lincoln mkz — The Lincoln MKZ (Image: Amanda Phuong)

Looking for a weekend escape? We’ve got just the place.

While I love the city and everything it has to offer, one of my favorite things to do over the weekend is to escape the downtown hustle. Over the summer, I developed a penchant for Ontario’s great outdoors; the blue lakes, sandy beach fronts, and hiking trails. So when I was presented with the opportunity to take off in the new 2017 Lincoln MKZ to experience #QuietLuxury, I knew exactly where I wanted to go.

Located 45 minutes east of North Bay at the confluence of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers is the small town of Mattawa, where my partner and I stayed in a Yurt on a 700-acre farm property. And while 5-hour drives are typically antagonizing, being able to set the adaptive cruise control to a fixed speed and distance between leading cars and using Lincoln’s lane-keeping system kept me relaxed. I literally cruised down the Trans-Canada highway in cushy leather and massaging seats, passing the beautiful Canadian Shield and changing leaves. It’s a drive I’d gladly do over and over again.

Upon arriving on the private farmstead, we were greeted by the owner, a former Toronto-native who runs the property with his brother. The Yurt where we stayed was located about a 5-minute drive from the main farmhouse, past a Horse Sanctuary (which, unfortunately, was closed during our stay) and the makings of an onsite brewery (scheduled to open next summer).

While yurt experiences aren’t for everyone, this one was exactly what I had hoped for. Inside, the decor was simple, with a wood burning stove for warmth, a large cozy bed and a separate room for the attached outhouse. Outside, a fire pit for cooking and bonfires awaited, with a private flowing river equipped with hand carved canoes and a cabana just steps away.

That evening, after we canoed down the river, we cooked steak over the fire and ate in the cabana overlooking the water. With only the sounds of the crackling fire and our voices, we forgot about our hectic lives at work and the traffic in the city, leaving us completely at peace.

To me, #QuietLuxury isn’t about outlandish extravagance, it’s about understated comfort and feeling at ease in where you are in that moment of time – something that Lincoln captured perfectly in the 2017 MKZ and helped us seize that weekend.