t awesome, but it was definitely quiet, which is what we were looking for.

I mean, the view wasn't great, but the hotel room was.

The hotel has several restaurants that always seemed packed, so make reservations if possible.  We ate at breakfast at one of the restaurants, the Counter, which doesn’t take reservations, so make sure to get there early to grab a seat.  Our breakfast was delish, but on the pricey side – I had a parfait of Balkan yogurt, blueberries and maple granola, and my hubby had a breakfast sandwich.

They also have spa services, but we didn’t take advantage of them.

While PEC may be better known in Canada, it's probably less well known in the U.S.  So if you’re looking for a laid-back weekend, slightly off the beaten track,  head to the County, Prince Edward County.