From the ride
A few frames from the day.
A quiet, climbing loop out of Palgrave through the hills of the Headwaters, with a coffee stop that feels properly earned.
Map, elevation, and the route file to take with you.
A climbing loop through Caledon and Dufferin County, into the hills of the Hockley Valley.
"Most of the climbing comes before the coffee stop, which makes the Hockley General Store feel very well deserved."
This 68 km loop starts in Palgrave, a small village in the northern corner of Caledon, and heads up into the Headwaters: the high, rolling country where the Niagara Escarpment and the Oak Ridges Moraine meet and the region's rivers begin. It is some of the best road riding within an hour of Toronto, a wooded patchwork of quiet paved and gravel concessions, cedar bush, open meadow, and long ridgeline views, with barely a traffic light once you leave town.
The terrain is the point. The route threads north through Mono and the Hockley Valley, a deep glacial valley cut through the escarpment, on roads that pitch and roll the whole way. Most of the elevation stacks up in the first half, so by the time you reach the coffee stop the hard work is behind you. The Hockley General Store sits at the heart of the valley: a farm-to-table market and cafe with a proper bakery, groceries, an LCBO counter, and a patio that fills with cyclists, motorcyclists, and day-trippers on a good day. Great coffee, better baked goods, and ice cream in summer.
From the store the loop turns back toward Palgrave with hills still to come, though they feel far more manageable on a pastry and an ice cream. A short detour near the valley floor passes Adamo Estate Winery, a small organic vineyard planted on the escarpment slopes, if you want to make a longer afternoon of it. It is the kind of ride that rewards the effort twice over: once at the coffee stop, and again on the roll home.
The reel. Open on Instagram →
Food, refreshments, parking, and local hints. Filter below.
We parked at Palgrave Public School, on the edge of the village, and rolled straight out onto the quiet roads north. On a weekend the lot is an easy, low-key place to leave the car. As always, park considerately and leave it as you found it.
Open in Maps →The reason for the ride. A farm-to-table market and cafe in the heart of the valley, with a fresh bakery, creative sandwiches and salads, groceries, gifts, and an LCBO counter. Great coffee, excellent baked goods, and ice cream in summer, plus a patio that fills with cyclists and motorcyclists. Open 7 days, 9–5.
Open in Maps →A small organic and biodynamic winery on the escarpment slopes near the valley floor, focused on cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. There's a tasting bar and a patio overlooking the vines, a km or so south of Hockley Valley Resort. A nice detour if you're making a longer afternoon of it rather than a quick coffee lap.
Open in Maps →Most of the day's climbing comes before the store, so pace the first half and know the reward is waiting. The hills after the stop are real but shorter, and a lot easier to take on a pastry and an ice cream.
This loop stays on paved roads the whole way, so any bike is fine. That said, the Headwaters is prime gravel country: if you want to explore, there are miles of quiet gravel concessions branching off all around this route, easy to link in for a longer or more adventurous day.
Palgrave village has a cafe and bake shoppe on Highway 50 if you want a coffee before you roll out or something to eat when you're back at the car. Handy, since the middle of this loop is genuinely remote.
Open in Maps →A few frames from the day.