From the ride
A few frames from the day.
One of our favourite rides, and it's only thirty minutes from Toronto. Punchy King City hills, then the wide-open flats of the Holland Marsh.
Map, elevation, and the route file to take with you.
Two landscapes in one loop: the glacial hills of the Oak Ridges Moraine and the flats of Ontario's vegetable basket.
"One of our favourite rides, and the best part is it's only half an hour from home."
This 63 km loop out of King City is really a tour of two landscapes. The climbing comes courtesy of the Oak Ridges Moraine, a 160 km ridge of glacial hills left behind by the last ice age and the defining feature of King Township. The rollers are punchy but rarely long, strung together by quiet country roads past farm homes and horse paddocks, the kind of terrain that keeps the effort honest while your legs recover on the descents.
Then the route drops into the Holland Marsh, the flat, jet-black farmland known as Ontario's "vegetable basket," where the Holland River valley opens into a wide agricultural plain running north toward Lake Simcoe. It's a striking, fast change of scenery, with nothing between you and the horizon. The village of Schomberg, about a third of the way round, makes the natural coffee stop before you climb back up onto the moraine for the run home.
The reel. Open on Instagram →
Food, refreshments, parking, and local hints. Filter below.
We parked at Villanova College (2480 15th Sideroad, King City). Easy lot to roll out from, with quiet sideroads to warm the legs up before the first climbs.
Open in Maps →Our favourite stop on the route, right on Main Street in Schomberg. Fair warning: they're closed Mondays (otherwise Tue–Sat 7:00–4:30, Sun 7:30–4:30), so don't roll up on a Monday like we did.
Open in Maps →When Grackle was closed, we ducked over to Euro Market Cafe, a family-run Italian bakery and market with espresso, fresh pastries, and gelato. A great plan B, and honestly a fine plan A.
Open in Maps →A short hop off the route in Kettleby on the way home: an Italian bakery with a hot lunch counter and tables outside. Open Mon–Sat 8–6. Good last fuel before the final hills.
Open in Maps →Around the middle, the route drops into the flats of the Holland Marsh. It opens right up and it's beautiful, but there's nothing out there to block the wind. Tuck in, get aero, and take turns on the front if you're with a group.
The climbing is front- and back-loaded. The last few rollers before King City can feel cruel after the marsh, so keep a little in reserve for the finish.
A few frames from the day.