Kawartha Highlands, ON
This was the first stop on our road trip with our friend Kym from N. Ireland.
The Trace at Oak Lake was a perfect place to stay in the Kawarthas, consisting of many cabins, complete with full kitchens – the largest one even has a jacuzzi bath tub. We believe our cabin, Eagle’s Ridge (cabin 2), had the best views of the lake! There was a ton of things to do at the resort, and we made sure to have some time to enjoy it. This included a games area, with both indoor and outdoor options, a record player, outdoor gym and putting station. Being situated right on the lake, there were kayaks and canoes available to use. Rita had a go at stand-up-paddleboarding. And for some relaxation after our outdoor pursuits, there was a cedar sauna and cold plunge, followed by marshmallow toasting at our own campfire.
What I really liked about the resort was its relaxed, trusting manner. Dogs are allowed off-leash, provided you are respectful of others, the water equipment is use-as-you-please, and the shop is operated on an honours system.
Nearby Silent Lake Provincial Park has opportunities for boating, biking and hiking. We started with Bonnie’s Pond Trail, chosen as my own horse is called Bonnie. Upon reaching the trailhead, I learned that the pond was in fact named after a Clydesdale who fell through ice into the pond whilst pulling logs. This was an undulating trail with views of Silent Lake. We then drove back to the entrance gate parking lot and walked the Lakehead Loop Trail and part of the Lakeshore Trail to see Silent Lake up close.
Established in 2011, Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park is one of the youngest of the Ontario parks and the second largest after Algonquin. It’s mostly for canoe and water enthusiasts, but there are several hiking trails. We drove to the Loon Call Lake access point to take the wooded Legacy Trail. This was just 3.3km long but full of “discovery points” with QR codes to scan, leading to information about each spot. At the trailhead, Rita had a dip in the lake.
The village of Havelock is a 20-minute drive from The Trace, and we enjoyed dinner at Station Restaurant, a repurposed railway station. There are a lot of burgers and fried food on offer, as well as a pizza station. The waitress brought Rita a bowl of water. I really enjoyed the Greek-style roasted potatoes.
Petroglyphs Provincial Park is more than just a hiking spot, “it’s the largest known concentration of indigenous rock carvings (petroglyphs) in Canada, depicting turtles, snakes, birds, humans and more; this sacred site is known as The Teaching Rocks” [ON Parks site]. Dogs aren’t allowed in the designated national historic glyphs site, but Kym and I took turns to look after Rita while we each went to view it. The viewing platform is built around the old rock, carved with images of people and animals, each symbolising various facets of indigenous life and beliefs. Information signs tell of the stories of thunderbird, believed to create thunderstorms and wind, and the woman with her reproductive system clearly displayed. Not all of them are visible to the naked eye, and the park holds bi-monthly evening viewing sessions under a special angled light to show you more.
Photography was not permitted, so here's a photo of the Teaching Rocks I found online (Source)
We took the Nanabush Trail, named after a mythical “brother”, with rabbit-like ears, who had spiritual shape-shifting powers and played tricks on humans. His carving can be seen on the Teaching Rock. This trail took us across marshland, through woods, and alongside Minnow Lake. One of the boardwalks was undergoing restoration during our visit so we had to treat it as an out-and-back rather than a loop, but usually it’s 5.5km long.
We then travelled West to Bobcaygeon and to Kawartha Settlers’ Village. This living history museum features reconstructed and replica structures from the 1850-1930s. Dogs are welcome and Rita enjoyed visiting the carriage house, schoolhouse, and even the jail! I found the honey house particularly interesting, as there are live honeybees on display, going about their jobs. There are several dog-friendly patios in the village, such as the Bobcaygeon Inn, but we narrowly escaped a thunderstorm and went back to our cabin to eat instead.
We visited a couple more provincial parks on our drive out of the highlands, towards Peterborough. The first was Ferris, which has a new fenced off-leash area beside the parking lot. We let Rita have a short play there, but all three of us were keen to get to the trails. We took the 3.5km River Gorge Trail, an easy trek through the woodland interspersed with interesting features. We got a good view of the Ranney Falls, and walked across the Ranney Gorge Suspension Bridge. Further along is the “sheepwash”where, circa 1900, the Ferris family farm’s caretaker brought the sheep to clean them off prior to shearing. The park is most known for the network of stone walls which criss-cross the landscape. The dry stone wall technique was brought from Scotland in the late 19th century by a caretaker on the farm and the walls are currently undergoing restoration.
The Drumlin Trail System, of which we completed the blue trail, wanders through forest on the drumlins, hills created thousands of years ago by glaciers. The Ferris family’s farm buildings once stood in this area.
Near to Ferris Park is this Giant Toonie
Mark S. Burham is a small park on the edge of the city, preserved for its collection of maple, beech, elm and hemlock trees, which are among the oldest in Ontario. It sits within more of the drumlins. This was a short walk, but we did enjoy marvelling at the age of some of the trees.
