Haliburton Highlands

Haliburton Highlands, also known as Haliburton County, is a municipality of about 21,000 people (2021) in Central Ontario. It offers more than 600 pristine lakes, and thousands of hectares of virgin forest and wilderness on one of the highest parts of the Canadian Shield. The county includes Algonquin Provincial Park's "panhandle" in its north east corner.

Understand
The Highlands are only a few hours from centres such as Ottawa, Toronto, and Barrie, yet the area has preserved its natural and wild setting. Nestled between the increasingly developed and expensive Muskoka Region and the unspoilt and vast Algonquin Provincial Park, the Haliburton Highlands are a great place for a relaxed, cultured, and beautiful vacation amongst the peaks and lakes.

As a large rural county, Haliburton is made up of a number of smaller towns and communities. Place names, directions, and everyday conversations with locals may refer to the old townships, villages, lakes or rivers:
 * The village of is the primary community in the United Townships of Dysart et al, on Head Lake and the Drag River. Note that Haliburton Lake is some distance away, near the tiny community of Fort Irwin. The town is roughly in the center of the county, on Highway 118.
 * The town of is in the township of Minden Hills, on the Gull River and Highway 35. It is also known for being the county seat for the entire Haliburton County. Visitors will pass Minden arriving from the Kawarthas.
 * The community of is on the eastern edge of the county, in Highlands East. A group of towns and hamlets around Cardiff call themselves the Geocaching Capital of Canada. Visitors will pass through Cardiff on Highway 118, arriving from Bancroft.
 * At the County's far north west corner is cut off from the provincial highways in the rest of the county. Instead, it's on Highway 60 which connects Huntsville with Algonquin Park. It's the last settlement on the highway before entering Algonquin Park, but it's mostly known as a hub for cottage rentals.

Its economy is dominated by tourism. The ratio of properties occupied in the summer months to properties occupied year-round is about 3 to 1. Employment primarily caters to the needs of this seasonal cottage country population, including residential construction, resorts, services and retail.

It was named after Thomas Chandler Haliburton, author, statesman, and the first chairman of the Canadian Land and Emigration Company.

Visitor information

 * Haliburton Highlands Tourism
 * Destination Ontario: Haliburton Highlands

By car
Most people enter Haliburton by car. While Haliburton residents have refined countless personal routes into the County, most visitors stick to the main highways. However, traffic congestion on weekends from May to August can try anyone's patience, and visitors should "be inventive" when planning their trip.


 * From the south: Provincial Highways 35 from Toronto and 28 from Peterborough are the two main arteries from Southern Ontario
 * From the west: Provincial Highway 118 from Bracebridge
 * From the north: Algonquin Park's southern boundary obstructs direct road access from the north, and most visitors entering the County from this direction take the eastern or western routes.
 * From the east: Provincial Highway 28 is the most common route from Ottawa and Eastern Ontario

By plane

 * The Haliburton Highlands have more than 600 freshwater lakes, many of which are suitable for pontoon plane landings and take-offs
 * There is also the centrally located Haliburton/Stanhope Municipal Airport for general aviation; there are no scheduled services.

Get around


At its widest and tallest, Haliburton County is about by 70 km, and the distance from Cardiff in the south east to Oxtongue Lake in the north west is about. Having access to a car lets you experience the variety of wilderness that the county is known for.

Although the highways are only two-lanes wide (one in each direction) and twisty due to the rocky, swampy landscape, navigating the county is fairly simple if you know the few key routes. Highway 35 runs generally north-south, entering the county in the south near Kinmount, passing through Minden Village, Carnarvon, St. Nora Lake, and Dorset, before leaving the county in the north, toward Dwight and Highway 60. Highway 118 runs generally east-west, entering the county in the east at Paudash, near Bancroft. It passes through Cardiff, Haliburton, Stanhope, Carnarvon, and Big East Lake, continuing west out of the county to Bracebridge.

Highway 60 passes through the county from Dwight to the west gate of Algonquin Park, serving Oxtongue Lake along the way. County Road 21 links the villages of Minden and Haliburton.

If you've arrived without a car, taxi services are available in Minden and Haliburton Villages. Car rental is available only in Haliburton.

By ATV or snowmobile (with the appropriate permit, as conditions allow), the Haliburton Rail Trail can take you about from Kinmount to Haliburton. Sturdy bicycles can also use the rail trail, as well as a network of other roadways, gravel pathways or service roads, but riders should be aware of rough surfaces, steep hills, and highway traffic.

See

 * Scenic look-outs and vistas on top of rocky cliffs and hills provides views of surrounding peaks and lakes. The views are especially spectacular in fall, as leaves turn to bright red and orange.
 * Several waterfalls are easy to access:
 * The mysterious Harburn Wells, deep shafts in the Canadian shield developed during the last ice age.
 * Scenic look-outs and vistas on top of rocky cliffs and hills provides views of surrounding peaks and lakes. The views are especially spectacular in fall, as leaves turn to bright red and orange.
 * Several waterfalls are easy to access:
 * The mysterious Harburn Wells, deep shafts in the Canadian shield developed during the last ice age.
 * Several waterfalls are easy to access:
 * The mysterious Harburn Wells, deep shafts in the Canadian shield developed during the last ice age.
 * Several waterfalls are easy to access:
 * The mysterious Harburn Wells, deep shafts in the Canadian shield developed during the last ice age.
 * Several waterfalls are easy to access:
 * The mysterious Harburn Wells, deep shafts in the Canadian shield developed during the last ice age.
 * The mysterious Harburn Wells, deep shafts in the Canadian shield developed during the last ice age.
 * The mysterious Harburn Wells, deep shafts in the Canadian shield developed during the last ice age.

Do



 * : 13 km of classic & skate trails. 1.5-km lit loop for night skiing. intermediate to difficult. In the Village of Haliburton on Fleming College Drive.
 * : 13 km of classic & skate trails – easy to intermediate through picturesque forest terrain – large warming hut – on County Road #14 on the way to Eagle Lake.
 * 5 km of classic & skate trails – easy to intermediate – dog friendly. 4.25 km of snowshoe trails. 12 Mile Lake Road at Taylor Lake Rd off of Hwy #35, 5 km south of Carnarvon, 5 km north of Minden.
 * YMCA Camp Wanakita: 16 km of intermediate, classic-only skiing.
 * YMCA Camp Wanakita: 16 km of intermediate, classic-only skiing.

Drink




Sleep
Many cottages, cabins, and small resorts are found throughout the county; some are right along the Highway 35 and 118 corridors, others are tucked further away from the beaten path on quiet old roads, closer to a lake or river. Oxtongue Lake is a popular spot for cottages, close to Highway 35, Algonquin Park, and towns in Muskoka. There are also a few small hotels/motels in the towns of Minden and Haliburton, for visitors who prefer having a few 'main street' amenities in walking distance.

Connect
The Haliburton County Public Library provides free public Wi-Fi and computer access at 7 branches, including in Cardiff, Haliburton village, Minden, and Stanhope. Wi-Fi signal is typically available outside the buildings after hours.

Go next

 * Kawarthas - A cottage country region that includes several towns along the Trent-Severn Waterway, including Peterborough, Bobcaygeon, and Fenelon Falls.
 * Muskoka - Known as a somewhat busier cottage destination. Huntsville is in the north part of the region, west of Oxtongue Lake. Bracebridge is at the end Highway 118 further south, with waterfalls and a unique popular theme park. Lake of Bays is a community centered around one of Muskoka's larger lakes, near Dorset.
 * Bancroft - the "mineral capital of Canada", east of Cardiff in the Ottawa Valley