From the ride
A few frames from day two.
Quiet back roads, a trail we can't stop talking about, and of course, great coffee: 109 km from Port Hope into Prince Edward County, most of it away from traffic.
Map, elevation, and the route file to take with you.
A gentle day on the numbers, but note the middle: once you reach Prince Edward County you spend around 46 km on the Millennium Trail, a former rail bed that runs from smooth gravel to rougher, looser sections. Anything from about 32 mm of tyre up will be happier here.
A quiet run east along the lake, then a long gravel trail into Ontario wine country.
"The kind of trail that makes you forget how far you've ridden."
Day two is the one you come back for. It starts in Port Hope, the Northumberland town whose 19th-century main street along the Ganaraska River is widely called the best-preserved in Ontario, and it earns its coffee stop early: a breakfast sandwich in town before you roll out east. From there the route slips through Cobourg, the neighbouring lakeside town with its grand 1860 Victoria Hall and a long sand beach, and then trades the busier roads for the quiet Northumberland back roads that carry you through the rest of the morning.
Colborne is the natural mid-ride pause, a small crossroads village where Alchimista Coffee Bar has become a genuinely welcoming stop for cyclists. Past it the country opens up and the riding only gets better, because waiting on the far side of the Bay of Quinte is Prince Edward County, the island of farmland, dunes and vineyards that has quietly become one of Ontario's most talked-about corners. Nearly forty wineries now work its cool-climate soils, best known for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling, and Sandbanks Provincial Park guards some of the finest freshwater dunes anywhere on the Great Lakes.
The heart of the day is the Millennium Trail, the County's 46 km signature path laid along an old rail line from Carrying Place all the way to Picton. It is gravel the whole way, dead flat as rail trails tend to be, and it strings together everything that makes this landscape worth the trip: tree-lined tunnels of shade, open marsh views at Hubbs Creek and Slab Creek, and long straight stretches through farm fields where the horizon does the work. You weave on and off the trail along quiet farm roads for the final push into Picton, the County's handsome county town, with its harbour, its restored Regent Theatre and a walkable Main Street of 19th-century storefronts. Day two done, and the arrival more than lives up to the ride in.
The reel from day two. Open on Instagram →
Food, refreshments, and local hints. Filter below.
We set off from Port Hope's heritage downtown, where Walton Street runs down to the Ganaraska River. It's an easy roll out of town to the east, and worth a slow look at the old storefronts before you go.
Open in Maps →Fuel up before you leave town. Happenstance bakes its own bread, roasts its own coffee, and does the kind of breakfast sandwich worth planning a start around, with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options too. A proper independent spot to begin the day. Check current hours before you count on it.
Open in Maps →Just east of Port Hope, Cobourg is the next lakeside town: grand Victoria Hall on the main street and a long sand beach by the harbour. An easy place to top up bottles or detour to the waterfront before the roads quieten down.
Open in Maps →If you need a mid-ride pick-me-up, this is the one. A woman-owned coffee bar on Colborne's main street with a great vibe and a genuinely warm welcome for cyclists, plus smoothies and handmade treats alongside the coffee. Closed some weekdays, so check ahead.
Open in Maps →The reason to ride this day. A 46 km gravel rail trail that runs across Prince Edward County to Picton: tree-lined shade, open marsh views and long stretches of farm field. It's flat and well signed but unmaintained in places and shared with ATVs, so ride wide tyres and take it as it comes. This is the trail we can't stop talking about.
Open in Maps →You weave off the trail onto quiet farm roads for the last bit into Picton, the County's county town. A working harbour, the restored Regent Theatre, and a Main Street of 19th-century storefronts full of cafes, galleries and good food to settle into after a long day. Wine country and Sandbanks beaches are right on the doorstep if you have time to linger.
Open in Maps →The night's base in Picton, and how to book it yourself.
A straightforward, comfortable base right on Picton's harbour, an easy walk from Main Street and everything the town has to offer. A good place to rack the bikes, eat well, and rest up before day three, our longest day yet.
A few frames from day two.