A Trip Around the Lake with Lovesick Kayaking

Aerial view of kayakers paddling around a rocky island

A Trip Around the Lake with Lovesick Kayaking After just a short time on the water it’s clear Stony Lake lives up to the name. Pines lean dramatically from rocky islands as we glide past in our kayaks, en route to a high bluff overlooking scenic Burleigh Falls. Alex Grant, owner and lead guide of … Read more

Catching the Season Finale: Fall Fishing with Bobby Belmonte

A man holds a largemouth bass towards the camera

Look out across any Kawarthas Northumberland lake this fall, and you may see the silhouette of an angler or two in the distance. It’s not just a visually appealing time of year—the seasonal shift makes a real difference to fish, and to the people trying to catch them. We asked Bobby Belmonte, the owner-operator of 2B Fishing Guiding Service, how his approach changes when the leaves start to turn.

Fall Ales and Trails

A bed of yellow fall leaves in a park

Every beer drinker knows a brew tastes better when you’ve earned it. Preferences also change by season—a crisp lager is never better than in the high heat of summer, and cooler weather makes a rich flavour like porter especially appealing. These fundamentals combine beautifully in Kawarthas Northumberland, where an abundance of hiking trails meets a range of craft breweries. If you’d like to work up a thirst on a trail or bring home a sampler after exploring the region, here are some recommended pairings.

7 Trails to Try this Fall in Kawarthas Northumberland

Cycling Doube's Trestle Bridge on the Kawartha Trans Canada Trail

Hiking is great year round, and depending on who you ask the biking season runs pretty late too. Some spots, though, beg to be visited in the fall when the leaves are at their peak. If no bugs, cool weather, and beautiful landscapes sounds like a winning combination, here are seven Kawarthas Northumberland trails to try before the leaves come down.

Paddle the Trent-Severn Waterway: Big Island, Pigeon Lake

Canoeist paddles along the Trent-Severn Waterway

One of the uncanniest sensations that canoeing creates in the mind of the paddler is the sense of being so close and yet feeling so far away. Something happens when you feel your weight transferred from the land to the water that tells your whole body and mind that you’ve entered a new realm at that in-between or liminal layer that’s neither air, water nor land. The rules are different here.

The song your paddle sings, whether it’s the rhythmic splash of the bow’s forward stroke, or the ripples and eddies of the stern paddle’s underwater return, helps guide the inveterate paddler to a mysterious realization. Even though you’ve left your dwelling and driven a ways to the put in, somehow, on the water, you’ve arrived – you are home.