Food & Drink.
Johnston's Cranberry Marsh / Muskoka Lakes Farm & Winery in Bala is Ontario's oldest cranberry farm — 27 acres of cranberry bog within a 350-acre farm, with a 300,000–500,000 lb annual harvest, an on-site farm winery, and the "Bog to Bottle" tour. The Bala Cranberry Festival has run as a three-day harvest event the weekend after Canadian Thanksgiving since 1984; 2026 dates are October 16–18.
The brief.
Cranberry harvest runs mid-September through October; the farm-winery and "Bog to Bottle" tour operate within that window. The Bala Cranberry Festival is centred on Bala village across the same harvest weekend, with Friday 10am–5pm, Saturday 9am–5pm, and Sunday 9am–3pm hours posted by the festival.
This is the only "Cranberry Capital" framing in the province; Ontario's headline winery, cidery, and farm-tour clusters sit elsewhere (Niagara, PEC, Beamsville). Bala's combination of an active working cranberry farm, an on-site farm winery, and a long-running harvest festival makes it the canonical Ontario cranberry agritourism anchor for the autumn season.
2. places.
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Johnston's Cranberry Marsh / Muskoka Lakes Farm & Winery
Ontario's oldest cranberry farm in Bala — 27 acres of cranberry bog on a 350-acre farm; 300,000–500,000 lb annual harvest; on-site farm winery; "Bog to Bottle" tour.
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Bala Cranberry Festival
Three-day harvest weekend in mid-October (Oct 16–18 in 2026), centred on Bala; running annually since 1984.
Today's read.
Cold but firm — winter-ready conditions · light winds · clean air.
By the book.
- 01The Bala Cranberry Festival has run annually since 1984 the weekend after Canadian Thanksgiving in mid-October, centred on BalaSource ↗
- 02Johnston's Cranberry Marsh / Muskoka Lakes Farm & Winery is Ontario's oldest cranberry farm with 27 acres of cranberry bog within a 350-acre farm; on-site farm winery and "Bog to Bottle" tourSource ↗