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 daily alpaca encounters run through the summer season, wrapping up on September 5th. After that, the farm transitions to a quieter autumn rhythm — but if you have a group of four or more and are flexible on a morning date, private encounters by arrangement are available through the season. These are personally coordinated and subject to farm availability — a more intimate experience than the summer programme.

Whenever you visit, you're on a working farm, and the animals know it. You can view the herd from the fence lines, watch the way they move together across the pasture, and observe the quiet hierarchy of the herd. Chester. Big Ben. The ones who come straight to you and the ones who make you earn 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.

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 our farm hours and visit during our regular season — no booking required to come and enjoy the farm. For a guided encounter, enquire about a private morning encounter for your group. For workshop dates, see what's coming up this season. And for overnight stays, explore The Cottage.

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