There's a particular quality to autumn light in Prince Edward County. It arrives low and golden across the fields, catches the rust and amber of the tree lines, and settles over the farm in a way that makes everything feel unhurried. If you've only ever thought of PEC as a summer destination — the wineries, the beaches, the festival season — autumn here will change your mind entirely.

At Chetwyn Farms, fall is one of our favourite times of year. The alpacas are in their element: cooler temperatures suit them perfectly, and you'll find them more active, more curious, and more inclined to linger at the fence when you arrive. It's the season when the farm feels most like itself.

Meet the Herd

Our alpaca encounters run through the fall season, and there's something genuinely different about meeting the animals at this time of year. The summer crowds have thinned. The pace slows. You have time to actually watch them — the way they move together across the pasture, the quiet hierarchy of the herd, the particular personality of each animal. Chester. Big Ben. The ones who come straight to you and the ones who make you earn it.

These aren't zoo encounters. You're on a working farm, and the animals know it. That authenticity is what people remember.

Stay a While

If a day visit isn't enough — and for many people, it isn't — The Cottage offers a rare opportunity to wake up on an alpaca farm in Prince Edward County. Fall mornings here are something else: mist over the fields, the sounds of the farm coming to life, a cup of tea before the rest of the world has started. It's the kind of slow travel that's increasingly hard to find.

The County's wine country, the Sandbanks, Picton's independent shops and restaurants — all within easy reach when you want them. But the farm has a way of making you want to stay put.

Learn Something That Lasts

Autumn is also when our fibre arts workshop programme comes into its own. There's something fitting about learning to work with alpaca fibre as the season turns — the same instinct toward warmth and craft and making that has driven textile traditions for centuries. Our instructors are drawn from the same curatorial standard we developed over years at Harbourfront Centre: technically masterful, genuinely transformative as teachers.

You might spend a day learning natural dyeing, or exploring weaving structures, or working with raw fleece from the animals you met that morning. The farm provides the context that no urban studio can replicate.

Take the Farm Home With You

Before you leave, stop into the SHED — our converted chicken coop shop — for alpaca products made from our own herd's fibre. Alpaca socks, throws and blankets, and yarn for the knitters in your life. Everything ships across Canada if you'd rather browse from home.

Planning Your Visit

Prince Edward County is roughly two hours from Toronto and easily reached from Kingston, Ottawa, and across the border from upstate New York. Fall weekends fill up — particularly around the harvest season and Thanksgiving weekend — so booking ahead is worth doing.

Check encounter availability and explore The Cottage for overnight stays. For workshop dates, see what's coming up this season.

The County will still be here in summer. But autumn at the farm — that's worth planning for.