Right after hard work from February to April, in May 2026 me and my wife decided to go on a small trip to have some rest, change the scenery and unplug from the work routine.
This is us
Grand Bend beach itself wasn't the main part of this trip, but it still was a final destination.
Why Grand Bend?
Affordability
It's possible to go to Grand Bend only as a one-day trip from GTA, and then the expenses would only be gas and some food on the way.
In our particular case, we spent a bit on that trip, as we also stayed in the winery and visited other places. There is a breakdown of all our expenses at the very bottom of the article.
West Coast
We have visited many places in the east of Ontario, a couple in the north and south, but not many on the west. The only place that we travelled to was Sarnia. The West Coast feels a bit different from the rest of Ontario. There are many farms and windmills, and the overall vibe is a bit different.
A Nice Beach in Ontario
It's not always easy to find a decent beach in Ontario, so Grand Bend is a great and famous option. We have been in Sand Banks during the off-season, and of course in Woodbine Beach (a while ago...), but wanted to try something else.
Canada is not famous for its beaches; however, Grand Bend is well-organized, well-maintained and of a decent size, so during the summer, it's not a horrible option if the budget doesn't allow a foreign trip.
The city is quite vibrant, full of youngsters and even feels like a small Miami to some extent, at least kids on the streets behave like it's Miami.
Proximity to GTA
It takes only 2.5 hours from GTA (Oakville, in our case) to get there by car. So, if we leave the house at 9 am, which was our plan, we would get to the beach at 11:30 am and have plenty of time to rest and eat until the evening. However, as we wanted to stay for the night, this was not our case.
Itinerary
I like to plan things ahead and prepare an itinerary for our trips.
Now I am trying to plan for the weather as well, learned it the hard way
We couldn't follow it to the minute and were 1 hour late from the start, but I think it's always great to have an outline of key stops, places and events.
The main places to visit were:
- Stop by Bad Apple Brewing Company for lunch, explore the place and have some fun
- Stay at Hessenland Inn & Schatz Winery. Rest and explore the property
- Explore the Pinery Market based on the recommendation
- Rest at Grand Bend beach
As you can see, the actual Grand Bend beach part of it wasn't the main point of the trip, but it was the key place where we wanted to get to.
The Road
We were so excited to get out of the city, so we wouldn't shut up and talked all the way about random things. The first part of our YouTube video is all about road talk.
One of the many farms on the way. It was raining
After a 1-hour and 15-minute drive from Oakville, we stopped by Tim Hortons in New Hamburg.
The address: 374 Hamilton Rd Unit 5, New Hamburg, ON N3A 2K2
Somehow, we really liked that Tim Hortons. It was clean, and the staff were nice. Coffee gave us a much-needed energy boost for the rest of the drive.
Two coffees and a tart, we were happy
After Timmy's, we went for a quick walk to stretch and found a local plant sale for charity. We got a blackberry, which travelled with us home all the way. However, spoiler alert, it died at home after a week, even though I did buy a whole big bag of new soil for it. I think it was a combination of overheating during the trip and too much moisture at home due to me being inexperienced with plants.
The road to the west was full of farmland and open spaces, and as we got closer to Lake Huron, massive windmills started to appear.
Windmills give a certain charm to the landscape
Overall, the way to the west is enjoyable.
Bad Apple Brewing Company
Our first important stop was at Bad Apple Brewing Company.
I booked dinner at Hessenland Inn & Schatz Winery, where we are going to stay, but for lunch I was thinking of getting something light, but interesting on the way, like a local pizza or something. I found Bad Apple Brewing Company randomly by looking at the Google Map at the places near our winery. After reading a couple of reviews, I thought of giving this place a shot.
This is the main building with the kitchen, brewery, bar and a store
The address: 73463 Bluewater Hwy, Zurich, ON N0M 2T0
And boy was I right. We stayed there for a couple of hours and had a really good time. We got burgers, fries, and a couple of local beers and ciders made right there.
The music was amazing too, a light rock
I was particularly happy with the Seven Nation Army cover; it fits perfectly with this kind of place and food. Other covers were enjoyable too.
