Visiting the Real Life Schitt’s Creek

Posted byAbPosted inADHD, adoption, FASD, Fun, Ontario, ParentingTags:, , , , , ,

We kicked off 2025 with a daytrip to the real-life Rosebud Motel from Schitt’s Creek, located in Orangeville, an hour drive from Toronto.

The drive was relaxing. The highway and roads were quiet and there was light snow further north.

Schitt’s Creek is a beloved Emmy-winning Canadian comedy series that ran from 2015 to 2020.

It tells the story of the wealthy Rose family, who lose everything after their business manager embezzles the family business. They relocate to Schitt’s Creek, a small town they once purchased as a joke and the show chronicles their humble new life living in a motel.

I started watching the show after my interest was piqued when its final season swept the Emmys in 2020, winning best show, writing, directing and all four acting categories.

The show’s amazing cast, remarkable character growth and dry humour got me through the early pandemic and I highly recommend it to everyone.

The motel in Orangeville was used for the show’s exteriors. It is currently closed but judging from the fresh tire tracks on the parking lot, there were other recent visitors!

The show’s interior motel scenes were shot at Pinewood Studios in Toronto, where other shows such as Star Trek: Discovery were filmed.

The real motel interiors are tiny compared to the Rose’s accommodations.

The photo below is the immediate interior of the office, vastly different from Stevie’s reception desk!

We didn’t go inside just so we’re clear!

This is one of the interior rooms.

And this is the rarely seen rear side.

The motel has received many visitors since the show gained popularity and here was a recent message scribed by a visitor (not us!).

A few days prior, T and I drove to the town of Goodwood, an hour drive from Orangeville and 30 minutes from our home.

Located all at one street intersection were the real life locations of the Rose Apothecary…

… Cafe Tropical, closed and vacant…

… and Bob’s Garage.

On the fourth corner of the intersection is a lovely restaurant and bakery, where I picked up a sausage roll for myself and a chocolate brittle for T to enjoy on our drive home.

It’s been interesting to learn about the show’s filming locations.

It turns out my family used to live down the street from the fictional Elmbridge Manor, one of the venues David and Patrick looked at for their wedding in the final season.

The real life venue is called Graydon Hall Manor, located in North York, Toronto. My family lived in an apartment down the street and my elementary school, Rene Gordon, is a five minute walk around the corner from the manor.

Photo Credit: Graydon Hall Manor

The surrounding neighbourhood is anything but country roads and is much more modest than the fancy manor would suggest!

For those curious about what David and Patrick’s wedding would’ve looked like at the manor, here’s a photo from a wedding the hubby and I attended in 2011. It was a beautiful ceremony, although no Moira officiating with a long blond wig!

Schitt’s Creek, at its heart, is about a family that takes an unexpected detour in life and the humbling lessons, remarkable growth and unintended hilarity they experience.

The show resonates with me as a special needs caregiver because I can relate to what it’s like to have things not work out as imagined and growing from these circumstances with hope, humour and heart.

We took a different route home from Orangeville, driving through a 30km stretch of country road, enjoying the calming scenery of snow-dusted evergreens and fields.

Taking in the detours felt like the right tone to set our intentions for this new year ahead.

36 thoughts on “Visiting the Real Life Schitt’s Creek”

  1. Schitt’s Creek is truly fantastic! Thank you for the behind-the-scenes look. WOW! Amazing. In fact, Schitt’s Creek taught me you can laugh under grief’s millstone. Michelle, my fellow writer and friend, illustrates this perfectly in our upcoming memoir! PS: I subscribed to your blog; I thought I had been a subscriber but apparently not! (I don’t like it when I miss your blog posts!)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks Stacy. I remember you mentioning being a SC fan before. It’s a great show and I started rewatching it recently. It is a great show with such fantastic characters. 😊

      PS. No worries. WordPress made some updates recently and the same thing happened to me where I had to refollow some blogs. Gotta love tech!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. I had no idea so many of the buildings filmed in Schitt’s Creek were so close to the GTA!! How cool! This makes me want to visit them all now and to rewatch the show. It’s so good. The whole cast is amazing, but Catherine O’Hara is my favourite. Her accent was the best. It’s neat to hear that you once lived near Graydon Hall Manor. Looks like a very lovely place for a wedding. Sounds like you enjoyed the rest of the holidays!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. You’ll have to do a roadtrip one day. I think Orangeville is close to your area of town?

      The cast is amazing and Moira is such a standout. I started rewatching it this weekend and am now on season 3. Such a classic!

      Holidays were great and back to work today. Hope you’re holding up well!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. That’s right, Orangeville is about a 45min from where we live. And it’s actually a nice drive without much traffic. Glad to hear the rest of your holidays were good. Work has been busy and I’m looking forward to the weekend to relax!!

