Done-For-You Travel Plans to Beautiful Durham Region!

One thing that I don't like about travelling is the mental load of planning the trip itself. Which attractions will we stop at? Where will we eat? What are the best spots along the way?

Well, your next family trip will have none of the guess work and all of the fun if you travel one of Durham's Rural Routes!

Durham Region’s rural routes are 6 itineraries suited for day trips or even weekend road trips. Visit collections of businesses including art studios, historical sites, farm markets, breweries, cideries, attractions, and more.

I was super blessed to be able to visit a handful of business along 4 of these rural routes, and I can’t wait to go back with my kids. Here are my highlights below for when you want to travel beautiful Durham Region with your family too! #hosted

LEASKDALE LOOP

On the Leaskdale Loop I visited Tindall Farm & Market with the freshest, most delicious produce, homemade treats and the funniest home décor. One thing that I loved about this place was that they have so many gluten free options! I usually can’t eat anything when I travel somewhere with baked goods, and they had so many options for me there.

We got to see the owner Karyn in her element as she prepared fresh jam for canning, and she even gave us some super helpful tips if we were going to do some canning at home as well. Did you know that you’re supposed to leave the ring on the top of the mason jar OFF when you’re putting canned goods on your shelves?! That way you can see if one of the seals pops by accident. If you don’t, the seal could pop and re-seal under the ring without you knowing and you could not even know that your canned goods have spoiled!

The yummy baked goods at Tindall Farm & Market

Other attractions on the Leaskdale Loop: Montgomeryshire Orchard and Nursery, Leaskdale Country Store, Leaskdale Live Edge, Home of Lucy Maud Montgomery Office and Manse, Hosta Hideaway & Out of the Barn, Thomas Foster Memorial, Banjo Cider, Concession 6 Studio, Greenmantle Pottery and Pefferlaw Creek Farm.

BACKROADS OF BROCK

Next I toured the Sunflower Farm on the Backroads of Brock Route. These sunflower fields are HUGE and the walking paths are actually in the shape of a sunflower from an aerial view. They have so many different varieties of sunflower that I had never even heard of including the “strawberry blonde” which was beautiful and lasted the longest once cut.

I meet a sweet baby goat named Feta who ate a chunk of my hair off – we were warned that she was a nibbler but she was too cute to resist!

Baby goat "Feta" making a meal of my hair at The Sunflower Field

Based on the attractions listed and their close proximity to one another, I think this would be the most younger-family-friendly route to visit, and you can probably hit all 5 attractions on the list in one day!

Other attractions on the Backroads of Brock: Forget-Me-Not Alpacas, Buzzing Bees Adventure Farm, Villa Vida Loca Farm Market, and Pinedale Patch.

SIDEROADS OF SCUGOG

Then I explored Lavender-Blu: artisan studio, hobby farm and lavender studio. This would be an amazing place to come back to with my older kids during the homeschool year. I got a lesson on “insect hotels” that I know my kids would be riveted by, was told that it’s ok for your garden to be messy because that creates a better environment for the local critters (score!) and I also tried Sea Buckthorn for the first time (p.s. – it’s delicious).

The beautiful field at Lavender-Blu

Then I made my way to Willowtree Farm for lunch and a quick fruit sampling – seriously they have the best raspberries I’ve ever tasted in my life. They have these big enclosures where they house their strawberry plants so that they can prolong their strawberry season which was super cool. I visited in the second week of August and they still had tons of fresh strawberries available when most of the other farms I’ve visited are all out.

The strawberry plants at Willowtree Farm

I’d love to come back and visit this route as a day date trip with my husband!

Other attractions on the Sideroads of Scugog Route: Dunny’s Divots Indoor Golf Facility, Great Blue Heron Casino and Hotel, Jesters Court Pub & Eatery, Scugog Shores Museum Village & Archives, North Durham Chamber of Commerce, META4 Contemporary Craft Gallery, Harmony Within Farm, Scugog Arts, Theatre on the Ridge, and Forsythe Family Farms 2009 Inc.

A COUNTRY PATH

I also had the pleasure of visiting Archibald Orchards and Winery and sampling the most delicious apple wines and mocktails. They even have apple picking! This orchard is family owned, and the couple who showed us around was just so kind and even spent extra time highlighting the other businesses in the area for us. This is the place I’m most excited to bring my kids to this fall to do some apple picking (and for me to go back too…their apple wine is the best I’ve ever had).

The storefront of Archibald Orchards

Followed by a trip to Tyrone Mills, a traditional water powered mill which has been in operation since 1846. This will be an awesome stop for us as a homeschool family, and they have the freshest flours and their famous apple cider donut that I know my kids will love. They had the mill running for us so that we could see how it worked which was quite the sight to see.

Tyrone Mills Postcard

I’d say this would also be a super family friendly route, especially with the bed and breakfast for if you wanted to make a weekend of it.

Other attractions on A Country Path: Timeless Essentials, Sargent Family Dairy, 3Beez Buzz, Chosen Raw Pet Food, Out Valley View Bed and Breakfast, Gallery on the Farm, Buy a Birdhouse, Makers on Enfield, Open Skies Farm, Knox Pumpkin Farm, and Geissberger Farmhouse Cider.

And that’s not all – these are just a sampling of all that Durham Region has to offer.

A special thank you to Town Trolley Tours for transporting us!

MY MOM HACKS FOR GETTING THE MOST OF THESE ROUTES WITH A FAMILY

1. CHECK THE HOURS OF OPERATION

There's nothing worse than packing up your family and heading out for some fun only to realize the place is closed. Make sure as you look through the various stops at each of these loops that you hit the ones that close earliest first!

2.      LEAVE YOURSELF EXTRA TIME

These rural routes are so beautiful, you're going to want to stop at some extra places along the way, or even stay longer than you anticipated. Make sure you plan your day with lots of extra windows of time for extra exploration (and bathroom breaks/diaper changes if you have littles)

3.      BRING A POTTY

If you’ve got littles, this one is going to be absolutely necessary. Thankfully there are bathrooms located at each of the attractions I visited, and they are all relatively close together on these rural routes so you won’t have to worry about long trips between them and needing an emergency bathroom. But oftentimes there was only one stall or one bathroom available, and if it’s busy you’re going to want to be prepared if you’ve got little ones who are potty training or freshly out of diapers. I suggest this for all family trips – not just for Durham specifically.

4.      CONSIDER BRINGING A COOLER

My diaper backpack has a cooler section in the front which is super helpful, but if yours doesn’t and  you are a lover of fresh dairy (I’m thinking delicious cheeses, chocolates, and fudge) you’re going to want to have a cooler on hand to be able to bring those goodies back home without them spoiling on the drive.

5.      DITCH THE STROLLER

Most of these locations were stroller friendly, and if you’ve got top of the line wheels you’ll probably be fine - but given the nature of the terrain (mostly either grass, hay, or gravel) and the quality of my own stroller wheels (mediocre at best) I’d consider baby wearing instead of a stroller for the best mobility if your kiddo can’t walk the whole way at one of the locations. Plus it’s just nice to travel lighter and not have to worry about bumping into items in some of the smaller shops with your stroller.

And that’s it! I hope you have found this article helpful and informative. We can’t wait to visit Durham’s Rural Routes again as a family, and I know you’ll love it just as much as I did!

xoxo Chelsea Dyan

*This trip was hosted by Durham Tourism but as always these opinions are completely my own