Heading To Niagara Falls Ontario? Discover Hidden Gems Just Off The QEW

Many people visit Toronto, but never take the time to drive an hour or so down the road to see one of the “Seven Natural Wonders Of The World” – Niagara Falls. Having spent most of our lives in the Niagara Region, we take it for granted, but to a large extent we completely ignore Niagara Falls. Although the falls are spectacular and millions of people visit them every year – there’s so much more to do in the area it should be considered a part of your trip – and not the sole reason for it.

Skip The QEW For A Tastier Niagara Region Trip!

This guide takes you off the beaten path along Highway 8, revealing local treasures most tourists miss – trust us, you won’t regret this detour as we explore Highway 8’s wineries, farms and falls on this scenic Niagara side trip.

Travelling by car, you can be in the heart of Ontario’s beautiful Wine Country in just an hour from Toronto once you’ve cleared the hustle and bustle of the city of Toronto (or the airport).

We’re planning on doing several articles on the area, including Niagara’s Wine Route as well as Festivals, Events and Attractions… we may actually including Niagara Falls at some point – as well as some really good breweries, so stay tuned.

Note: We’ll use What3Words to pinpoint every stop – download it free for your trip! It will give you exact locations, use it on your phone or desktop/laptop

Note #2: This articles is based on Highway 8 – that’s how us locals identify it, but if you look on Google Maps it will say it’s King St / Main St and/or Highway 81 / Route 81… it’s the same road all the way from Stoney Creek to St. Catharines.

We’ll start just before the “official” Niagara Region and include Winona/Stoney Creek in this journey because the “Wine Route” and Highway 8 trip should start at The Winona Peach Festival if you are in the neighbourhood around the end of August. Barring that, there’s…

Winona: The Sweet Start

Just before the official Niagara Region kicks in, kick off your Highway 8 adventure in Winona at Puddicombe Farms. For over 220 years, this family-run gem has been dishing out local fresh fruit, cider, fudge, hand-baked pies, and award-winning wines – all from their farm. The smell of warm apple strudel and fresh-baked pies wafts through the air, the smell alone is worth the stop! This place is a jewel that gets overlooked, but for those that know about it – it’s THE place to go in the area.

Don’t miss the train tour – hop on the train tour for a scenic ride that’s a hit with kids and adults alike, running May to October.

Website: https://puddicombefarms.com/
Location: 1468 Hwy #8, Winona ON (Exit @Fifty Road in Stoney Creek)
What3Words: ///inhabit.formally.logic
Time: Year Round
Cost: Free; train tours by donation
Train Tours. May – October: Wed.-Fri. 11am – 1pm | Sat. & Sun. 10:30-4:30pm. (or by appointment)

Train leaves the station every hour on the half hour – Weather permitting

Hours – Country Store & Tastings: Wednesday – Sunday | 10 – 5pm
Café – May – October varies
Winery & Cidery: January – April | Wednesday – Saturday: 10am – 4pm or by appointment
May – December | Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday: 10am-5pm | Thursday & Friday: 10am-6pm

Grimsby
After leaving Puddicombe Farms, if you continue along Hwy #8 you’ll arrive in Grimsby about 5 minutes down the road.

You now enter “The Gateway to the Niagara Region” and also begin the “Wine Route.”

Follow the road into the heart of Grimsby – See Note below – turn right at the TD bank you’ve by-passed the downtown core and onward to the interesting part of the journey. Watch out – speed cameras from here to the roundabout are being added without warning! As you approach the roundabout you’ll see your first winery – Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery – on a hill to the right (it even has its own exit from the roundabout). Perched on a hill, it offers stunning escarpment views alongside your tastings. It’s a nice spot to stop and explore and the perfect place to start your journey…plus the wine is very tasty too. Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery (///move.swings.wended)

NOTE: Grimsby downtown is going through a huge refurbishment from 2025-2027 so expect some delays. Alternately, if you turn left at Casablanca Blvd / Hwy 10 (///canes.angles.wirelessly) and jump onto the QEW – exit at Bartlett (2^nd exit) (///decode.pump.vaguer), turn right (Service Rd), then left at the light and left at the next lights (///holdings.contacted.flinch) – you’re now back onto Highway 8/Route 81!!

Beamsville
After the visit to Peninsula Ridge, continue along Highway 8/Route 81 through to Beamsville. From this point forward there are wineries every couple of hundred metres or so, and all of them will let you sample their wine. You could literally spend days visiting each and every winery along this route. There are a bunch of others along the top of the escarpment as well, but that’s a completely different route altogether.

