Tasty food trails to explore in Ontario and Quebec

If you’re the type who never takes a road trip without packing a cooler, here are some food trails and beverage routes in Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais and beyond that might pique your interest and get your stomach rumbling.

Disclosure: I’ve recently done paid writing work for Follow 44 and 1000 Islands Rideau Canal Waterways; neither of them has reviewed or approved this post.

• Immediately southwest of Ottawa, the Sip and Savour Lanark County trail features lots of maple syrup (that’s Lanark County’s claim to culinary fame, after all) but also takes you to food shops, distilleries, restaurants and more.
• The Croquez l’Outaouais website points you to food and beverage makers across West Quebec.
• The Tap and Cork Route features makers of wine, beer, cider and spirits in Ontario’s Ottawa Valley and the Pontiac region of Quebec.
• 1000 Islands Rideau Canal Waterways covers the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville region of Eastern Ontario, including Merrickville, Westport, Gananoque, Brockville and many other communities. The organization has developed three sets of self-driving routes for food fans: Fresh Baked Adventures (bakeries), Fresh Baked Adventure Cafes and Foodie Shop Adventures.

• Follow 44, which runs from Kemptville to Spencerville, isn’t solely a food trail, but it does include stops at lots of restaurants, bakeries, beverage makers and farms.
• This 2020 post from the Culinary Tourism Alliance points out stops for wine and/or cheese in Cornwall and Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry.
• The Broue & Chew map points you to bakeries, a winery, breweries, a cheesemaker, pick-your-own farms and other foodie destinations in Prescott-Russell, immediately east of Ottawa.
• It isn’t a set-in-stone route, but the PEC Wine website is a great resource to help you plan your own driving itinerary to a few of the dozens of wineries in Prince Edward County.

• Taste the County features restaurants, farmers’ markets, cider makers and more in Prince Edward County.
• The Kawarthas Northumberland Butter Tart Tour takes you to more than 30 Peterborough-area purveyors of the tooth-achingly sweet Canadian treat.
• Not to be outdone, Wellington County (in and around Guelph) has a butter tart map.
• Speaking of sweets, the Southern Georgian Bay area (around Meaford, Thornbury and Blue Mountain) has an Apple Pie Trail. You can download a map and an app, too.

• If you’re headed to Stratford to enjoy some Shakespeare, you could also check out the Stratford Chocolate Trail.
• A site that identifies itself only as OBN (Ontario Beverage Network? Your guess is as good as mine) has an interactive map displaying more than 480 Ontario craft breweries, distilleries, cideries and bars.
• Quite a hike from Ottawa, in the southwestern corner of Ontario around Woodstock, the Oxford County Cheese Trail features more than 40 stops for fans of cheesy comestibles.

• Also a hike (but well worth the drive), the Charlevoix region east of Quebec City is a rich agricultural area full of cheese shops, mushroom growers, dairy farms and what have you. You can discover many of them on the Charlevoix Flavour Trail.
• On the website of the Eastern Townships’ tourism board, you can download separate guides to microbreweries and cheesemakers in this scenic region of Quebec near the Vermont border.

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