Contrary to popular belief, an ice-cream trail is not meant to have ice cream all the way (Although one can!). It is actually a project of smaller Ontario towns to entice visitors to visit, shop, eat, learn about their place.
This summer the Huron-Kinloss Ice Cream Trail™ celebrated their 10th year of FUN-FILLED photo scavenger hunt which took participants to ice cream stops along the trail past beaches, pretty towns, parks and general stores. After several attempts for the past summers we finally completed the challenge this year (took 2 Saturdays as they only have 5 stops this year).
Our first stop was the town of Ripley. Home of the Bruce Botanical Garden, a non profit organization addressing issues of food insecurity, sustainable agriculture, and the issues faced by the small family farm through tourism, education, hands on experience and cultural activity. In simple terms, a farm where you can pick any available product and pay what you can afford. We were a bit late for summer harvest but we still saw a lot of tomatoes, kale, strawberries, flowers and herbs for the picking.
The place is small but we found some interesting things around the street. Unique, historical murals and butterfly wings on the wall for my collection.
And of course, a photo with Huron-Kinloss Ice Cream Trail poster.
Ripley, Ontario – September 12, 2021
