Haliburton: Discover Nature, Art and History

If you’re looking for a hotel in Haliburton, considering your interests can help you choose a destination: Would you like to spend time by the lake, see art outdoors or learn about the area’s history? In the village of Haliburton, Head Lake Park sits on the shores of Head Lake. Near the village are the Haliburton Sculpture Forest and the Haliburton Highlands Museum in Glebe Park. These places offer different ways to experience a stay, from a waterside picnic to sculptures and historic buildings.

Shoreline and picnics at Head Lake Park

Head Lake Park is in the village of Haliburton, right on the shores of Head Lake. It offers a scenic setting for a family picnic. This gives the park a different focus from the attractions in Glebe Park: Head Lake is all about its waterfront location and picnicking, while Glebe Park brings together woodland, trails, art and local history. If you’d like to get to know Haliburton, you can see these as different facets of the area without combining them into a single itinerary.

Woodland and trails in Glebe Park

Glebe Park encompasses 175 acres of woodland and gently rolling terrain. Its trail network is suitable for walking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. These activities range from a walk to cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. The Haliburton Sculpture Forest is also located in the same park, near the village. Walking and cycling on its trails are described as activities for spring, summer and fall. When planning, you can distinguish this explicitly stated seasonal period from the activities listed for the Glebe Park trail network.

Outdoor sculptures

The Haliburton Sculpture Forest is an outdoor collection of sculptures by Canadian and international artists. Combining an art collection with an outdoor setting makes it a destination in its own right, alongside the trails and woodland of Glebe Park. The Sculpture Forest trails are suitable for walks and bike rides in spring, summer and fall. Free guided tours are also offered on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. in July and August. This is a seasonal offering; since tour details may change, it’s advisable to check the dates before planning. This lets you distinguish a guided visit from a stay where you’d prefer to explore the trails on foot or by bike.

Historic buildings and the Haliburton Highlands Museum

The Haliburton Highlands Museum is in Glebe Park, on the edge of Haliburton Village. The museum includes several 19th-century buildings that were relocated there from different places in the surrounding area. One of them is Reid House, built in 1882. The historic farm buildings illustrate what life may have been like for the area’s first generation of European settlers. This possible way of life offers a different perspective on local history from looking at individual dated buildings: the farm buildings illustrate a historical way of life, while the construction date of Reid House makes it a specific example from the 19th century.

When deciding whether Haliburton suits your travel plans, you’ll find several distinct themes: the waterfront park at Head Lake, the trails and woodland in Glebe Park, the outdoor sculpture collection, and the museum’s interpretation of local history. The explicit seasonal information about the Sculpture Forest trails and guided tours can help you distinguish these offerings when planning.

Discover more destinations: Carnarvon, Tory Hill, Highland Grove, Cardiff, Oxtongue Lake, Minden, Harcourt.

See the main travel guide: Haliburton County.