I love living in Toronto, but sometimes I want a change of scenery, to escape the city for a day. Today, let’s take a look at everything you need to know to spend a perfect day in Port Hope, just 1 hour from Toronto. Without knowing it, you may already know this town. Or at least you’ve seen it without knowing it. Over the past twenty years or so, Port Hope has been used many times as a setting for films and TV series. For example, the Schitt’s Creek series or the films based on Stephen King’s books.
This article will focus on downtown Port Hope. If you want to know what to do outside of downtown Port Hope or around Port Hope, read this article . If you’re looking for more ideas of towns to visit around Toronto, check out this article.
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How to get to Port Hope?
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You can get there by car. There are several options from Toronto, and I refer you to my article on everything you need to know about driving and car rental in Canada. You’ll need just over an hour, depending on traffic.
- You can get there by train with ViaRail. The journey takes about 1h20.
If you have the chance, I recommend you go by car, so you can enjoy the surrounding area too. The town itself is quite small, so you might want to explore the surrounding area.
What time of year did you go to Port Hope?
I had the pleasure of going there in autumn, and found that the golden colors of the leaves made the city very pretty. But I can easily imagine it transporting us into a Christmas movie if we go during the winter. With snow everywhere. In spring or summer, the river banks are pleasant. In fact, there’s no bad season to visit Port Hope for the day. But you’ll see in the rest of this article that you can see some surprising things depending on the season…
What to do in Port Hope?
Obviously, the list below is not exhaustive, but it will give you some ideas:
Walking around Port Hope town center
Downtown Port Hope is a lovely place to visit. I felt like I’d walked into a movie. Or Gilmore Girls. The old buildings, the old signs, the little café on the corner, the benches in the park. If you like this atmosphere, you’re in for a treat. Just walking around will put a smile on your face! And don’t forget to stop off at one of the many independent boutiques to pick up a souvenir.
Take a tour of the filming locations
As I said in the introduction, several films and TV series have been filmed in Port Hope. You can tour the filming locations of an IT movie based on Stephen King’s novel. For more information, visit the Port Hope Tourist Office website.
Take a self-guided tour of the city
Discover a city on your own with the help of local expertise? It’s possible! You have several options: historical walking tours. You can also take a self-guided tour of a farm, or discover where the fresh produce at the market comes from, by car or by bike. Find all the self-guided tours available here.
Coffee in Memorial Park Bandshell
This super-cute park faces the bridge over the Ganaraska River. With the fall colours, I thought it was really beautiful. You can even walk along the river on this side.
Discover one of Ontario’s best-preserved 19th-century streets
Walton Street is admired for its wonderful preservation. You’ll find 19th-century architecture, a mix of neoclassical and Victorian, with different styles lined up in perfect harmony. You’ll find everything from modest frame cottages to brick terraced houses. Enough to make any architecture fan’s eyes sparkle.
Stroll along part of the Waterfront trail
The Waterfront Trail is a 3,600-kilometre route that passes along 4 of Ontario’s Great Lakes. You can run a small part of it in Port Hope, on the shores of Lake Ontario, and enjoy the waterfront.
Observing salmon migration
If you go to Port Hope to spend a day between mid-August and early October you could see something very special. The salmon migration. Every year, between 5,000 and 19,000 fish make the journey from Lake Ontario to the Ganaraska River, passing through Port Hope. It’s a unique experience to watch nature evolve and the salmon swim upstream.
Watching trout migrate
We’re still observing nature. But at a different time of year. If you come between late March and early May, or from October to mid-December, you can watch the trout make the same journey. Quite impressive!
Watch a show in a 1930s theatre
Head for the Capitol Theatre in downtown Port Hope. This is one of Canada’s three remaining atmospheric theatres. It’s in the same style as the Grand Rex in Paris. It was a very popular building style in the late 1920s in the United States. They were designed and decorated to immerse spectators in the world of the show they came to see. Built in 1930, the theatre’s interior was designed to resemble a medieval courtyard surrounded by walls and a forest. It was also one of the first cinemas in Canada to be built specifically for talking pictures. It has been a National Historic Site since 2016.
Spend time on the beach
In downtown Port Hope you can get to the beach. East Beach and West Beach. The east beach is nicer! It’s not very big, but that’s one of the advantages of being on Lake Ontario.
Where to eat in Port Hope?
Milly’s Market
I loved Milly’s Market. This little store and cafe, where you can also grab a bite to eat, is housed in a beautiful pink building (pictured above). Everything is tastefully decorated and everything I tasted was delicious.
Jim’s Pizza
This pizzeria has been serving pizzas since 1970. I went there during my visit and I can confirm that the pizzas are delicious. Since 2006, one of Jim’s employees has taken over the restaurant and kept the tradition alive. There are even arcade games inside!
The Social Bar + Table
The Main
Café LVIV
Discover Ukrainian cuisine at Café LVIV, where you can go for lunch, dinner or brunch. The food looks delicious and the setting looks very pretty too.
I hope this list will help you have a good time in the pretty town of Port Hope. I encourage you to read the upcoming article on what to do around Port Hope. Don’t hesitate to tell me what you liked if you’ve been there!
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