After leaving Beamsville and passing what seems like a hundred wineries, there’s a nice surprise if you’re a beer fan – Bench Brewing Company & The Niagara Cider Company will appear on your left. I’ve tried all of their beers and I highly recommend… all of them. They really are delicious and you can find them in the liquor and grocery stores, but we’re right here, so stop and visit the actual brewery. They also have a restaurant and the patio’s laid-back vibe makes it a perfect pit stop. Try the Ball’s Falls IPA – a crisp, hoppy tribute to the region – and our personal favourite!

Bench Brewing Company
Location: 3991 King St, Lincoln, ON, L3J 1E7.
What3Words: ///unfunny.chimpanzee.undertakes
Website: http://benchbrewing.com/

Just a short trip (a couple of hundred metres) down Hwy 8 is another of our favourite places to visit – and a destination on its own – The Watering Can. What started off as a great place to get flowers, shrubs etc. a number of years ago, has blossomed into a destination that also serves snacks, coffee and fresh flowers in addition to flowers and shrubs. It’s a delight to wander through the ‘rooms’ they’ve created and continue to morph and change. Wander through themed garden displays that feel like stepping into a living storybook that is completely different each time you visit. This isn’t a place you visit once and you’ve seen it, they are always moving and creating a constant flow of visual delights all year round. We stop by regularly and it’s never the same place that we last visited.

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The Watering Can
Location: 3711 King St. Vineland, ON, L0R 2C0
What3Words: ///suppose.cities.cobras
Website: https://thewateringcan.ca/

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Next stop….

Vineland
Vineland is a nice little town just off the QEW that stretches all the way to the escarpment. There’s a sort of 2-parts to the town. The part along Hwy 8 that runs right along the bottom of the escarpment, and the other section that sits off the QEW – about 5 kilometres away. Let’s assume you’ve been on Hwy 8 all along… after all this is supposed to be a relaxing drive…

If you continue to Victoria Ave/Hwy 24 in Vineland, you can turn right at the lights and head up the hill to the Ball’s Falls Conservation Area – about 2 kilometres away.

Balls Falls Conservation Area
Fun Fact: The upper falls drop 27 meters – higher than Niagara’s American Falls!

Open year round, Ball’s Falls Conservation Area offers spectacular scenery and natural beauty, including historic buildings and two waterfalls. Nestled on the scenic Niagara Escarpment, facilities include the lovingly restored Ball’s Falls Historical Church (a very popular wedding venue) featuring a rustic and elegant interior which can accommodate up to 110 guests, a period historic barn and a modern Centre for Conservation building. The Centre for Conservation and accessible washrooms are open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Note: There are a couple of EV plugs located at the Conservation building if you need a top up.

Photographers and nature lovers alike will love the view of the majestic Twenty Mile Creek as it plummets over both the upper and lower falls. The falls tumble over high cliffs and can be viewed at close proximity from above or below. Since the Twenty Mile Creek is rain-fed, the character of the falls can change dramatically with the seasons – from a raging torrent in the spring to a thin veil in late summer and fall. If there has been a lot of rain it’s very impressive.

Balls Falls on Highway 8, Niagara. TravelBloggers.ca, Iain Shankland

Website: https://npca.ca/parks-recreation/conservation-areas/balls-falls/default.htm
Facebook: @BallsFallsCA // X: @NPCA_Ontario
Location: 3292 Sixth Avenue, Lincoln, ON L0R 1S0
What3Words: ///price.herbs.develops
Time: Year Round
Cost: There is a parking and entrance fee for everyone – year round, EXCEPT Thanksgiving Festival (see below)
Vehicle/driver – $13.00 ~ Vehicle, senior/student – $9.75
~ Additional adult passenger: $4.50 ~ Additional senior/student passenger: $3.50 ~ To a maximum per car – $26.50

First Weekend in October – Thanksgiving Festival – Balls Falls Conservation Area
The annual Thanksgiving Festival – a Niagara tradition since 1974, features numerous artisans from around Ontario and beyond and sees an average of 30,000 visitors over the course of the event. This is an event that you won’t want to miss.

