Beyond Peterborough: Exploring the Surrounding Communities

When people picture life in our part of Ontario, they usually picture the city of Peterborough itself. The Lift Lock. The Saturday farmers’ market. Dinner downtown and a walk along the water – all of it worth loving!

But ask anyone who actually lives here where the magic is, and they will almost always point you outward, to the ring of villages, lake communities, and farm townships that circle the city.

After more than two decades selling homes across this region, we can tell you that the surrounding communities are where a huge part of the lifestyle lives. Each one has its own personality, its own price point, and its own reason people fall for it. Some are riverside villages with a main street you want to stroll. Others are quiet farm hamlets. And some are cottage-and-cabin lake communities where the whole point is the water.

So consider this your friendly tour of what lies beyond Peterborough. We have grouped the communities the way the townships actually organize them, so you can see how the smaller hamlets fit into the bigger picture. If Toronto and the GTA have started to feel too expensive, this is a region worth looking at closely.

Is it time for a change? Start by considering a move to Peterborough or one of its gorgeous surrounding communities. Downloading our relocation guide can help you plan your next steps!

Selwyn Township

When locals say “the lakes,” Selwyn Township is usually the area they mean. It was formed from the former townships of Smith, Ennismore, and Lakefield, and it hugs the water on almost every side. It is the closest blend of true lake living and an easy drive into the city, which is exactly why it stays in such high demand.

Lakefield

Lakefield is a postcard riverside village on the Otonabee River and Katchewanooka Lake. It pairs a walkable historic main street with a marina and a genuine small-town feel.

It is home to Lakefield College School, one of Canada’s well-known independent schools, and it carries real literary history as the longtime home of pioneer authors Catharine Parr Traill and Susanna Moodie.

On a personal note, Lakefield was also the beloved childhood home of our very own Katie Hadden. You can understand why this picturesque little village really is close to our hearts! For many buyers, this truly is the sweet spot, with waterfront character plus cafes, shops, and services right there.

Do you want to know even more about Kawartha Lakes and our other communities outside of Peterborough? Check out the posts below:

Bridgenorth

Bridgenorth sits on the shore of Chemong Lake and serves as the practical, everyday hub of the area. You get lake access, beaches, and a quick commute into Peterborough, which makes it popular with families who want the water without a long drive. The causeway here is the crossing point over to Ennismore.

Ennismore

Ennismore sits on a peninsula between Chemong and Buckhorn Lakes and wears its deep Irish roots proudly, right down to the shamrock. It is a mix of established homes, rural acreage, and waterfront, with a strong community feel and that classic Kawartha lake lifestyle. Just off Buckhorn Lake, Curve Lake First Nation is a cultural anchor of the area, home to the Whetung Ojibwa Centre and a rich tradition of Indigenous art, craft, and community events.

Douro-Dummer

East of the city, Douro-Dummer is farm-and-forest country, quieter and more rural, with rolling land and a strong heritage streak. If you want space, privacy, and a barn in your future, this is prime territory.

The headline attraction is the Warsaw Caves Conservation Area, a genuinely unique spot built around seven caves formed at the end of the last ice age. There are roughly 15 kilometres of trails, limestone plains, camping, and the Indian River winding through it all. The village of Warsaw itself is small and tight-knit, while nearby Douro carries a proud Irish Catholic heritage and some of the prettiest farmland in the county.

Cavan Monaghan

Southwest of the city, Cavan Monaghan is a landscape of rolling green hills, and it happens to be the closest launch point toward the 115 corridor, Toronto, and the GTA. That makes it a favourite with commuters who want country calm at the end of the workday.

Millbrook

Millbrook is regularly called one of Ontario’s prettiest villages, and it earns it. The heritage main street, the creek running through town, and the surrounding hills have made it a go-to filming location for movies and television.

It is also home to 4th Line Theatre, an outdoor theatre company that has been staging historical dramas on the Winslow family farm since 1992. Cavan and the surrounding hamlets like Fraserville and Mount Pleasant offer quieter rural living, larger lots, and quick access south, with Kawartha Downs, the area’s harness racing and gaming venue, as a longtime local landmark.

