Hwy 33 goes to Prince Edward County (locals call it "the County"). Follow Loyalist Parkway east to pass by New England-style clapboard houses, brick homes with gingerbread trim, and breath-taking views over Wellington Bay.

Formed by a vast freshwater sand dune system, the Sandbanks Provincial Park is a laid-back, family-oriented park, popular with campers. In spring, birders arrive in droves to witness the migration of warblers, vireos, flycatchers and thrushes. A sandy shoreline, limestone outcrops, lakes, forests and wetlands attract more than 300 species of birds to the County. Its microclimate and soil conditions also enable the County Cider Company and Waupoos Estate Winery to flourish.

Along Bloomfield's main street, where it seems like every other house is a B&B, many of the former antique shops have turned to other retail lines. Diva Decorative Arts & Adornments deals in fashion accessories with a particular emphasis on evening wear – hats, shawls, and handbags – in keeping the owner's former career as an opera singer. Over the road, Hand Works displays an intriguing range of original functional art – from cast-aluminum sculptured cookware to fruit baskets made of telephone wire.

It's a delightful ferry ride from Glenora to Adolphustown (free to vehicles and passengers), and a pretty lakeside drive into Kingston (pop. 130,000). Steeped in history, Kingston was Canada's first capital (1841) and is home to the country's oldest degree-granting institution, Queen's University, and to the oldest daily newspaper, The Kingston Whig Standard, 1834. Thousands of students, visitors and a healthy economy add up to a lively city with plenty to see and do. Close to the waterfront, many limestone buildings have been handsomely restored – the limestone itself often hacked out of nearby quarries by the inmates of Kingston Penitentiary.

In use since 1835, the Kingston Penitentiary is the oldest operating prison in Canada. Housed in the former Warden's Residence, all age groups are intrigued by the Penitentiary Museum. It traces prison history from a time when hard labor and stern punishments such as icy cold water baths and strapping tables were the order of the day, to today's focus on counseling and education.

For a complete change, another free ferry transports you to Wolfe Island, a year-round community at the start of the Thousand Islands in the Upper St. Lawrence River. A peaceful island retreat that is a pleasure to explore by bike, it's another stopover for migratory birds and a winter home to snowy owls. From May to October, a ferry connects Wolfe Island to Cape Vincent, New York.

Jam-packed with places to go and sights to see, this journey along Lake Ontario's north shore beautifully combines the excitement of big city life and attractions with an abundance of rural charm and small town hospitality.