Updated: July 9, 2023. Please note that these business are not always open and we encourage you to check in with each one you wish to visit prior to the visit! Here is the Leaskdale Loop website with their contact information. Our visits were always during a festival.
Updated August 1, 2023 -Visit to Slabtown Cider Co.
This blog will be constantly updated throughout the summer! Please follow us on social media to see the updates and all of our dog friendly places to visit!
The Leaskdale Loop is an amazing rally of businesses that are part of a loop that promotes festivals throughout the season as well as their own day-to-day businesses. Leaskdale, the Town, is full of history and is so interesting, even the Country Store’s story goes back 125 years! We have had so much fun learning about Leaskdale and we wanted to share it with you! As we are able to visit each of the dog friendly businesses this summer we will give you the scoop!
- Tindall Farm & Market
- Montgomeryshire Orchard & Nursery
- Leaskdale County Store
- Rooster’s Fries
- Leaskdale Live Edge
- Lucy Maude Montgomery Office & Manse
- Nancy Newman Textiles
- Hosta Hideaway & Out of the Barn
- Thomas Foster Memorial
- Banjo Cider
- Concession 6 Studio
- Greenmantle Pottery
- Pefferlaw Creek Farm
- River Ridge Farm Flowers
Leaskdale, the Town
As we visited Leaskdale (which I first was drawn to for Rooster’s Fries and their social media mouth watering posts), we started to realize that there was so much history here. One could very easily go down a rabbit hole trying to learn all of the history. For example, Leaskdale got its name from George Leask, the founding family of Leaskdale! This was the start of some historical and famous places and people.
Historical Stop – Lucy Montgomery Office & Manse
Our adventures include two labs so we have not stopped to take a look at this historical place. I would never even try to take these two furry friends into such a place, so as of yet, we still have not visited in person but this place is the hub of the history of Leaskdale.
Leaskdale’s famous resident is Lucy Maude Montgomery who was the author of Anne of Green Gables and wrote eleven of her twenty-two books while residing in Leaskdale at The Manse. Ms. Montgomery became the bride of Mr. Ewan MacDonald, the minister of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Leaskdale, in 1911. She had published Anne of Green Gables three years before so the already famous author moved to Leaskdale in 1911 shortly after marrying Mr. Macdonald. Ms. Montgomery lived at the Manse for 15 years and raised 2 sons.
The Manse is is part of the Leaskdale loop and the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society of Ontario can tell you so much more about Ms. Montgomery and the Manse she lived in.
Historical Stop – Thomas Foster Memorial
The Thomas Foster Memorial was created by a local man named Thomas Foster who went to the Toronto architectural firm of Craig and Madill with the proposal to build a place similar to the Taj Mahal mixed with Byzantine Architecture. He wanted this to be a resting place for his wife, his daughter, Ruby, and himself. He also wanted it to be used by the community for burials.
The Memorial now hosts a series of concerts for the public. We are looking forward to learning more about this place!
The Leaskdale Country Store
The Leaskdale Country Store is amazing! When we arrived we were greeted with a warm hello at the door and welcomed into the store.
This place is a very dog friendly place to visit, they were ready with dog treats in hand and even had some dog swag to buy (I have one of these collapsible bowls with “I love labs” on it – LOVE IT!)
On the face of it, it looks like a regular general store you would find in a small town but I started asking questions and found that rabbit hole quickly! This store, with a couple of updates was the original home of the post office from 1857! Guess who was the first postmaster? The first postmaster was George Leask! As you can see below, the post boxes are still there.
We went outside to eat our yummy ice cream and they had some tables and umbrellas to enjoy them. I started poking around and I spotted a sign with the history of the building.
In 1869 this building was built as a home. It wasn’t until 1898 that Albert Cook expanded it to include a General Store which in turn also included the post office. There have been several different owners throughout the years, but each owner cherished the history that they were purchasing. Unfortunately in the 1970’s the original store burned down but it was rebuilt. The owners tried to keep as much of the original building they could salvage.
Stop by and say hello to our new friends and grab an ice cream with your pup!
Rooster’s Fries
Rooster’s Fries is now our go to for an evening out with the dogs and good food. We discovered it last summer and we instantly fell in love with it. Here is our blog from last year!
Rooster’s Fries is a stationary food truck that welcomes dogs to its fullest, one of the best dog friendly places to visit! Not only is the food amazing but the dogs have their own yard! With their own fire hydrant! How amazing is that!
The rest of the grounds are amazing too! There are picnic tables around and lawn games too! Lots of room for everyone. Of course, on special occasions like Canada Day, Rooster’s Fries will liven things up with live music, guest vendors, and even guest food trucks. Never a dull moment.
Now let’s talk food! So delicious for humans and dogs! Yes, they make homemade dog cookies for our furry friends too!
