We value the opportunity to give back to our land and our communities, and being able to hear the stories of where our spaces, meals, and resources come from.
That is why every experience at the Edge offers guests a taste of place by highlighting food and drink that is produced in the neighbourhood.
Our lakefront furniture is manufactured right here in South River, Ontario by the Bear Chair Co. Our umbrellas came from these folks too. When you take your seat at the dining room table you are sitting in a locally made hardwood chair manufactured by Holsag in Cottage Country, in Lindsay Ontario. When you hit the water and find your place in the bow or stern seat of a canoe, it’s most likely you are sitting in a Swift Canoe – again, it was manufactured right here in South River, Ontario.
Local flavours come through in our surroundings and in specialty food products. When you pour yourself a cup of Algonquin Tea Company tea, you can know that all the ingredients were harvested from the wild on the Edge of Algonquin Park. When you sweeten that tea with a dollop of honey, it came from bees either zipping along in our garden or nearby fields where it was packaged and produced by the Board family in Restoule Ontario.
Topping those pancakes or french toast with syrup – that’s REAL maple syrup. There is a good chance we boiled sap from maple trees on our property to distill that delicious golden nectar just for you. In some years we’ve produced up to 50 litres of maple syrup each year right here on our property.
Northern Edge Algonquin is proud to source from the following local partners:
- Swift Canoe & Kayak – Local South River company that creates & repairs our canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards.
- Bear Chair Co. – Local South River company that manufactures the waterfront “bear chairs” and other outdoor furniture at the Edge.
- Algonquin Tea Co. – Algonquin Park company that sources local plants to create a wonderful tea collection.
- Soapstones – Local soap and shampoo products from Huntsville, Ontario
- Delpha Wake – Huntsville seamstress who has created our yoga bolsters & eye pillows.
- Muskoka Roastery Coffee Co. – Huntsville-based coffee roaster with Rainforest Alliance Certified organic blends our guests adore.
- Viewpointe Estates Winery – Essex County winery run by Edge co-founder Martha Lucier’s brothers.
- Peace Hill Farm – Fresh, locally-grown flowers.
- A number of local producers also provide ingredients for delicious meals, including;
- Board’s Honey Farm/Northern Nectars, Brooklands Farm, Stonemote Cottage, Deer Lake Lodge, DeHaan Family Farm, Jannsen Family Farms, Poschaven Farms (organic wheat), Pink Moon Garlic, Thornloe Cheese Factory, Springhill Farms, Santasha Farm, Ron & Meredith McLaren, MeMeres Bakery, MYCO-op Shiitaki, B. LePage Fishery, Atillio’s Fine Foods, Krause Farm Store, & Wild Muskoka Botanicals.
- We’ve also invested locally through stewarding South River’s PARC Association, the Explore South River Project, and the Explorer’s Promise signage seen around South River & area destinations.
We also provide a lot of our own local flavour
- Lots of fresh veggies & herbs are grown right on site
- Many of our spaces and facilities were designed and built by Gregor
- Our own small maple sugar shack production, and we occasionally prepare special items like granola for our gift shop.