Fun Things to do in Brantford, Ontario - Family Day Trip to Brantford - Canoe the Grand River!

Fun things to do in Brantford, Ontario! 🇨🇦
We spent a fantastic day exploring Brantford, ON.
Here are 4 things we did on our day trip to Brantford:
1. Paddle the Grand River! 🛶
The Grand River flows right through the city of Brantford! This gorgeous section of river is perfect for canoeing and kayaking.
There are three river access points along the Grand River in Brantford, ON:
1️⃣ Ballantyne Drive River Access Point (KM 0)
There is a nice parking lot here where you can drive your vehicle right up to the water’s edge, making it super easy to launch your boat!
2️⃣ Gilkison Flats River Access Point (KM 2)
This launch point is just downriver from Veterans Memorial Parkway. Parking is located on the far side of Gilkison Street and there is an 80m trail down to the river from the street.
3️⃣ Cockshutt Bridge River Access Point (KM 8)
There is a nice parking lot located here off Erie St. You can drive down the path right to the river’s edge for easy access!
📍The distance between the first and last points is 8 km and takes approx 1.5-2.5 hours to paddle. (The water was decently high when we went and it took us 1.5 hours going easy).
☀️ Overall the river is a nice depth through this section, but you may need to walk your boat over some shallow sections if you are paddling later in the summer.
🌊 There weren’t any rapids through this section. There were a couple places where the current moved the boat quickly and a couple places where we had to navigate some rocks.
2. Explore the trails! 🚲
With over 70km of trails to explore, Brantford is full of outdoor adventure! You can bring along your bike or hit the trails for a hike. Many of the trails follow the Grand River with beautiful views along the way. We dropped our bikes off at the end point of our canoe route before we started paddling and then biked back to our vehicle when we were done canoeing. There were beautiful trails through Brantford for us to bike back to our start point. We especialy loved the artwork along the bridge 🚲
3. Visit the Brantford Twin Valley Zoo 🐒
This family-owned zoo has over 400 animals for you to see! We especially loved the Zebras, Tigers and Gibbons! You can plan to spend 2-3 hours visiting this family-friendly zoo.
4. Enjoy some delicious eats & treats!
After a day of outdoor adventure, be sure to check out one of our favourite places in Brantford for a delicious meal or treat!
We loved the followng restaurants:
🍕Mercasa Little Italy Eatery has the perfect vibe with fast-casual homemade Italian cuisine. We loved their Roman style pizza & vegetarian lasagna!
🍴Sociable Kitchen + Tavern is an amazing place to stop for dinner! This restaurant goes above and beyond typical pub fare and even has plant-based, gluten free and brunch menus!
🍦Dairee Delite - it’s time for dessert!! There’s something for everyone at this 50’s style ice cream shop that has been around for over 70 years!
BONUS: Brantford is centrally located in the heart of southwestern Ontario making it easily accessible!
Thanks so much @TourismBrantford for hosting us! [Paid] All opinions are our own.

[@nickspangler5508]

Come to Ohio USA sometime. We have an Air Force museum in Dayton with over 300 planes, Cedar Point & Kings Island amusement parks, along with Carillon Park. It has the Wright Brothers plane & other cool things. We also have a huge food store called Jungle Jims. It has food from at least 7o countries. We also have the Boonshoft Museum & Cincinnati Childrens Museum.

[@mattallman]

Great video! Hopefully you come back again soon 😊

[@SixtyisthenewSixty]

Looks like an amazing day!!!

[@AdventuresWithTheHills]

Thanks!! We had a great time 😊