The human food is everything from burgers to tacos, but their poutine is THE best. The best, by far is the Maple Bacon Poutine, but you just can’t go wrong with anything you order. Our last visit was on Canada Day as part of the Strawberry Field Day and we had strawberry fritters….so yummy!
Since this is so dog welcoming, our dogs are super happy to be there and we got to meet some friends along the way.
Greenmantle Pottery
We had a wonderful visit at Greenmantle Pottery during Strawberry Field Day! They welcomed the dogs and the grounds were beautiful. Patricia Cherrie and her husband live on the property and there is a beautiful old log cabin where Patricia showcases her stunning pottery.
Here is a video of Patricia telling us the story of the log cabin and the history of it.
Patricia’s pottery is beautiful. The colors were very natural and the patterns made the piece eye catching!
Our visit here was wonderful as we were able to take our time and look around at the pottery and the grounds! A wonderful dog friendly place to visit!
River Ridge Farm Flowers
River Ridge Farm Flowers is phenomenal and they welcomed the dogs with wide open arms. The property is vast, full of gardens and ducks and is such a joy wander around in.
This farm is about cutting your own flowers but while we were there during the Flower Fest in June, the flowers were not quite ready to be cut. We did walk around the grounds and the owners were very delightful to chat with. Their website captures what they are about perfectly, ” River Ridge Farm Flowers is more than a flower farm. We are all about giving back to the community and making life more affordable. We want you to come to our flower farm and enjoy everything we have to offer from the spectacular views to the beautiful gardens. It is an experience that you can really embrace.”
There is also a barn for you to sit and enjoy these beautiful views.
The ducks were such a fun addition to the property. Both of our dogs are fine around small animals as we had guinea pigs at one time. Even though the dogs were only curious about the ducks, the ducks were having no part of our visit!
I can’t wait to go back and cut some flowers! The owners said August was even more beautiful – so we will be back. You must stop here and see it for yourself.
Pefferlaw Creek Farm
We loved Pefferlaw Creek Farm and we can’t wait to go back. We were coming to the end of our day but next time it will be our first stop! This place caught our eye from the road as the main barn is stunning!
We were in awe when we drove up to the barn as it is more spectacular up close – it is a full working sugar shack! Just like the ones we have in Muskoka! Unfortunately, because the inside has food for sale, the dogs can’t come inside.
There is a store at the front entrance and it is all about sap, from maple syrup to sap drinks! I bought a lemon one for my son and he loved it!
We were invited to hike the property with the dogs and we wished we had more time that day as we would have loved to have taken them up on their offer! We will be back though with more pictures from our hike!
Hosta Hideaway & Out of the Barn
Hosta Hideaway is a place of beauty and tranquility and is very welcoming of dogs! The grounds are covered with Hostas and Lilies and grounds are a dream to walk around.
There is also a small barn on the premises for you to shop unique antiques. In the garden, there was an artist painting the wonderful landscape with watercolors.
Make sure you stop to stroll through the premises and enjoy the endless work that has been done and shared with the public by Hosta Hideaway.
Banjo Cider Uxbridge
We finally made it to Banjo Cider! And what a wonderful place and very dog friendly! Check out their website for the different events that they continually have going on!
Outside of the amazing cider that they offer Banjo Cider offers food every Friday, Saturday and Sunday all summer long. Each week they will post on social media what their weekly menu is. A favorite is lobster rolls and the Banjo Burger. We didn’t try their food as we were interested in the amazing different cider’s that were offered! The food area is separate from the drink area.
We settled on the Maud and a Beary Lemonade and they were both excellent. We enjoyed the afternoon sitting and enjoying the buzz of liveliness all around us.
Concession 6 Studio
Concession 6 Studio is a treasure trove of neat things! Please be aware that there are a lot of chickens on the premises so I wouldn’t recommend letting your dog roam the property.
There is one building that holds lots of neat antiques and gentle used items that are very unique! There is a second barn on the property too. That barn that holds all of the great gems that are created by artisans who live here. These include woodworking, painting, and neat artisan decor.
Unfortunately, we again didn’t stay long as we had left the dogs in the car due to the chickens but Concession 6 does love dogs. They ask that you make sure their favorite fur baby is away at his vacation spot before you bring your dogs to go shopping!
Tindall Farm & Market
This is a great stop WITHOUT dogs. You can pick your own strawberries and there is a cute store on the premises with lots of fun products and baked goods, but dogs are allowed but not welcomed.
We stopped and kept the dogs in the vehicle. It wasn’t too hot of a day so with windows down they were able to watch the world go by as we checked out the store. Here are some pictures of what you will find! We did find a very neat dog coat and some dog lover items!
Nancy Newman Textiles
Nancy Newman Texitles is very NOT dog friendly at all. We stopped in quickly to see the beautiful cork-like material purses! Here are some pictures of her products.
