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Temiskaming Shores promotes culinary tourism with passport tour

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If you’re looking for adventures in your own backyard, look no further than the Lake Temiskaming tour. The tour features attractions, places to eat or drink and other fun stops from North Bay up to Timiskaming Shores, as well as family outing ideas in Quebec.

When you visit Bison Du Nord in Earlton, the 300 bison living in the ranch are always snorting.

“We are real long-term pioneers in the bison industry,” said founder Pierre Belanger. “We are one of the first to get into bison ranching in Canada.”

The ranch has been in Belanger’s family for almost five decades. His grass-fed bison are eventually shipped to the butcher to make mouth-watering bison burgers.

“Every year we market roughly 100 bison – now, these are marketed all through Ontario, but much of it is in Temiskaming,” he said. “We have restaurants in Temiskaming that feature bison burgers and bison on their menu.”

Under normal circumstances, Belanger would escort visitors into the ranch to teach them more about his animals. He’s hoping to have ranch tours again very soon.

Bison Du Nord is a part of 20 tourist stops in what’s called the Lake Temiskaming tour. The tour encompasses attractions for young and old, and places yet to be discovered that are hidden in northern Ontario’s backyard, from North Bay up to Cobalt.

“We have developed once again the lake tour passport that invites visitors and locals to visit different museums and different areas around the lake,” said Anne-Marie Loranger, the economic development coordinator for the City of Temiskaming Shores.

The lake Temiskaming tour features activities and adventures in Quebec. The tour also highlights the region's Francophone, Anglophone and Algonquin cultures.

“People are invited to download the document, the passport on our website, which is laketemiskamingtour.com,” said Loranger.

In addition to the passport tour, the city is putting a strong emphasis on visiting local eateries located around the tour spots this summer. The food industry plays a key role in the economy, drawing people up from all over for a juicy bison burger, a cold brew at Whiskeyjack Beer Company or for the famous blocks of cheese at the Thornloe Cheese Factory.

“We want people to rediscover the area and take the time this summer and visit,” said Loranger.

Along the tour route, you’ll see Verger Du Terroir orchard, where the haskaps are just ripe. Haskaps are a new fruit and come with a lot of health benefits.

“In a portion, there’s about 60 per cent of your Vitamin C,” said co-owner Louise Philbin. “They’re not just delicious, but new and different.”

The 25,000 plants are always getting picked.

“My favourite is a breakfast with frozen haskaps and just a slight drizzle of maple syrup with strawberry yogurt and any kind of cereal with a little bit of crunch,” said co-owner Yvan Chartrand.

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