Orangeville, ON
Provincial Parks Mono Cliffs Provincial Park is a day use park with many picturesque hiking trails. Rita and I visited on a quiet day so I let her off-leash for our 1.5 hr hike. The park is easy to navigate. From the parking lot, we took the Carriage Trail and followed the trail markers to the viewing platform, making a couple of stops along the way for a swim in the water and a venture along an off-shoot pathway amongst the rocky cliffs. The viewing platform itself presented far-reaching views across the green landscape. From here, we took the Cliff Top Trail, which took us alongside a pretty lake and through both dense and more spacious forest, and then back to the parking lot via the Spillway Trail.
Hockley Valley PP (non-operating) is a great spot for a foresty hike along a section fo the Bruce Trail. We did the 4.5km Tom East Side Trail loop. There were a lot of uphill stretches; we were not rewarded with a view but could hear the rushing of water below us. The fall colours were also in full effect during our visit. Note, from the car park, it is required to walk along the roadside for a short stretch to meet the trailhead.
Schitt’s Creek Motel Fans of the Canadian-made TV show Schitt’s Creek won’t want to miss the opportunity to visit the iconic Rosebud Motel, which is situated here in Orangeville. Only the exterior of the motel was filmed in the show. It’s currently non-operating, but is for sale, and the day we visited some prospective buyers were being shown around. It was fun to recognise the parts of the building from the screen!
Other dog-friendly spots in the area we didn’t make it to: Avalon Lavender Farm and Adamo Estate Winery.
