Have you ever wanted to spend the night with Alpacas? If you answered yes to this question then keep reading. Haute Goat Farm in Port Hope offers just that and it might very well be the most unique night you’ll have in Ontario!
What if I told you there is a place in Ontario where you can have a sleepover with alpacas? Yes, you’ve read correctly! Haute Goat Farm in Port Hope offers one of the most unique sleeping experiences in Ontario : a sleepover with alpacas.
Located halfway between Toronto and Kingston, this should definitely be added to you Ontario bucketlist! I recenly spent the night there and it was one of the cutest and most surreal adventures I’ve had!
Here is what you need to know for your next visit
Sleeping in the Alpaca Pen at Haute Goat Farm
Imagine waking up, opening your door and facing a group of alpacas looking curiously at you! That is exactly the experience you’ll have if you spend the night in the Alpaca Pen at Haute Goat Farm. But fear not, you won’t be sleeping on a pile of hay. Haute Goat has repurposed an alpaca shed into a cute and cozy tiny cabin big enough for a Queen bed, two chairs and some board games. It might be small but what you loose in space inside, you gain outside!
What is so special about this experience is that you will get exclusive access to the alpaca pen. You’ll get to interact with them and maybe even make a friend or two. And trust me, they will be just as curious about you then you are about them.
Warning // There are no bathroom in the alpaca cabin. Toilets are further away on the site, so bring a flashlight if you need to pee at night.
Outside, you’ll also find a fire pit with a few chairs perfect for a summer night with the alpacas!
What to expect with the alpacas?
Alpacas are extremely curious animals, but also very cautious. Mostly, they will look at you from afar wondering what kind of farm animal you are! Much like humans, they each have their own personality : one is the boss lady and she is very protective of her herd, one is extremely friendly and easily one over, others don’t really care about you and would rather mind their own business. What I’m trying to say is, don’t go in thinking they are going to run up to you like puppies and want some pets. However, with a bit of patience, you’ll be able to create bonds with some of them and they will let you be their friend and pet them!
We also all know that Alpaca can spit! And although this happens from time to time, we were quickly reassured that these alpacas are used to visitors and rarely spit. Just don’t bet them on their back or on their head (they don’t like it!)!
Warning // This experience is not suitable for kids under the age of 9.
What to bring for your night at Haute Goat Farm?
Haute Goat has got you covered when it comes to making your adventure absolutely incredible! They provide the bedding and pillows for the bed and breakfast for 2 is included in the stay. You’ll actually have to choose between 4 breakfast options the night before and everything will be ready and waiting for you at 9:30 the next morning. The cabin is also winterized and heated so you don’t have to worry about freezing on those cold Fall and Winter nights.
There is also a restaurant on site that offers a variety of homemade meals and snacks! I highly recommend you try the goat cheese Mac&Cheese!
So what will you have to bring? Here is a list :
- Flashlight or headlamp
- Bug repellent (in the summer)
- Snacks if you get hungry in the evening
THE DETAILS
Price | 250$ for 2 people
Reservations | Book your stay here
When | All year long!
Info | The Goat Shmurgle and the Alpaca Knuffle Shuffle are not included in the price of the stay. These are add-ons at extra cost.
How to make the most of your stay on the farm?
Help with the farm chores in the morning
Every morning, at 8 am, the farm comes alive with farm chores. When you spend the night at Haute Goat, you have the unique opportunity to help with these chores : feeding the animals, cleaning the pens and – my favorite – snuggling the animals (especially the baby goats)!
Do the Goat Shmurgle
You can’t visit Haute Goat without getting to know the goats of course! And the signature experience here is the Shmurgle experience where you’ll get to bring the goats on a walk around the pasture and snuggle the babies in their enclosure afterwards!
THE DETAILS
Price | Starting at 59$ per adult, 15$ per children (2-5 years old), 199$ for a family of 4.
Reservations | Book your Shmurgle here
When | From Wednesday to Sunday at 1pm all year long.
Bring the alpacas on a walk
Want to spend more time with the alpacas? Forget walking the dog and walk an alpaca instead. Join the Knuffle Shuffle experience to take your very own alpaca on a stroll across the property.
THE DETAILS
Price | Starting at 69$ per adult, 240$ for a family of 4.
Reservations | Book your Knuffle Shuffle here
When | From Wednesday to Sunday at 1pm all year long.
* P.S. I was invited by Haute Goat for this stay but all opinions (and obsessions) are 100% mine!
READ ABOUT MORE OF MY FAVORITE ONTARIO STAYS HERE!
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I almost made a very different version of this reel.
Last time I posted about Smiths Falls, the comments surprised me and a lot of them seemed to come from people who actually live there. There’s nothing to do here. It’s boring. My first instinct was to make a whole clap-back video, screenshots and all.
But honestly? I get it. Nobody is a tourist in their own town. The canal is just the thing you cross on your way to work. The museum is where you went once on a school trip in grade four. When you see a place every single day, it goes invisible.
