About Us

Learn more about who we are and what we do in Kawarthas Northumberland

Kawarthas Northumberland encompasses the Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough & the Kawarthas, and Northumberland County. Many of the towns and villages in the region, and the over 350 lakes & rivers, are connected by the Trent-Severn Waterway, National Historic Site of Canada. Over 80% of the Trent-Severn Waterway transits Kawarthas Northumberland and 100% of the 50+ destinations on the Butter Tart Tour are found here.

Kawarthas Northumberland extends from the Queen Elizabeth Highlands Provincial Park to Apsley in the north, and from Port Hope to Presqu’ile Provincial Park and Brighton Bay in the south.

Map of Kawarthas Northumberland region

Fun Facts about Kawarthas Northumberland

Want to know more about where Kawarthas Northumberland is and what you can experience here? Here is a short list of some of the experiences that are of unique global and provincial significance in Kawarthas Northumberland:

  • The shores of Lake Ontario: the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail; the historic lake-side towns of Port Hope and Cobourg with National Historic Sites like the Capitol Theatre and Victoria Hall; Presqu’ile Provincial Park; the apple orchards of Brighton & Colborne.
  • The rolling hills and limestone cliffs of Northumberland County and the St. Lawrence Lowlands, as well as the Northumberland County Forest and Ganaraska Forest.
  • The annual Salmon Run up the Ganaraska River in Port Hope.
  • Over 350 stunning lakes and rivers, many of which are connected by the Trent-Severn Waterway, National Historic Site of Canada.
  • Some of the best multi-species fishing in all of Ontario.
  • Over 80% of Trent-Severn Waterway itself is in Kawarthas Northumberland. This waterway connects Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay, including Rice Lake and the Ranney Gorge, Peterborough and Stony Lake, Balsam Lake (the highest point of freshwater in Canada from which you can circumnavigate the world’s oceans). Less than 60km of the nearly 400km of this beautiful waterway are human-made canals. The rest is lakes, rivers and wetlands.
  • In Peterborough, we have the Canadian Canoe Museum, with the world’s largest collection of paddled watercraft.
  • Our region includes many unique ecological areas, including “The Land Between,” the Canadian Shield, and the Carden Plain Important Bird Area (rated one of the top five birding areas in Ontario).
  • We have dozens of craft breweries, cider mills, distilleries and vineyards. There’s a long-standing heritage of craft brewing that is unique to this region of Ontario and has had an influential impact on the industry world-wide. For example, in the early 19th century James Calcutt (who started brewing when he was 14 years old in Ireland) settled in Cobourg and established a brewery there. James’s son, Henry, moved up to Peterborough and continued to innovate as a brewer, patenting a liquid-cooling device that became essential to the creation of lagers.
  • We have some of the best cycling, hikingpaddling, cross-country skiing, and farm-to-table experiences in all of Ontario
  • We have some of the longest-standing and biggest Studio Tours in Ontario, and our towns and cities are known for fostering some of the best music and arts scenes in Ontario.

To learn more about our organization, visit www.rto8.com