North Kawartha is a township in northern Peterborough County that reads like cottage country at its most classic. It came together in 1998 when the Townships of Burleigh-Anstruther and Chandos were amalgamated (the combined township was briefly called Burleigh-Anstruther-Chandos). Apsley is the main village and the municipal centre, with smaller communities — Big Cedar, Burleigh Falls, Glen Alda, Woodview, Stoneyridge — scattered around it. Burleigh Falls sits at the southern gateway into the township.
Lakes define this place. Chandos Lake, Jack Lake, Anstruther Lake, and Eels Lake are the headline waters, and dozens of smaller lakes fill the gaps between them. Recreation runs year-round: boating and fishing in summer, and the woods and frozen lakes in winter. Two significant protected areas sit on the township’s doorstep — the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site and Petroglyphs Provincial Park, home to the largest known collection of Indigenous rock carvings in Canada.
Getting around is straightforward. Highway 28 is the main corridor through the area, running north to Bancroft and south to Peterborough, and the township sits under two hours from the Greater Toronto Area.
What should a buyer expect on the property side? The mix is what you’d guess for this part of Ontario: lakefront cottages and waterfront lots, village homes in Apsley, and rural acreages set back in the bush. The community is still largely seasonal, but more people are living here year-round every year. Rural lots in this part of the county typically rely on well and septic rather than municipal services, so it’s worth confirming water quality and system age before you firm up an offer.
If North Kawartha is on your shortlist, it’s worth walking a few properties in different seasons before you decide. Wade Kovacic, Sales Representative with CENTURY 21 Granite Realty Group Inc., Brokerage, knows this cottage country and can help you sort out what fits — seasonal or year-round, on the water or on acreage. Get in touch to talk through what’s on the market.
