Haliburton is a county of lakes, rivers and wilderness, golf courses, resorts, lodges, restaurants, hiking trails, fishing, boating, snowmobiling and cross country skiing. It is the home of Dorset, Haliburton and Minden and is located just two hours and 200 kilometres northeast of Toronto.
We will also visit Bancroft, which sits close by in neighbouring Hastings County.
Lakes
“We have over 600 lakes in Haliburton County and they range in every size,” says Terry Carr of Re/Max.
“Our largest lakes are at the top of the county,” adds Peter Brady of Re/Max. “Smaller than the lakes in Muskoka, we don’t generally get the big water and the big waves. We have a lot of canoeing and kayaking. Lakes in the middle and southern parts of the county have rock combined with sand beaches.”
“Most of the 600 lakes in Haliburton County are deep glacial lakes – very different from the Kawarthas,” explains Denise LeBlanc of Re/Max. “Some are spring fed, while others are controlled by a series of dams. We’re considered feeder lakes for the Trent system.”
“Haliburton is clean and affordable,” says Brady. “The lakes are pristine and not overcrowded with an undeveloped appearance – partly because the homes are set well back from the water without boathouses visually polluting the shoreline.”
“Kawagama Lake is the largest lake in Haliburton and the fifth largest compared to Lake of Bays, Rosseau, Joseph and Muskoka,” states Mike Baum of Century 21. “It’s cleaner than the big four because it receives water from Algonquin park.”
“Kawagama and Kushog/Boshkung lakes, on the Highway 35 corridor, are great for fishing, windsurfing, canoeing and water skiing,” adds Ellen Wiley of Coldwell Banker. “The smaller lakes are quieter and the property is often lower in price.”
She continues, “Kawagama is a very flexible lake in that it’s still big-boating and great for sailing, plus it’s the best lake in the area for fishing – lake trout and bass. It has several marked portage routes right into
Algonquin park. For the size of lake it’s still very quiet. One third of its shoreline is Crown land dispersed throughout the lake.”

Crown Land
“A large percentage of the land in Haliburton County is Crown land as opposed to Muskoka where close to 90 per cent is privately owned,” states Baum.
“Crown land does a few things,” adds Wiley. “It keeps the population down on the lakes, which then leads to more nature, outdoors and places to explore.”

Health care
The towns of Haliburton, Minden and Bancroft each provide quality medical care and a full service hospital.
“The amazing thing about the development of the hospitals in Haliburton and Minden,” states Brady, “is that because the provincial and federal governments provided only part of the money, our small communities raised the rest through events including dinners, golf tournaments and silent auctions and they have just exceeded their goal!”

The arts
“Sir Sandford Fleming College opened a branch in Haliburton modeled after the Banff Centre for the Arts,” says Brady.
In the summer months, when the regular college curriculum is not being run, it turns into a school for the arts.
“Instructors come from all over the world to give and take courses in everything from creative writing and how to be a business writer, to blacksmithing and stone carving,” he adds.

Mike Baum Century 21		Terry Carr Re/Max
Jackalin O’Brien Re/Max		Maxine Reid Century 21

Dorset
The border dividing the District of Muskoka and the County of Haliburton Highlands is the main street of Dorset. One side of the street is in Muskoka and the other side is in Haliburton.
“Northern Haliburton is desirable due to the rolling hills and the clean watershed that flows from Algonquin park,” states Baum. “The forest is mixed – a cross section between deciduous and coniferous trees.”
“Located on the north/west boundary of Haliburton county, Dorset attracts cottagers in the summer for the lakes, in the fall for Mother Nature’s display of orange, reds and yellows, and in the winter for spectacular snowmobile trails,” says Maxine Reid of Century 21.
“This corner of Haliburton backs onto Algonquin park to the east, which covers 7,630 square kilometres of more forest, lakes and rivers.”
She continues, “We’re the home of the famous Robinson’s General Store where you can purchase anything from groceries, to clothing, paint, hardware items, gifts, toys and greeting cards.”
Reid adds, “Our village has two churches, a post office, restaurants, a museum, library, community centre with squash courts and a fitness centre . . . a liquor store and more.
“Just down Highway 35,” she continues, “you’ll find the Leslie Frost Centre which we’re glad to say is once again operating this summer.”
This centre, on 40 acres of land, has a rich history, runs a summer camp for children and expects thousands of conference guests each year.

