10 Canadian Honey Farms That Will Sweeten Your Summer
Updated: Jul. 05, 2022Offering everything from honey hikes to handmade toiletries, these enterprising honey farms will have you buzzing with excitement.
Honey Farms Worth Visiting This Summer
If you adore all things honey, you’ll want to check out Canada’s amazing honey farms and the beekeepers who make it all happen. Diverse beekeeping operations—from backyard hobbyists to multi-generation farm operations—offer visitors delicious treats and incredible experiences.
Adelaide’s Honey Bee, Pollinator and Wildflower Reserve
Goulds, Newfoundland
At Adelaide’s Honey Bee, Pollinator, and Wildflower Reserve, Brenda & Paul Dinn aren’t just harvesting honey; they’re teaching others how to do the same! They run both adopt-a-hive and become-a-beekeeper programs that guide people through a year of beekeeping in their own backyard. Visitors to their property can book a special Honey Bee Hike that takes you through Newfoundland boreal forest—and the bees’ natural habitat. Not ready to set up your own hives yet? Don’t worry! You can opt to purchase a jar of Adelaide’s delicious wildflower honey.
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Scotch Lake Farm
Scotch Lake, Nova Scotia
At Cape Breton’s Scotch Lake Farm, honey is just the beginning. As Nova Scotia’s only non-grape winery, the farm’s honey becomes mead, made in the style of 12th-century Norwegian tradition (and manufactured under the name Magnus Mead from Midgard Meadery). Their beekeeping talents are further evident in their beeswax candles. And, of course, there’s the honey itself, which master beekeeper Micheal Magnini has been harvesting since 2002. Co-owner Jen Holtom takes pride in her estate’s natural approach, saying, “We like being the small farm that doesn’t use chemicals.”
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Cymbria Apiaries
New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island
Trent Howlett and the team at Cymbria Apiaries started out with two bee colonies in 2016. Today, they care for 40 hives! Their wildflower honey is now sold at the farm, their nearby family-friendly campground, as well as by many local businesses. Howlett reports: “We also do educational tours—by appointment only—where people of any age can learn about honey bees and experience them up close and personal!”
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Halcomb Honey & Hives
Halcomb, New Brunswick
Kristen & Nathan Mutch entered the world of beekeeping in the spring of 2017, purchasing two hives for what they first thought of as only a relaxing hobby. Fast-forward to the present and their business Halcomb Honey & Hives now has 50 hives—and counting! In addition to selling jarred honey, the couple also founded an extensive toiletry line which includes charcoal clay honey soap, chocolate peppermint lip balm, and “bee-rd” balm for beards.
Intermiel
Saint-Benoît, Québec
Beekeeping may be a serious business, but kids rule the roost at Intermiel, located just outside Montreal. Since 1991, the company has followed an educational mandate geared toward teaching school children about the world of bees. In their own words: “Intermiel’s mission is to demystify the role of the bee and to raise awareness of its vital role in our food plate as a pollinator within our ecosystems.” Young and old alike will enjoy their puppet theatre, playground, discovery centre, and even a giant sunflower field. Their on-site store sells unique honey varieties including raspberry blossom, buckwheat, and goldenrod.
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Gees Bees
Ottawa, Ontario
At Ottawa’s Gees Bees, the bees enjoy a luxurious life. If you sign up for a private tour, an expert beekeeper will lead you through a beautiful pollinator garden and bring you to the hive area, which showcases the honeybees at work. For those who fall in love with the bees and want a hive to call their own, Gees Bees also offers a hive share program. Co-owner Marianne Gee explains that it’s possible to taste the difference in the honey from one year to the next, depending on the season and the flowers that bloom. She calls it “experiencing summer in a jar.” Visitors to their farm store can pick up varieties like creamed Ontario wildflower honey, marsh honey, and linden honey.
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Brambles n’ Bees
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Few can beat Winnipeg’s Doris Rudolph when it comes to having a short farm-to-table chain, as she keeps bees in her own backyard! Rudolph is the founder of Brambles n’ Bees apiary and honey company. She’s now in her fifth summer of beekeeping and manages about a dozen hives placed throughout Winnipeg, West St. Paul, and St. Andrew’s in addition to those at her home. Those hives couldn’t be better positioned, as Rudolph says: “I find the honey from my backyard very flavourful since the bees have a wide variety of nectar from many sources. It’s quite tasty!” For the time being, her raw Manitoba prairie blossom honey is available by private order.
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Three Foragers Bee Co
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Husband and wife team Andrew Guran and Angela Seto are third-generation beekeepers. Their story starts with Andrew’s grandfather, who started keeping bees near Saskatoon in the 1970s—and put young Andrew to work! As Angela describes it, the couple moved to Saskatoon in 2013 to attend university and worked on the farm in the summers. They fell in love with the bees and in 2015 decided to stay to manage and grow the operation. Today Three Foragers honey is infused with flavours such as chai spice, chili and garlic, and lemon ginger, as well as yummy treats, including a variety of honey-based caramels.
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Uncle Lee’s Bees
Calgary, Alberta
Caring for bees is a family affair for cousins Cam Wright and Colin Wauthier of Uncle Lee’s Bees, who first got into beekeeping after working a section of their uncle’s Calgary-area farm in 2017. They’ve taken that family spirit and spread it throughout the community, making deliveries on bikes (where possible), donating supplies to a local food bank, and using eco-friendly packaging. When they’re not collecting honey for sharing or mixing into their toiletry line (which includes honey-lemon soap and a beeswax boot balm) they’re busy with another outdoor enterprise: making their own maple syrup. All products are available through private order.
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Honey Onyx Apiary
Falkland, British Columbia
At this family-run business, second-generation beekeepers build upon the knowledge their parents established in Argentina to manage more than 400 hives located across the Okanagan Valley. Since 2018, Honey Onyx Apiary has produced diverse flavours such as clover, dandelion, and alfalfa honey, but their most unique product may just be their fireweed honey (fireweed being a native wildflower). Honey Onyx places their hives among the fireweed and the result is a honey that has a sharp, almost peppery flavour, milder than traditional clove honey and less sweet than most commercial products.
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