Mennonite-heavy country farmer’s markets have been all the rage in recent years in the area surrounding Greater Toronto. At the centre of all the fuss is St. Jacobs. Located just north of the Kitchener/Cambridge/Waterloo mess, St. Jacobs is indeed a great farmer’s market. A very crowded market that may well be the Disneyland of farmer’s markets.
You see, St. Jacob’s is all spit and polish with lovely authentic costumes. Words are spoken with just the perfect accent to make visitors feel all fuzzy inside. I’m not knocking it. It’s great for the tourists. I’ve just always felt that the vendors are more actors than actual farmers.
However, for a real market experience with real farmers and real Mennonites, the Keady Farm Market is the better choice.
Keady Market
Open every Tuesday between the Victoria Day long weekend in May and the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend in October, Keady is little further up the road than St. Jacobs but the payoff is worth it.
There are farmers. There are Mennonites. They’re the real deal. The guy dealing you the carrots most likely still has the dirt on his hands from when he pulled them from the ground. For fun, there is a livestock market adjacent to the farm market.
Keady Market is open from 7am until 2pm. You don’t pay for parking and you don’t pay any sort of admission fee. Along with the farm fresh produce, there’s also row after row of flea market stands with a ton of antiques, etc.
On a recent visit, we took in the market, walking away with a bushel of tomatoes and a bushel of green peppers, along with other items in smaller, more reasonable amounts. I gotta say, we had a real treat on the drive up. Along highway 10, somewhere before Chatsworth and the junction with highway 6, we witnessed a real, honest to goodness Mennonite Barn Raising. It was quite a sight to see.
After the market, we headed over to Inglis Falls Conservation Area where the scenery is always great. We followed that up with a visit to Harrison Park in Owen Sound and a quick discovery of Weavers Creek Falls.
The best part is that the market need not be your only destination during the day. Located just 15 southwest of Owen Sound, there are ample natural attractions in the area. Inglis Falls Conservation Area is just a short drive away from Keady and Harrison Park is just a bit further north, at the southern edge of Owen Sound. Go a little further and you have Wiarton, Sauble Beach and the Bruce Peninsula.
Inglis Falls Conservation Area
Inglis Falls Conservation Area is part of Grey Sauble Conservation and is a great natural spectacle on the Sydenham River. The cascade style waterfall has a total drop of 18 metres or nearly 60 feet. The park encompasses an area of 200 hectares.
There is a very reasonable entrance fee to the day-use park. However, when we went last on a Tuesday in September, no one was manning the booth at the entrance so there was no fee. There are a number of trails within the park with the highlight being the path along the western edge of the waterfall. This also just happens to be a stretch of the Bruce Trail.
The folks at Inglis Falls are surely never happy when visitors stray off the trail to check out the base area of the waterfall. However, I had to do it. The view from the main trail can be a bit obstructed with bush and tree growth. The renegade view from the base is quite spectacular. I apologize in advance to the park staff but I will be back for some more intense photography – it’s too incredible to pass up.
Above and below are taken from below Inglis Falls, looking upstream at the main waterfall. Although there are no signs strictly prohibiting venturing down to the river at this point, I must warn that it is quite rocky and uneven. In dry conditions, footing can be a bit of a hazard. In wet conditions, the area can be downright dangerous.
Below is Weavers Creek Falls at Harrison Park.
Harrison Park, Owen Sound
Weavers Creek Falls is never included in lists of Niagara Escarpment waterfalls. It’s small but comparable to others that get more attention, like Hoggs Falls. Next to the public swimming pool at Harrison Park, there is a short trail that runs beside Weavers Creek that ends at the waterfall. At this point, the parkland ends and the waterfall is on private property.
It is encouraged not to pass onto the private property but is not outright prohibited. To climb up to the crest is a bit of a mess with steep, muddy cliffs on both sides of the waterfall.
Weavers Creek empties into the Sydenham River and the Sydenham is the main water source for Harrison Park. The urban park has an area of 40 hectares and celebrated 100 years in 2012. There is the swimming pool, along with ample playgrounds for kids. There is a full service restaurant and a 104 site campground. The park is more fitting to a bigger Ontario city like London, Kitchener or even Toronto.
Owen Sound is a city with a population of around 22,000 (33,000 metro). The city is located on Owen Sound at the southwestern tip of Georgian Bay. The Sydenham River enters the sound to form the main harbour.
The below video is of Weavers Creek Falls.
