Flour power lives in the hamlet of Tyrone where the 1846 mill grinds whole-wheat flour on massive millstones. Pick up a bag in the shop, along with hot cider doughnuts and local preserves. Linger beside the millpond or in the lovely community garden behind the 1849 white clapboard church. The nineteenth century blacksmith shop is still used on occasion.

Handsome Victorian storefronts and a view of Lake Scugog make Queen Street in Port Perry a popular destination for shoppers. Known for its excellent home décor and gift shops, the street leads down to the waterfront where MV Woodman docks for fall colour cruises and the Waterfront Trail as it skirts the shore of Lake Scugog.

Nestled into a valley, the town of Uxbridge was railway headquarters in the 1870s. Today it’s a popular fall colour destination for families riding the York-Durham Heritage Railway on the steep grade up the Oak Ridges moraine from Stouffville to Uxbridge. Reverend Ewan Macdonald brought his bride, Anne of Green Gables author Lucy Maud Montgomery, to this hamlet where he served as minister of the historic Leaskdale Church, part of the Uxbridge Doors Open event on Sept. 22.

On the banks of the Humber River, Kleinburg was once a busy mill town. Just half an hour from downtown Toronto it still retains its village charm with many of its historic buildings renovated into boutiques and restaurants.  Many of the great icons of Canadian art, including works by the Group of Seven and prominent First Nations artists, are displayed at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, set amid sprawling woodlands.

Thanks to local conservationists who lobbied against widening the main street to accommodate traffic, Unionville has retained all the charm of a European village. First settled in the 1790s, the historic Rouge River town is rich in history with its tree-lined main street boasting dozens of heritage buildings that now serve as shops, galleries and restaurants.

With its nearby horse and cattle farms the town of Schomberg is at the centre of a strong agricultural community. Shop for antiques on the nineteenth century main street or head for the nearby Holland Marsh famous for its vegetable fields.