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Thanks! There was a last minute cancellation for one of the cabins in Arrowhead this weekend and I managed to snag it. So much for relaxing! But hey, I’ll never say no to an adventure and spending time in nature.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. This is so great! I love Schitt’s Creek. Ironic that I came to your blog to tell you we’re 5 episodes into Abbott Elementary and loving it. Here I find yet another show we have in common. What a fun tour!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks Betsy. SC is such a great show! I started rewatching it this weekend and am onto Season 3 now. Glad to hear you’re loving enjoying Abbott Elementary. The characters go through a similar wonder growth journey like the SC characters. Part of the joy of these shows.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  6. I haven’t watched any series in a long time because more often than not I ended up thinking of all the things I could’ve done instead of watching shows I didn’t really enjoy. But sometimes, I stumble upon great ones that won’t make me regret anything for watching them. It sounds like for me Schitt’s Creek will belong to the latter. It’s lovely to learn about your family’s connection with this place. And your plan to take detours certainly sounds intriguing!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. I don’t usually watch much tv or movies for the same reason and I also find the choice overwhelming. But found this break to be very relaxing with lots of tv time. Not ready to go back to work on Monday. 😝

      Schitt’s Creek is a lovely show with very Canadian humour. 😆 Hope you enjoy it if you start!

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

  7. What an amazing shoe and how cool it is that it was filmed in our back yard. Goodwill is around the coner from the farm we lived on until three years ago. I loved visiting the filming locations and was lucky to drive through Goodwood when they were setting up for filming one day. I loved that you were able to take photos if the motel’s interior!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. That’s very cool that you lived close to Goodwood. A very nice town. And we loved driving through the country roads; might’ve driven by your old farm!

      The motel seems to have closed now but still seems to attract frequent visitors!

      And coincidentally, the show is now back on Netflix! Came back January 1, so I’m starting over again from episode 1. 😆

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  8. Oh, I love that you took us along for this adventure. I haven’t watched that show but I love your conclusion that the goal is “growing from these circumstances with hope, humour and heart.” Yes, yes, yes! Happy New Year, Ab!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. Oh my goodness. I LOVE Schitt’s Creek and your post. Including the “EWW David” which made me LOL. And your comment about detours – just like Beth said below. That’s life, isn’t it? Thank you for taking us along, Ab! 🥰

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It’s such a funny show, Vicki. There were quite a few Eww comments, some scribbled onto the thick dust on the windows. 😆 Sometimes, often times, the detours make such appreciate the richness of our lives even more!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. I’m so jealous! How cool that you were there. I love the show too for many reasons. It was all about acceptance and love and caring and being OK not being the same as everyone else. What beautiful lessons. So interesting how your real life intersected with this location. I especially love the ending of this post with your comment on taking detours to get through life.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. It’s funny you had noted Schitt’s Creek on your 100 list as I had visited Goodwill that same day and even more coincidentally the show just returned to Netflix on January 1 after being off for 2 years. It was a pleasant surprise and I started rewatching from the beginning last night.

      It’s a beautifully written show and the characters all go on such fascinating growth journeys through their detours in Schitt’s Creek. 💕

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. once again my comment didn’t show up Now I know you’ll probably get two comments!

    I also started watching after they won all those awards in 2020! loved every minute of that show and I really like how you braided your experience as a family and their experience both learning growth, using humor , hope and heart. Thanks for the photos and tour!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks Vickie. It looks like you posted your comment anonymously and WP makes me approve each anonymous comment before they go live.

      Schitt’s Creek is such a lovely show and it’s now back on Netflix so I started to rewatch it from Episode 1 last night. Such a great show and cast. 💕

      Like

      Reply

  12. I also started watching after they won all those awards in 2020! loved every minute of that show and I really like how you braided your experience as a family and their experience both learning growth, using humor , hope and heart. Thanks for the photos and tour!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. What a fun trip for you and T to take. Great memories for you and lovely scenery with the small town feel and the snow. If I was to guess I might say that T’s favorite part was the bakery?? Here’s to a happy 2025 with lots of new adventures for the family Ab 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks Deb and happy new year to you too! 💕 And you are absolutely right, T’s favourite part was the bakery. He couldn’t have given two hoots about the tour. He’ll appreciate the show when he’s older! 😆

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  15. What a fun read! I love Schitt’s Creek. If these vacant buildings were in the Portland metro area, they would be destroyed by the houseless community. How cool that you were able to see inside the motel. Cool way to spend your first day of 2025! Katie

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

Leave a reply to Ilsa Rey Cancel reply