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, not 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 instead of 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
- About 15 minutes to the harbour and main street, 10 to Thornbury, and 25 to 30 to Blue Mountain. Routed estimates in normal conditions; allow more in snow and on summer weekends.
Where we are in it
In the municipality, above the town.
The Collingview is in the Municipality of Meaford, out toward the Thornbury boundary and the edge of The Blue Mountains, 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, as far as we know, unique around here: 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.
Where to eat in and near Meaford
Meaford · about 15 minutes
- Station 87 Kitchen & Bar · 26 Nelson St E
In the restored fire station: breakfast, lunch and dinner, from a casual pub to an upstairs dining room. Takes reservations. - The Dam Pub · 72 Sykes St N
A family-owned gastropub and whisky bar, open for dinner. Reservations by phone. Good for a group. - The Kitchen · 86 Sykes St N
A café for a light lunch — soup, quiche, sandwiches — with an artisan shop alongside. - Grandma Lambe’s · Highway 26, just east of town
A country bakery and market for pies, baking and farm produce, open year-round.
Thornbury · about 10 minutes
- The Mill Café · 12 Bridge St
In the old mill above the dam on the Beaver River: brunch, lunch and dinner. Reservations are strongly suggested for dinner. Good for a group. - Fabbrica Thornbury · 27 Bruce St S
Italian: wood-fired pizza and handmade pasta, with a patio. Takes reservations. Good for a group. - Bruce Wine Bar · 8 Bruce St S
A wine bar and kitchen for dinner, with reservations through its website. - Polpette · 27 Bridge St
Italian pizza and pasta in a century home, with a dining room built for sharing. New in 2026. - Thornbury Bakery Café · 12 Bruce St S
A scratch bakery on the main street, serving breakfast and lunch. - Thornbury Craft Co. · 90 King St E
A cider and beer taproom with a food menu.
Checked September 2026 against each restaurant’s own website. Hours change with the season, so check before you go, and book ahead for a group on a weekend.
Two more questions we get. Things to do in Meaford beyond the harbour: the Georgian Trail, Meaford Hall, the orchards and cider houses, and the beaches at Memorial and Fred Raper Park. And the best restaurants: the places we send guests are listed above, from the old fire station on Nelson Street to the bakery on Highway 26. For a company or executive retreat, the quietness of the town is the point rather than a drawback. There is golf in and around the town, and a weekend itinerary here usually settles into the harbour in the morning and the escarpment in the afternoon. This page is deliberately partial — a travel guide written by somebody who lives with the place rather than somebody who visited it once. The most romantic thing to do as a couple is free: the sunset from the harbour wall, which is difficult to beat. For family activities with kids, the two town beaches and the harbour do most of the work, and the Georgian Trail is flat enough to cycle with small ones.
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.
- A weekend from TorontoWhat the Friday drive up to Meaford really costs in hours, and when to leave.
- Where to stay near Blue MountainMeaford against Thornbury, Collingwood and the village, as a base for the hill.
- Winter without skiingThe spa, snowshoes, skating and Nordic trails within reach of Meaford.