Haliburton
“The town of Haliburton, surrounded by rolling hills and hard Canadian Shield rock, is built on Head Lake, part of a five-chain lake,” states Brady.
A series of parks along the waterfront provides walking paths, a playground and public beach. Local marinas rent boats, canoes and water-skiing equipment. Rotary Park offers public tennis courts.
“We’re a healthy community with programs in place for cyclists, walkers and hikers,” says Carr. “We’re big in snowmobiling, ATVing and skiing, both down hill and cross country.”
Nearby Sir Sam’s Ski Resort is famous for downhill skiing.
“We are really lucky,” continues Carr. “The atmosphere is very much a community-care system. Everyone knows everyone and we look after each other. We have very low crime.”
The area hosts high school provincial track and field championships, cross country skiing championships, major hockey tournaments, wakeboarding events, curling bonspiels, fishing tournaments, snowmobile races, hockey camps staffed by NHL players, live theatre and much more.
“We have great boutiques and shopping plus active service clubs organizing carnivals and special events throughout the year,” adds Carr.

Minden
“Minden and Haliburton are right on the edge of exploding like Huntsville and Bracebridge,” suggests Denise LeBlanc of Re/Max. “People are leaving the cities and coming to retire here.
“There are approximately 1,800 people in the village of Minden. We have everything from grocery stores, a hardware store, Tim Horton’s and the new hospital that our village raised six million dollars to build,” she adds.
“Some people visit for the day. They go to Rotary Park with tubes and canoes and float down the river all the way to the lake.”
LeBlanc continues, “We have a public school in Minden. The high school students and those interested in the French immersion program are bused to the town of Haliburton.
“We have curling, badminton, baseball and both ladies’ and men’s hockey teams.”
Bancroft
Bancroft sits in North Hastings County in the rolling Madawaska Highlands. The mineral capital of Canada, with more than 1,600 species of minerals, Bancroft sports the annual Rockhound Gemboree, which attracts thousands of rock hounds and geologists.
In June 2004, Bancroft was the first place winner in TV Ontario’s Studio 2, Most Talented Town contest.
“It has been said that our area is the next Muskoka,” states Jackalin O’Brien of Re/Max. “While real estate prices are still lower they are starting to rise.
“Bancroft, halfway between Toronto and Ottawa, has a No Frills, Price Chopper, Canadian Tire, Tim Hortons and a new hospital.”
She continues, “People are purchasing cottages, turning them into year round homes and retiring here.
“We have the Eagle’s Nest, a huge outcropping. It’s a park and you can drive to the top and have an amazing view of the town.
“We have a huge arts community, summer theatre and two golf courses in the area with others just a short drive,” O’Brien says. “Our snowmobile club is renowned for their trails. We also have the heritage trails that were created from the old railway bed for walking, ATVing, snowmobiles etcetera. You can go for miles.”

Peter Brady Re/Max		Ellen Wiley Coldwell Banker
Bev Wood Coldwell Banker		Denise LeBlanc Re/Max

Ready to buy
“One of the first things buyers need to determine is the area they want to be in,” states Wiley. “The deciding criteria could be driving distance or what they’re expecting to do while they’re at their cottage.
“Is a year-round road required? A seasonal road means it’s not plowed in the winter, nor is it possible, and therefore you have to go by snowmobile or cross-country ski, to reach the property.”
She adds, “The smaller lakes are beautiful in that you still have the nature of the loons. However, they mainly have seasonal road or water access with few exceptions.”
Beverly Wood of Coldwell Banker says, “The Muskoka/Haliburton area is diverse with rock, trees, rivers, lakes and even open fields and draws people simply because of its sheer beauty.
“Those looking for cottages and homes often have plans to retire in the near future,” she continues. “Many buyers hunt for either a property with a small existing cottage they can remove and build a new home later, once they’re able to live here on a full time basis, or they look for vacant land. I believe they’re hoping to buy now in the event prices are much higher over the next five to 10 years when they’re ready to make the move out of the city.
“Not everyone needs or wishes to be on the water,” Wood suggests. “But they like to be close enough to walk to a river or lake to swim, boat or canoe. People love our small villages with a friendly atmosphere, but they also love the convenience of being close to shopping, restaurants and entertainment.”

Directions
“If you’re traveling from Bracebridge to Minden, or the town of Haliburton, then scoot across Highway 118,” Baum says. “Those who live east of the GTA, should come up Highway 35, which is also an excellent option for those traveling to other parts of cottage country on extremely busy days.”
An extra half hour with amazing scenery beats an extra two hours on a packed Highway 400.
Bancroft is three hours west of Ottawa and one hour north of Belleville. Travel Highway 28 from Peterborough or Highway 62 from Belleville.
“Most people know that Muskoka is just two hours from the GTA and Collingwood is about two hours away,” says Carr. “We want them to know that we’re the same timeline – just a different highway. We are easy to find.”

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