A happy moment. I didn't regret coming here
We played a local game of throwing bean bags a bit, finished our food and headed to our winery as it was time to check in (at 3 pm).
At the end, I wanted to say one more time that for us personally, the time at Bad Apple Brewing Company was very enjoyable. Highly recommended.
The apple orchard is a nice place to walk in for a couple of minutes
Next stop, the winery.
Hessenland Inn & Schatz Winery
I always wanted to stop by an Ontarian winery, but couldn't find a suitable option, and in some cases didn't even know how to look for them.
Some of them seemed to offer only wine tasting and no staying, some were too expensive, but while researching the trip to Grand Bend, I randomly discovered Hessenland Inn & Schatz Winery while looking for a place to spend the night, and wasn't disappointed.
The main entrance
The address: 72981 ON-21, Zurich, ON N0M 2T0
The place has a long history and is family-owned (by Frank Ihrig and Liz Ihrig); you can read more on their website in the "about" section (link at the bottom of the article). There are multiple articles published about the place in the media, many of which are on the wall near the restaurant.
This is the Coach House where we stayed
The top of the coach house has an observation desk with a bench from which you can see the whole property.
This is the room:
Room 301, Coach House (Suite East)
It was spacious and stylish. The furniture was a bit old (vintage) but clean.
There was one unique feature to it, as can be seen at the bottom-right corner of the photo... The bath and the shower were right in the room! (no walls, no doors) This was a bit shocking for us, but it's an interesting idea to save space and for open-minded people who have different views on privacy, or for those who want to "have fun".
Rooms 301 and 302 are the only two on that floor, and our neighbours were a friendly family who didn't create any problems. You can't see much from the balcony, but there is enough space to sit, drink and watch the stars. At first, I thought that the fireplace was decorative, but it turned out to be the real heater that we should turn on if it gets cold.
The winery itself
The property has a very well-maintained garden.
Very colourful pictures
This place hosts various events (weddings, etc.), and I can see how, after a meal at the restaurant, a group of people would walk outside for a bit and enjoy this garden.
There are multiple gazebos, benches, fountains and other landscaping
We would go to that garden every moment we got just to sit and relax. I would say that this is a big reason to visit this particular winery, and it's an integral part of the property.
We also saw a rabbit there.
Chilling on the Muskoka chairs before dinner
If I had to mention something negative about the winery, I'd say that there weren't many people in May, but I guess it's expected, and most visitors come in mid-to-late summer. However, if you want to have a more peaceful experience with fewer people, coming in May is perfect.
German flag indicates German heritage, as well as the winery's name
These flags were on the way to the private beach, where we went later to see the sunset.
The Muse Restaurant, where we had dinner, is located in the main building.
Pasta and a soup, made by the head chef (and the owner)
We decided to order a whole bottle of wine and to finish it in the room.
St. Joe's White, we really liked it, very light and fruity
But because we finished almost half of it during the meal, we also ordered Focaccia. Initially, we wanted to try Charcuterie as I had never tried it, but they don't have it in May.
They made it look really fancy
We were happy with the dinner.
Then we went to the beach to catch the sunset. The walk takes 15 minutes or so, but there is also a parking spot reserved for winery visitors and a special road that leads there.
The sunset
We enjoyed watching the sunset for 30-45 minutes, and then walked back to the Coach House. We also had a small argument with the lady there, who told us that we were not sitting in the proper place and that this part of the beach belongs to the cottages, and not to the winery. As we didn't see a clear indication of where "our part of the beach" was, this was a bit frustrating, but nevertheless, it was a good time, and when I was planning the trip, I was hoping to watch the sunset just like that.
I even brought a blanket.
Lake Huron
Way back to the winery in the dark was a bit scary, but beautiful.
Coach House at night
The next morning we had breakfast, walked in the garden and went to the beach again just to see how it looks in the morning and to shake off our fat.
Classic American breakfast
On our way from the beach, I wanted to clean the seat where my wife was about to sit, and accidentally touched bird poop, which, as we all know, is very toxic and dangerous. My wife said that it's a sign that god doesn't want us to be together, and I just had a laugh about it, sanitized my hands and moved on.
That was it. If I could do something better, I would have visited this winery in a busier season (June or July), but we were happy overall anyway because we don't really like crowds.
