Bustling music venues, vibrant galleries, and thought-provoking museums abound in Kawarthas Northumberland
Kawarthas Northumberland is perfectly positioned as a destination for artistic and cultural experiences you just can’t find elsewhere in Ontario. We are just close enough to and just far enough away from Ontario’s major cities, striking a balance between accessibility and uniqueness.
It’s all here for you. Come experience authentic art and culture.
Sit back, relax and enjoy a musical or live theatrical performance in a one-of-a-kind venue. Experience a one of a kind show at the 4th Line Theatre, which has been holding outdoor performances for nearly 30 years. Enjoy a stunning lineup of musical performers celebrating 20 years in Westben‘s custom-built barn. Take in a show at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope, one of Canada’s only remaining Atmospheric Theatre venues. Discover one of Peterborough’s live music and theatre venues, such as the iconic Market Hall Performing Arts Centre, or enjoy free live concerts as the summer sun sets at Bobcaygeon’s Concerts in the Park or Peterborough’s popular Musicfest, next to the beautiful Trent-Severn Waterway.
The creative arts are thriving in Kawarthas Northumberland thanks to vibrant communities of musicians, actors, bands, singer/song-writers, and artisans.
Book a workshop with an artisan in paddle-carving, pyrography, beading, leather-working, snow-shoe making and more at The Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough. the Art Gallery of Peterborough offers still more workshops. Experience the dozens of unique local legends & artisan studios along the Kawartha Lakes Arts and Heritage Trail. Catch Port Hope’s Float Your Fanny Down the Ganny in April, an unorthodox boating event that brings all kinds of improvised watercraft down the Ganaraska River. Or enjoy the heart-warming hilarity of baby goats with a unique Shmurgle Experience at Haute Goat in Port Hope.
You can plan an Instagram-worthy road trip across Kawarthas Northumberland, snapping photos with stunning murals or giant sculptures such as the Hastings fish Pisces Pete, the giant twoonie in Campbellford, or the Hunter Street Bridge Archway mural in Peterborough. In fact, the City of Peterborough offers so much public art you can use this digital map as a guide.
Whatever inspires you, go home with something you made yourself and a renewed sense of creativity and connection.
Visit The Canadian Canoe Museum, a unique national heritage centre in Peterborough that explores the canoe’s enduring significance to the peoples of Canada through the world’s largest collection of canoes, kayaks, and paddled watercraft. Immerse yourself in the work of Indigenous craftspeople from the Curve Lake First Nation and from across Canada at Whetung’s Ojibwa Centre. Explore the literary history of the region at the Peterborough Museum and Archives, which houses an historically significant collection including Catharine Parr Traill’s botanical album.
Nestled along the banks of the historic Indian River, Lang Pioneer Village Museum features over twenty-five restored and furnished buildings constructed between 1825 and 1899. A photographer’s paradise, the Village is complete with lanes and pathways, farm animals, rail and stump fences, vegetable and herb gardens, as well as other authentic details of a 19th-century hamlet. Kawartha Settlers’ Village offers a similar experience in Bobcaygeon with over 20 historic homes and buildings. Or perhaps you’ll choose to visit the Art Gallery of Northumberland‘s stimulating collection of historical and contemporary works of art.
Fall is a particularly sweet season. Every year, the towns throughout Kawarthas Northumberland celebrate the autumn harvest with some of the best and longest-running fall fairs in Ontario.
If you’d like a few highlights, consider these:
Spring Lilac Tours in Northumberland County
Top Five Road Trips in Northumberland County
Northumberland County Fresh Fall Road Trips
Family Fun in Northumberland County
Kawartha Lakes Arts & Heritage Trail
Peterborough County Fall Driving Tours
Four Free (or nearly free) Family Getaways in Peterborough County
Just east of Toronto, this scenic part of the province offers beautiful backroads and endless arts and heritage, roadside attractions and gastronomic delights. In the spring, colourful lilacs decorate the region. In the fall, Kawarthas Northumberland is one of the best places to see foliage in Ontario.
If you’re a leaf lover, this is the place to be. Driving along the highways and backroads, you’ll be treated to brilliant orange, yellow and red colours rippling across farmlands, hilltops and the iconic Canadian Shield.
If you’re visiting in spring, check out our Maple Route and Spring Blossoms itineraries for seasonal ideas.
The Kawarthas Northumberland blog is the place to go for longer stories and additional recommendations. Browse the articles below to find out more about arts and culture in the region.
How do you imbue a bygone era with a sense of meaning and life? A convincing answer sits along the banks of the Indian River in Keene, Ontario. With over thirty historic and reproduction buildings populated by knowledgeable in-costume interpreters, Lang Pioneer Village Museum creates an immersive experience of Peterborough County in the 19th century.
Five minutes south of the village of Millbrook, 4th Line Theatre specializes in theatrical adaptations of local and Canadian stories, using the uncommonly beautiful grounds of a former dairy farm as backdrop and inspiration. The result is a unique and exceptionally immersive theatrical experience that has attracted audiences for three and a half decades.
Here in Kawarthas Northumberland we’re always talking about the Trent-Severn Waterway. This summer, there’s one more reason to get excited about the TSW: the Canada Strong Pass means lockage is free from June 19 to September 7, 2026. The Waterway is 386-kilometre National Historic Site of Canada made up of a series of lakes, rivers,