Meaford, Ontario
Meaford: a town on the bay, and a house above it.
Meaford is a working harbour town in apple country on the southern shore of Georgian Bay. The Collingview sits in the municipality, on high ground outside the town, with the escarpment across the horizon.
Check availabilityWhat Meaford is
A harbour, an orchard, and no resort.
Meaford earns its living. There is a working harbour, a main street with a hardware shop as well as a bakery, and a nineteenth-century opera house still running as a theatre. That is the appeal. You are staying in a town that exists for its own reasons rather than one assembled for visitors.
It is also the middle of Ontario apple country. The orchards run along the shore in both directions and up onto the higher ground behind, and in late September the whole area smells of it. The Apple Pie Trail links the growers, cider houses, bakeries and farm stands. It is a good way to lose an afternoon.
And it is on the bay. Georgian Bay here is clear and cold, with a waterfront footpath, the white Breakwater Light out in the water, and small beaches at Memorial Park and Fred Raper Park. The Escarpment sits behind the town, so you get water on one side and hills on the other within a few minutes of each other.
Worth your time
What people actually do here.
- Meaford Harbour and the waterfront
- A working harbour with a footpath along the water, the Breakwater Light offshore, and somewhere to sit and watch the weather come across the bay. Small beaches at Memorial Park and Fred Raper Park.
- Meaford Hall
- A restored nineteenth-century theatre on the main street running music, film and live performance. Unusual for a town this size and worth checking what is on before you come.
- The Georgian Trail
- Flat, paved and traffic-free along an old rail bed, running east from Meaford through Thornbury toward Collingwood. The best cycling in the region for a group of mixed ability, and used all winter for walking.
- Apple country and the Apple Pie Trail
- Orchards, cider houses, bakeries and farm stands strung along the shore and the higher ground. At its best from late August through October.
- The Beaver Valley
- Inland and south, where the Beaver River has cut a valley through the escarpment. The best drive in the region and remarkable in early October.
- The Bruce Trail
- Follows the escarpment through the area, so this is hiking with a climb and a view rather than a flat path. Sections are within easy reach in both directions.
- Skiing
- Blue Mountain is the public hill and it is a short drive east. Every other hill on this escarpment — Georgian Peaks, Craigleith, Alpine, Osler Bluff, Beaver Valley — is a private member club that does not sell day tickets.
- Drive times
- Measured from the gate and confirmed before publication. Everything above is described as near or a short drive because that is what we can stand behind. (detail to be confirmed)
Where we are in it
In the municipality, above the town.
The Collingview is in the Municipality of Meaford, out toward the Thornbury boundary, on a rise at the end of a private drive. It is not in the town and it is not on the water — the harbour is a short drive, not a walk, and what you get instead is open country, a pond, and the ridge of the Niagara Escarpment running the whole length of the horizon with a band of Georgian Bay visible above the tree line from the roof.
That trade is the point. Everything Meaford has is a few minutes away; none of it is outside your window at seven in the morning.
The house itself is three storeys of concrete, steel and cedar with a rooftop terrace, a hot tub, several fireplaces and an elevator — which makes it a different proposition from the cottages the search results usually turn up for this area.
Stay in Meaford.
Tell us your dates and who is coming, and we will come back with availability and everything you need to decide.
Keep reading
- The Beaver ValleyThe valley behind the town, and the best autumn colour in the province.
- Wasaga BeachThe long beach an hour east, and the quiet ones ten minutes away.
- ThornburyThe village next door — the harbour, the fish ladder, and the private clubs above it.
- The areaGeorgian Bay, Grey County, the Beaver Valley and which ski hills are which.
- The houseThree storeys of concrete, steel and cedar, room by room.
Questions about Meaford
- Where is Meaford, Ontario?
- On the southern shore of Georgian Bay in Grey County, about 165 to 175 km from Toronto — roughly two and a quarter to two and a half hours by road. It sits west of Thornbury and The Blue Mountains, and about 30 km east of Owen Sound.
- Is Meaford a good base for a trip to Blue Mountain?
- Yes, and it is a quieter one than staying in the resort village. Blue Mountain is a short drive east along the shore, so you get the skiing or the summer activities without paying resort prices or waking up inside a village that is busy year-round.
- What is there to do in Meaford?
- The harbour and the waterfront trail, beaches at Memorial Park and Fred Raper Park, Meaford Hall for music and film, the Georgian Trail for cycling, and the apple orchards and cider houses the area is known for. The Beaver Valley and the Bruce Trail are both close.
- Is The Collingview in Meaford itself?
- It is in the Municipality of Meaford, on high ground outside the town toward the Thornbury boundary. That means a short drive to the harbour rather than a walk, and open country and an escarpment view rather than a street.
- When is the best time to visit Meaford?
- Late summer for the bay and the trail, September and October for the apples and the colour in the Beaver Valley, and January through March if you are here for the skiing. April and November are the quiet months, and the ones where a house with three fireplaces earns its keep.