Destination Diaries: Milton + Hamilton

Heather Halliday
Aug 23, 2017 · 6 min read

For the long weekend, my sister let me and Allan commandeer her Ford Escape that I loving refer to as the Bay Harbour Butcher (hoping my blog’s audience has as big of a boner for Dexter as my sister and I do)

It’s worth noting that both parties, Sara and Allan, were both more confident in my driving abilities than I was — I haven’t been behind the wheel in over a year. Perk of living in Toronto? Downside? Haven’t decided.

We took it easy on Saturday and headed out on Sunday morning.

Kelso Lake

This place is only about an hour outside of the city and would make a great day trip on its own. We got to Kelso Conservation Area around 3pm and beat the crowds by an hour. We rented a canoe for a couple hours (~$30) and paddled around. I took a while to warm up to being on the water; I had a bit of post-driving anxiety, as well as the don’t-let-this-fucking-canoe-tip-over jitters.

Someone…. was doing a lot more paddling than someone else.

Tips:

We were out of sunscreen and figured we would buy some here. Nope! They sell snacks and drinks but no sunscreen.

Fishing (w/ license) is permitted, so bring along your equipment if that is your thing. Or maybe try noodling??

Hamilton

After Kelso Lake, we made a pit stop on our way to Hamilton so that we could check out the Toronto Premium Outlets. From the insanely packed parking long to the huge crowds to the heaps of clothes strewn about each shop — I quickly learned that this place is fucking bonkers. Allan was able to pick up a pair of headphones he was eyeing up, so it was worth the trip, but I would say to avoid this place unless absolutely necessary.

We checked into the Sheraton Hamilton Hotel which was in the middle of everything! We were late to book someplace for the long weekend so we were super lucky that there was some room left — nearly every place around Southern Ontario was selling out.

We went for a swim before getting ready to go out for dinner. Like the Instagram-fiend I am, I was browsing the local stories from around Hamilton and saw a neat place to grab some dinner and drinks. And drink refills.

Nique Restaurant

This place was a m a z i n g. Allan got the Burger and I got Heritage Pork which was insanely good. It didn’t hurt that the Jameson shots were $3 and tall cans were $5. Sunday deals! Our server recommended some nice, easy drinking beers (Barn Raiser and Black Bellow’s White) which were fun to try. Every corner of the place was well designed. I would absolutely recommend this place to anyone visiting Hamilton. Did I mention they serve sushi nachos? We weren’t in the mood at the time but I’d be interested to try them out another time.

We had seen a place called Arcade in Hess Village and decided to roll the dice despite their conflicting social media posts (Open? Closed? Opened again but then closed again for renovation? Opening in Spring? No wait, early August? Literally had no clue and no definitive details). Unsurprisingly they were closed. Shitty! And genuinely disappointing because it looked like a neat place.

We stayed around Hess and found a nice bar with super friendly staff called Blu. It was really quiet but their patio was a cozy place to hang out for one more drink before heading to bed.

The Waterfalls

We had some breakfast brought up to our room and packed up for our trip to the falls. We drove to Webster Falls and chatted to a cop posted up out there. He directed us to Mizener’s Antiques & Flea Market — from there they run a shuttle service out to Webster and Tews falls in order to reduce the traffic/congestion for residents. Information about the service can be found here. I definitely wish we knew before hand! But it’s simple enough.

Webster Falls

We arrived and did a lap of the area, and we began to wonder how on earth to get down closer to Webster Falls. I messaged my friend Mary who visited and she told me right away “You have to climb the fence”

We hopped the fence and started to scale down the rocks towards the waterfall. This was a little (a lot) sketchy because part of the climb included trusting a questionably secure rope.

Once you’re down though, it’s very beautiful! But I sincerely recommend only doing this if you feel comfortable. If you don’t feel safe, that’s understandable.

Tews Falls + Dundas Peak

The Shuttle Bus took us on a short trip down to Tews Falls which was connected to the Dundas Peak via the Spencer Adventure Trail/Bruce Trail. I genuinely don’t have much to say about Tews, it’s exactly what you would expect.

From the falls, we headed home to drop off Sara’s car (in one piece). We were a bit tired and a bit sunburned, but very impressed by these natural sites!

Tips

Bring sunscreen and water! And a hat! We visited when the weather was overcast and were under the constant threat of rain (but it held off and we stayed dry!) None of the conservation areas or parks we visited throughout the entire weekend sold these sorts of things. The Flea Market did offer some water for sale but I can’t be sure if it’s a consistent thing.

One thing that we did skip during our long weekend was the Terre Bleu Lavender Farm which, after extensive research, seemed like a bit of a rip-off at $10–15 a person for entry alone. The reviews also mentioned that most the lavender had been harvested and it was not worth the hype. It seems like Weir’s Lane Lavender is a way better alternative and from what I gather, they allow for free entry! Their operations are supported by their store’s sales so be sure to browse around if you go.

Ok that’s all! Let me know if you think of a better Instagram caption than TLC lyrics!

-Heather

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Heather Halliday

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Remember that episode of Friends where Ross’ resolution was to try something new each day? This is gonna be a lot like that (minus the Paste Pants) (hopefully)

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