I grew up near the Bay of Fundy – home of the highest tides on the planet – and as a kid I thought it was the most boring place on earth. It took moving away to realize people cross oceans to see what was in my backyard.
So this reel is me being a tourist in your town for you. The 1912 bridge you’d paddle under if you hadn’t stopped noticing it. The museum where you can climb into the trains, and even sleep in one. The thrift trail. The mural. All of it.
To everyone who’s never been: this is your sign for an easy day trip from Ottawa or Kingston.
And to Smiths Falls locals: I dare you to do one thing from this list this weekend. Report back. 😌
What’s the thing in YOUR town that you’ve stopped noticing? I want to hear it.
🇫🇷 La version française est dans les commentaires.
#SmithsFalls #RideauCanal #OntarioDayTrip #ExploreOntario #smalltownontario
I have a confession: half my road trips are reverse-engineered.
I don’t pick a destination and find a coffee shop nearby. I pick the coffee shop, then build a whole day around justifying the drive. A hike here, a beach there, some antiquing, all very respectable cover stories for the fact that I drove two hours for an iced latte.
Because here’s what I’ve figured out after years of crisscrossing Ontario: the best coffee shops are never just coffee shops. They’re the unofficial welcome centre of every small town. The barista knows which trail is muddy this week. The regulars will tell you where to park for free. The bulletin board has better local intel than any travel blog, mine included.
So this list isn’t really about coffee. It’s about the 12 places I use as an excuse to keep exploring this province. Swipe through, every single one comes with what to pair it with so you can build your own cover story.
From Thunder Bay to the County, consider this your permission slip to drive unreasonably far for caffeine.
Which one’s closest to you? And more importantly, what’s YOUR coffee shop worth driving for? I’m always taking notes. ☕
🇫🇷 La version française est dans les commentaires.
#OntarioCoffeeShops #OntarioRoadTrip #DiscoverOntario #OntarioTravel #SmallTownOntario
For over a hundred years, the men who lived in this house woke up, looked at the lake, and went to work captaining the Wolfe Island ferry. Three generations of them. Same water, same crossing, every day.
I thought about that a lot during my stay at @themullinhouse_ (mainly from the bathtub, because the tub faces the lake and once you’re in it there’s no reason to be anywhere else.)
The Mullin House just opened as a stay, and those who brought it back to life did it in the best way that possible. Keeping the soul of the place.Places with an actual story make my job as a photographer easy. I just have to pay attention.
And if you want to stay here too: It’s a free 20-minute ferry from Kingston, 5 bedrooms, sleeps 10. So this is your sign to plan the group trip you keep talking about.
Save this for when you book it, and be honest, would you make it out of that bathtub by checkout?
Thank you to @themullinhouse_ for having me!
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#wolfeisland #kingstonontario #thousandislands #exploreontario #ontariotravel
I grew up an hour from the Bay of Fundy. And every few years, my school would pile us onto a bus and take us to Hopewell Rocks or Fundy National Park. And every single time, as a kid, I thought : ‘okay, cool. Rocks. Trees. Can we go home now?’
I had absolutely no idea what I was standing next to.
It took me leaving New Brunswick, travelling across the country before I came back to the Bay of Fundy as an adult and genuinely had my breath taken away. I grew up next to one of the most extraordinary places on the planet and completely took it for granted. And I think a lot of Maritimers probably feel the same way.
This carousel is my attempt to fix that, for myself, and for anyone who’s never made the trip. Scroll through and I’ll show you exactly how I’d plan a road trip along the New Brunswick side, from the tidal flats to the coastal cliffs to the little fishing towns that feel completely frozen in time.
And if you have extra days to spare, Saint John is absolutely worth a stop, underrated city, great food scene, and it sits right on the bay.
I’m also heading back this summer to try a stay I’ve had my eye on for a while, I genuinely cannot wait to tell you all about it. 👀
Save this for your New Brunswick road trip. 🙌
👇 Have you ever been to the Bay of Fundy? Were you as underwhelmed as I was at 10 years old? 😄
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#BayOfFundy #NewBrunswick #ExploreCanada #CanadaTravel #FundyNationalPark
I’ll be honest, when I pulled up to @whispering_springs I didn’t know what to expect. I’d seen the photos, I’d read the website, but nothing really prepares you for the moment you walk into your safari tent and realize this might actually be nicer than your apartment.
We’re talking a king bed, more space than I expected, and an actual bathtub, in a tent. I took a bath. In the woods. And I would do it again without hesitation.
Oh and the s’mores bar? Someone thought really hard about what would make people unreasonably happy at the end of a summer night and they nailed it.
Save this for your summer planning because at 90 minutes from Toronto there is really no reason to wait.
Now tell me have you ever gone glamping? If not, what are you waiting for!
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#OntarioGetaway #GlampingOntario #OntarioTravel #WeekendGetawayOntario
ExploreOntario
