Cardiff is a community in the Municipality of Highlands East, Haliburton County, on Highway 118 between Bancroft and Haliburton. It takes its name from the Welsh city, and its history took a sharp turn in 1922 when uranium was discovered in the area. By the late 1950s, the Bicroft and Dyno mines had opened, turning Cardiff into a uranium-mining town until the mines shut in 1963. About 150 houses were built across the highway to house mine families; the mines are long closed, and today many of those homes belong to retirees.
The townsite entrance off Highway 118 is marked by a large metal dragonfly sculpture — you cannot miss it. For a small community, Cardiff keeps a solid set of amenities: an elementary school, a Royal Canadian Legion hall, churches, an outdoor pool, a post office, a library, and a skating rink that doubles as a basketball and floor-hockey court. Highlands East’s municipal offices are located here as well, which gives the community a bit of an anchor.
The surrounding township is lakes, forests, and trails, so year-round outdoor life is right outside the door — boating and fishing in summer, snowmobile and trail country in winter. Cardiff is an affordable, low-key place to land between two larger service towns, and property reflects that: former townsite homes, rural properties, and country acreages make up most of what comes to market. Much of the rural property runs on well and septic, so plan for inspections of both.
Nearby Wilberforce and Highland Grove are also in Highlands East, and both Bancroft and Haliburton are straightforward drives along Highway 118 for bigger grocery runs, health care, and building supplies. If a quiet, affordable community in the Haliburton highlands sounds like your speed, contact Wade Kovacic, Sales Representative with CENTURY 21 Granite Realty Group Inc., Brokerage, and he will help you see what is available in Cardiff and the surrounding township.