The Festival starts on the Friday and ends on the Monday during Canada’s Thanksgiving long weekend. Featuring 150+ in-person craft and artisan vendors, delicious food trucks/tents, beer tent, craft beverages and wines, local farmers’ market vendors, live music and children’s entertainment, historical demonstrations, heritage tours and nature hikes. Pay admission using contactless payment method or online ticket – save your cash for the cash-only artisans and vendors! ATM’s are available on site. Free shuttles run from the various parking lots to the event.

QEW – Vineland option

If you choose to stay on the QEW and skip Grimsby and Beamsville altogether, then exit at Vineland (Victoria Ave/Hwy 24), that would be another alternative to take in Hwy 8 and all its charms. In the fall there is an abundance orchards offering of fresh fruit and a couple of farmers’ stands close to the QEW and all along Victoria Ave/Hwy 24 and Hwy 8.

If you’re down by the QEW don’t miss the opportunity to stop in to The Foreign Affair Winery (what3words: ///foliage.confronts.functioning) located at the QEW/Service Rd in Jordan Station (Vineland). It’s our favourite Ontario wine and the one we buy for gifts. The Foreign Affair Winery is a unique boutique winery known for its ‘Amarone’ style of winemaking where the grapes are dried before crushing. Their unique approach results in bold, complex wines that are unlike anything else in the region.

While you’re down by the QEW don’t miss the opportunity to stop in to Grand Oak Culinary Market (just after Greenlane) for some tasty treats and a coffee, excellent gourmet meals or fresh local produce (lots of Gluten Free options too) – closed Monday & Sunday. (what3words: ///constants.lightless.homes)

Alternatively, we’d recommend The Watering Can mentioned earlier. If you’ve come off at Victoria Ave it’s a little bit of a back-track along Hwy 8 but it’s more than worth it!

Heading towards the escarpment (cross over Hwy 8) and up the hill takes you to the Balls Falls Conservation Area on your left (it’s also a shortcut to Welland if you’re heading that way).

Continuing along Hwy 8 / 81, there is still plenty more to see…

Jordan Village
The next village you reach is the quaint and newly renovated roads/area is Jordan. As you come up the hill it’s on your left hand side. Turn left at Nineteenth St. – just before the Esso station – look for the quaint village signs. There’s 2 sections – one right at the end of Nineteenth Street and Hwy 8 and another section down Nineteenth Street, past the fire station… that’s where there’s plenty of parking. The Inn on the Twenty and numerous other shops, restaurants and stores are located here. Pop into Cave Spring Cellars for a wine tasting, the Jordan Art Gallery or the Lincoln Museum and Cultural Centre. Anywhere along here is a great place to stop and meander through the village.

Our trip along the quaint Highway 8 / 81 is over at this point.

Tip 1: If you are on Main Street and continue out of the village (turn left/right with Main St/Twenty-First St) – where Wismer and Main blend [///bonus.improbable.earth], you’ll end up all the way down to the QEW at Victoria Ave/Hwy 24 where you can either return to the Toronto area, visit The Foreign Affair Winery, or jump on the QEW and head off to Niagara Falls. You’ll also get a pleasant little drive too.

Tip 2: If you are on Main Street or Nineteenth St, don’t return to Hwy 8 – instead, turn right onto Fourth Ave / 77, there’s still more wineries (and more wineries/restaurants on Jordan Rd too). Fourth Avenue offers plenty of restaurants, Walmart and numerous other large stores. The 406 highway will take you back to the QEW, or on towards Niagara Falls via Hwy 57 (and Welland) depending on which entrance you take.

Conclusion
From Puddicombe’s pies to Ball’s Falls’ cascades, Highway 8 is a treasure trove. As you can see there is plenty to see and do on your drive to or back from Niagara Falls – you could easily spend a day or two here without even getting close to the Falls. Check out our other articles about the region (links will be live as they are published, so bookmark this page). Plan your Highway 8 adventure today – share your favorite stops in the comments!

See our upcoming guide to Niagara’s Wine Route [link coming soon]

Top Summer Festivals (June – August)
Fall Festivals & Wine Events (September – October)
Niagara Winter Events You Can’t Miss (November – February)
Celebrating Icewine In Niagara
Hidden Gems Of Niagara’s Wine Country: Plan Your Perfect Wine Country Getaway

Disclaimer: Opinions are our own. No goods or services were received for this article.

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About TravelBloggers…
Iain & Gail started blogging in order to inspire and motivate people to travel the world from their perspective – specializing in having the most fun while using the least amount of money…travelling on the cheap without sacrificing comfort.

** In the end you will only regret the things you didn’t do **