Frontenac County: Trails, Water and Heritage

The 90-kilometre Frontenac K&P Trail follows the historic corridor of the Kingston & Pembroke Railway. The area also has interconnected hiking trails, canoe routes, protected shorelines and evidence of Indigenous history. To plan your visit, it helps to first decide which experiences you’re looking for: a route for cycling or hiking, a canoe trip, birdwatching or access to viewpoints? The options differ not only by activity, but also by their explicitly stated access conditions.

Exploring the K&P Trail

The Frontenac section of the K&P Trail runs through South Frontenac, Central Frontenac and North Frontenac. Access points in Harrowsmith, Verona, Godfrey and Sharbot Lake give you specific places to use as reference points. The trail is suitable for cycling, walking, hiking and horseback riding. ATV use requires a permit; snowmobiling is another stated use in winter. Check permits and seasonal conditions before planning your route. This lets you make your activity and the right access point the focus of your day’s plans, without treating different uses as interchangeable.

Hiking and canoe routes in Frontenac Provincial Park

Frontenac Provincial Park has more than 100 kilometres of hiking and backpacking trails in interconnected loops. This offers several ways to tailor your hiking plans to the available routes. Paddlers also have numerous canoe routes to choose from. Launch points on 22 lakes and portages are part of this offering; confirm route plans and reservations before your trip. The park’s range of activities also includes snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, hiking and wildlife viewing. Snow and trail conditions vary. The park is home to one of Ontario’s largest populations of Cerulean Warblers, making it an interesting destination for nature observation as well.

Bon Echo: Paddling, views and pictographs

At Bon Echo Provincial Park, the Kishkebus Canoe Route offers a distinct experience: the 21-kilometre loop takes paddlers past Indigenous pictographs. The Cliff Top Trail, by contrast, is a 1.5-kilometre trail accessible only by water. It leads to three viewing terraces overlooking the lake. These details help distinguish the two experiences by activity and access: the Kishkebus Route is a canoe loop, while the Cliff Top Trail requires access by water. Mazinaw Rock is 100 metres high and bears more than 260 Indigenous pictographs. The paddling route, viewpoints and cultural heritage each highlight a different aspect of the park.

Shorelines and nature observation

Big Sandy Bay Beach is located in the protected Big Sandy Bay Conservation Area. Rare dune and wetland ecosystems support a diverse range of plant and bird life there. A hiking trail passes through forests and wetlands to the bay; at Big Sandy Bay Beach, you can swim, birdwatch and hike. Confirm access and seasonal use conditions before visiting. Meisel Woods Conservation Area offers a different landscape: the 130-acre wooded area lies on the Canadian Shield and surrounds a spring-fed lake known as Beaver Lake or Bass Lake. The specific features set these two natural destinations apart, so you don’t need to treat them as the same kind of outing.

Heritage and getting around

The Rideau Canal National Historic Site and UNESCO World Heritage Site run through the southeastern part of South Frontenac Township. At the broader Ontario destination level, the Rideau Canal is one of Canada’s 20 World Heritage Sites and one of two such sites in Ontario. The Wolfe Island Ferry operates year-round between the village of Marysville on Wolfe Island and the foot of Queen Street in Kingston. Check the current schedule and fares before travelling. Then take the stated access and use conditions into account as you plan your outings.

Discover more destinations

Wolfe Island, Kingston, Sydenham, Sharbot Lake, Mountain Grove, Cloyne, Battersea, Kenora District

For the broader travel overview: Ontario.