Artsy, Outdoorsy & Spooky: Fall in York Durham Headwaters

Fall is the season of endless possibilities. Birds twittering amongst the vibrant autumn leaves. Making and baking and getting hands-on. Spooky tales to tingle your spine for Halloween. If fall is the season when you come alive, York Durham Headwaters is your destination for all the autumn adventure you could ever want — however you want it!

Hands-On Art-Making Workshops

This fall, discover your crafty side in YDH. Want whimsical creatures to bring a touch of magic to your garden? Set your sights on Rolling Hills Studio, where you can learn the art of fabric sculpting. Learn to paint with wax and heat at The Hive Encaustic Studio, located in the historic Alton Mill. Try your hand at making lead stained glass to catch the lovely autumn light in your windows with a META4 Gallery workshop. There’s something for everyone, and more than you could possibly imagine to set fall ablaze with your own handmade creations. Get started by checking out what’s on at our YDH Creative Spaces Page: yorkdurhamheadwaters.ca/creative-spaces/

Ontario’s Best Birdwatching

If you haven’t heard, birdwatching is on the rise. Escape the digital treadmill of your daily grind, grab a sturdy pair of shoes and your binoculars, and take a walk in the woods in YDH. We are the best birdwatching destination in Ontario. Our forests, parks and natural spaces are teeming with wildlife, and because we are close to the GTA, we are the ideal escape from the urban bustle. Uxbridge is the Trail Capital of Canada, and the Lynde Shores Conservation Area is a major migration corridor for birds. Island Lake Conservation Area and Luther Marsh Wildlife Management Area are home to many different species. Your ornithophilic options for places to admire our feathered friends are endless in YDH. Search our vast network of trails at yorkdurhamheadwaters.ca/ultimate-road-trip/

Spooky, Spine-Tingling Adventures

Halloween is just around the corner, and YDH is a hotbed for stories of ghostly visitors and unexplained happenings, with an abundance of haunted cemeteries, ghostly roads, and village museums where spirits still roam within the walls of the historic buildings they knew in life. Explore the supernatural side of The Village at Black Creek with a haunted nighttime walk — featuring some of the oldest buildings in Ontario, and spooky happenings actually experienced by village guests and staff. Spend the night at The Briars Resort and Spa, and you may just hear ghostly piano music, or catch a glimpse of the heartbroken Lady in White. The Oshawa Museum features a collection of historic dwellings that you can tour… shoulder to shoulder with the ghosts that still haunt their former homes.

Visit yorkdurhamheadwaters.ca for all the haunted happenings this season.

From the print edition

As featured in The Canada Magazine, October 2026 issue.

See the October issue content