Courtesy Gammondale Farm
Take a Sleigh Ride at Gammondale Farm
Percheron draft horses pull the bobsleigh at Gammondale Farm in the lovely Slate River Valley.
Picture yourself in a Currier & Ives postcard scene, big snowflakes gently dropping. With red cheeks in the brisk December air, you’re bundled up and bunched together with siblings and cousins in a rare get-together: a sleigh ride in pastoral Slate River Valley near Thunder Bay.
The season for a scenic sleigh or cutter ride at Gammondale Farm starts in December, or earlier depending on how much snow falls.
There are several options for creating family memories, and they start with making reservations.
A half-hour ride for up to 10 people on a bobsleigh, the kind once used for logging, is $150 Canadian – or for U.S. customers, a bargain at $115 with an exchange rate of $1 U.S. equal to about $1.30 Canadian. You can add up to five more people at $15 (Can.) per person. The cost includes coffee and hot cocoa in the cozy log house and a chance to visit with the farm animals.
Couples can set up a romantic and enchanting cutter ride for $120. Enjoy a half-hour ride around the farm, at the base of Candy Mountain, then return to the log house for hot drinks. Some guests bring snacks or enough food for a private dinner.
Over the years, a number of couples have gotten engaged at the farm, says Sue Gammond, owner of Gammondale Farm with her husband, Gerry. Couples in the cutter cozy up with warm blankets and an antique foot warmer – an upholstery-covered steel box filled with hot coals.
The farm’s Percheron draft horses (Tex, Lightning and Kip) are gentle giants that pull the sleigh and cutter. The largest measures 18 hands, 2 inches, or a little over 6 feet tall at the shoulder.
For those who think it’s too cold for a winter ride, the farm can split the time into two 15-minute trips, with an indoor break to warm up between them. Or maybe time to propose before one more magical turn around the farm.