During our breakfast, we asked the waitress where we could go and what to see around Grand Bend, and she suggested stopping by the Pinery Market as it was Sunday.
Pinery Market opens only on Sundays, she said, so we decided to give it a try.
Pinery Market
The market is located south of Grand Bend, and it takes 5 minutes by car to get there.
Unlike the winery, it was very crowded
The admission is $2 cash, but the parking is quite spacious. It took us a moment to figure out how to navigate the place to find a spot to park, but it wasn't terribly difficult.
It was actually very nice to see a big crowd after a quiet time at the winery. There are hundreds of vendors selling vintage, handmade, used and all kinds of goods.
I took a small interview with the owner of this spot; it's in the 1st YouTube video
We had a bite at Outback Shack (a hot dog, fries and a drink) while listening to live music. It was really cool to see Canadians from all over the province (or even the country) come there and relax because it felt like for many it's not the first time here and they know and respect this place.
People were telling stories about how initially this place only had a couple of vendors and year after year grew to become something special.
Grand Bend
Finally, we made it to the beach and the city.
I was worried about the parking because on the way to Pinery Market, the lineup of cars going to Grand Bend was ridiculous; however, it turns out that the city has plenty of parking not far from the beach. I guess parking could be more challenging during the peak season (July and August), but in May, parking wasn't an issue.
Signature bench close to the beach
The city itself is fairly small. We went up the Main Street 15 minutes or so and almost to the end, yet it was very vibrant, full of people, loud cars and activities.
This is what the Main Street looks like, a peace of it
It felt like kids were on spring break or something, because there were way too many of them chilling and going crazy on the beach and in the city.
Some of them would stand in front of each other, across the people who are lying on the beach and throw the ball. I told one of them that he would eventually hit someone, but he didn't listen, and of course, he did hit a girl. She got mad and yelled at him, which he deserved. They are good kids, but they all want to be cool and show off in front of girls, so there is a bit of madness going on.
My wife is thinking about life
I noticed that in Canada, adults rarely swim, unlike in Russia, where I grew up and where it's much more common, but the main reason is that the water in Canada's Great Lakes is too darn cold. In Russia, it's mostly small lakes and rivers, which are much warmer.
Canadian kids, however, manage to swim even in the cold water.
The face of someone who is about to be hit by the ball
We weren't fully ready for a long beach rest. We ate our snacks, drank water, lay on the sand for an hour or so. I tried to go to the water, but it was too cold for me to swim. So, after 2 hours, we headed back home. I guess it wouldn't be the worst idea to come with another couple or as a group of people next time, but in any case seating on the beach for long hours is not for everyone.
The mood was a bit down at the end, I guess we were tired, so we stopped by McDonald's.
YouTube videos
Here are our YouTube videos about the trip:
Trip to Grand Bend - Day 1 | Bad Apple Brewing Company and the road trip
More to come.
Souvenirs
It has become our tradition to get a magnet from the trips, so we got this one from Grand Bend.
We have never seen a moose there, but the magnet looked good
We also brought the wooden heart from Bad Apple and placed our ducks from Korea on it:
It worked out perfectly together near the TV
And of course, we also brought sand in our shoes and good memories.
Budget and Expenses
Here is the breakdown of all expenses we had during the trip.
I didn't count the gas
The grand total was $683.61 for two people, plus a couple of other smaller purchases that my wife made. Not a cheap trip after all, but unfortunately nothing is cheap these days. The hotels and places to stay for the night in Ontario are quite pricey. I don't regret it because for this price we experienced not only the beach, but a brewery, a winery and a market as well.
Relevant Links
List of relevant links:
- Bad Apple Brewing Company: https://badapplebrewingco.com/
- Hessenland Inn & Schatz Winery: https://www.hessenland.com/
- Pinery Market: https://pinerymarket.com/
Conclusion
I am happy with the trip.
I think I got very lucky finding Bad Apple Brewing Company on the map right before the trip, I got lucky picking that winery, and we got lucky to be suggested to visit the Pinery Market. Sure, it wasn't a cheap trip after all, but it would be a very different experience if we just went to Grand Bend in one day without staying for the night.
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