Idyllic glamping spots are still few and far between in Ontario. The concept of glamping in Canada is still on the rise, popularity is still low and we are way ahead of the curve in scoping them all out. We discovered Fronterra Farm and Brewery while randomly skipping through the channels one Thursday morning at 7 am on CTV and, by 11 am we had our trip booked. We decided to take an extended Labour Day weekend and made the three and a half hour trek to Prince Edward County on the Monday.
FRONTERRA FARM & BREWERY
To actually find Fronterra, they give you a vague address and a phone number. Once you get to the vague address, you have to call them and they’ll meet you. We were met within seconds and they were genuinely happy to see us and in love with Louceel. One of my favorite parts about this place was that they wanted to know our story! After 10 minutes, we like to think we’re friends now.
We followed them down a bit of a dirt road away from their house and their barn, parked in the field and continued on foot about 400 metres to our tent! They have a total of 10 tents, all new this year which are perfectly secluded and private from the others. Each tent has king size bed, big comfy leather chair and big comfy leather couch- a true declaration of glamping! The outside kitchen is covered and fully stocked with the necessities, coleman stove, wine glasses, cutlery and butcher knives. The shower had hot water and the toilet was composting and clean, what more could we ask for!
One of the best things about glamping on a farm is that they sold farm fresh food for you to purchase. We knew ahead of time that they had eggs and fresh veggies but we didn’t know what kind of veggies until we got there so our meal planning was pretty much a surprise.
From the stand we brought back:
- 1 bunch of swiss chard
- 1 bunch of beets
- 1 yellow onion
- 6 eggs (duck and chicken)
- 1 heirloom tomatoe
- 1 mason jar filled with small tomatoes
- 1 cucumber
- 1 brown bag of potatoes
We had a feast for dinner both nights in a row, and nothing tastes better than fresh veggies. See our recipes here.
PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY IN A DAY
We spent the day wandering a couple vineyards and checking out the small towns. Prince Edward County is still a bit of a hidden gem. Currently known for Sandbanks beach and old Ontario cottages, it is slowly becoming the new summer spot for Toronto/ GTA tourists. People are slowly gravitating away from Niagara B’n’B’s and towards the vineyards and B’n’B’s of Prince Edward County. Even the Drake Hotel has just opened a B’n’B in Wellington called the Drake Devonshire, which is where we had lunch lakeside.
Our favorite vineyard in the area was Norman Hardie and our favorite brewery was County Cider, more on those later.
We came back from our long day and sat on North Beach (a provincial beach that is practically empty this time of year) and had some appetizers (a.k.a two glasses of wine) then headed back to our tent.
At Fronterra while each tent is secluded by the fact you are in the middle of shaded woods, the grounds are also located on the water in a quiet bay. The waterfront is perfect for canoeing (which you can rent!) or just relaxing and watching the beautiful sunset. Our entire time at Fronterra was short (two nights) and we spent the day taking in all of Prince Edward County but we could have easily spent an entire week here. While we were a little taken aback by the prices per night, we would only have good things to say and we will definitely be going back. Glamping in Ontario really is the perfect staycation and we highly recommend this beautiful place for you to do so.
Disclaimer: we also brought an 18 month old baby with us, and they were so happy and accomodating to see her! Our playpen fit perfectly at the end of the bed and no one minded that she was a little bit loud in the morning.