Black Creek Pioneer Village

Black Creek Pioneer Village Review

Less than a half-hour drive from downtown is a rural, mid-19th-century living-history-museum village that makes you feel as though you've gone through a time warp. Black Creek Pioneer Village is a collection of 40 buildings from the 19th and early-20th centuries, including a town hall, a weaver's shop, a printing shop, a blacksmith's shop, and a school complete with a dunce cap. The mill dates from the 1840s and has a 4-ton wooden waterwheel that grinds up to a hundred barrels of flour a day (bags are available for purchase).

As men and women in period costumes go about the daily routine of mid-19th-century Ontario life, they explain what they're doing and answer questions. Visitors can see farm animals; take free wagon rides, Victorian dance classes, and 19th-century baseball lessons; and explore a hands-on discovery center. There's a great brewery-restaurant for lunch or afternoon tea (reservation required). In winter you can also skate, toboggan, or hop on a sleigh ride.