Otonabee-South Monaghan

Follow the Trent-Severn Waterway south of the city and you land in Otonabee-South Monaghan, a township defined by farmland, history, and the shores of Rice Lake. Keene punches well above its size. Just outside the village sits Lang Pioneer Village, a living-history museum on the Indian River with more than 30 restored 1800s buildings and costumed interpreters. Nearby, Elmhirst’s Resort and the Rice Lake shoreline draw anglers, boaters, and families all summer long.

Bailieboro

Bailieboro is a classic rural hamlet, surrounded by farmland and the kind of quiet that buyers move here for. Rice Lake itself is one of the region’s most approachable waterfront markets, a fishing and boating favourite where cottages and year-round homes tend to be more attainable than on the busier Kawartha lakes. The area is also home to Hiawatha First Nation and the ancient Serpent Mounds, a nearly 2,000-year-old effigy mound site that has been returned to the community as a place of heritage.

Norwood

Head east and the landscape starts to change. This is where the farmland begins giving way to lakes, rock, and forest, the true doorway to cottage country and the Kawartha Highlands.

Sitting in Asphodel-Norwood Township, Norwood is a picture of small-town Ontario. It is best known for the Norwood Fair, a Thanksgiving weekend tradition with more than 150 years of history and one of the oldest continuous fall fairs in the province. Just down the road, the village of Hastings offers a charming lock-town setting on the Trent River.

Havelock

Havelock is a former railway and mining town that became famous across the country as the home of the Havelock Country Jamboree, for 30 years one of Canada’s largest country music and camping festivals until it wrapped its final run. Today the town keeps its own rhythm with the winter Fire and Ice Festival, a seasonal Friday market, the dramatic Crowe River gorge at The Gut Conservation Area, Belmont Lake Brewery, and Canada’s Dinosaur Park.

More than anything, Havelock is the jumping-off point north into Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park, so it draws buyers who want space, water, and wilderness on their doorstep.

City of Kawartha Lakes

To the west, the City of Kawartha Lakes is technically its own single-tier municipality rather than a Peterborough County township, but it is so woven into our regional market and lifestyle that no local tour would be complete without it. It is a huge area stitched together by the Trent-Severn Waterway and an incredible number of lakes.

Lindsay is the commercial hub, the largest town in the area, with a full range of services, the historic Academy Theatre, and a walkable downtown.

Looking for a new forever home or the perfect vacation getaway? The posts below will point you in the right direction:

Bobcaygeon

Few small towns are as beloved as Bobcaygeon. It is home to Lock 32, the very first lock built on the Trent-Severn Waterway, and to the original Kawartha Dairy, whose ice cream has a nearly mythical following. It was also immortalized in The Tragically Hip’s song of the same name, which tells you something about the place it holds in Ontario’s heart.

Fenelon Falls

Fenelon Falls is known as the Jewel of the Kawarthas, built around its namesake waterfall and Lock 34, with a boutique main street perfect for a summer afternoon. And little Omemee holds a quiet claim to fame as the boyhood town of Neil Young. All around these towns you will find the cottage lakes: Sturgeon, Pigeon, Balsam, Cameron, and more.

Matching You With Your Ideal Home and Community

Here is the thing we have learned after all these years: every one of these communities carries a different feel, a different price point, a different commute, and a different waterfront profile. The right one for you depends entirely on the life you are trying to build.

A young family chasing space and a good school might land in Lakefield or Millbrook.
A retiree who wants a walkable village and morning coffee by the water might fall for Bobcaygeon.
A buyer hunting attainable waterfront might find it on Rice Lake before anywhere else.

That matching, person to place, is the part of this job we love most. We know these roads, these shorelines, and these markets because we live and work across all of them, not just in the city. So whether you already have your heart set on a specific village or you are still exploring the map, we are happy to be your guide.

Wondering which community beyond Peterborough is the right fit for your budget and lifestyle? Reach out to team@jeffandkatie.ca or call 705-243-9797 to start the conversation today.

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