8 Best Day Trips from a Kawarthas Cottage (Peterborough, Rice Lake & Beyond)

The Rice Lake area has a strong range of day trip options within easy driving distance. From Keene — where Mildred’s Lakefront Resort Cottage at Bellmere Winds sits — you’re within 45 minutes of history, nature, and genuinely unusual attractions. These are the best peterborough day trips kawarthas options for groups that want to mix exploring with cottage time.

1. Peterborough Downtown — 20 Minutes

Peterborough is a legitimate destination. The Peterborough Lift Lock — the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world, operating since 1904 — is worth visiting. Good restaurants, a Saturday farmers market, independent shops, and boat tours on the Trent Canal in season. The most reliable peterborough day trips kawarthas option on this list regardless of weather or group composition.

2. Warsaw Caves Conservation Area — 15 Minutes

Dolostone cave formations — narrow passages and interesting geology that kids and adults both find worth doing. There’s also a swimming hole fed by the Indian River: cold, clear, and a nice contrast to a lake swim. Bring actual shoes, not flip-flops. Usually uncrowded even in peak season.

3. Lang Pioneer Village — 10 Minutes

A living history site with around 25 heritage buildings from 19th-century Ontario, staffed by interpreters doing actual period work: blacksmithing, printing, milling. The working grist mill has been on the Indian River for 175 years. Kids in the 6-14 range tend to get pulled in more than expected.

4. Indian River Reptile Zoo — 10 Minutes

One of the largest reptile and amphibian collections in North America — over 200 species. Looks low-key from outside, well-run inside. Good for families, surprisingly good for skeptical adults. Give it two hours. A solid rainy-day option close enough not to eat the whole day.

5. Rice Lake Loop by Boat

If someone in your group has a boat or can rent one, spending a day exploring Rice Lake itself is one of the better options here. About 25 kilometers long — a real day’s activity with islands to anchor near. If you’re at Mildred’s, you’re already launching from a private dock.

6. Hastings and the Trent-Severn Waterway — 30 Minutes East

Head east on County Road 2 to Hastings, where the Trent River meets Rice Lake. Lock 18 on the Trent-Severn is there — watching boats work through a lock is more interesting than it sounds. A few decent restaurants and a relaxed main street. Good for a slow half-day drive with lunch at the end.

7. Petroglyphs Provincial Park — 45 Minutes North

The largest concentration of Indigenous rock carvings in Canada — over 900 images carved into white crystalline marble by the Anishinaabe people. A UNESCO World Heritage Site. Climate-controlled building with good interpretive materials. The surrounding park has trails and a lake for swimming. A different kind of experience that tends to stick with people after the trip.

8. Downtown Cobourg — 45 Minutes South

A Lake Ontario town that punches above its weight. One of the best freshwater beaches in Ontario — wide, sandy, properly maintained. Good restaurants, a heritage town hall, and a working pier. Good when people want a beach that isn’t the cottage lake.

Using Mildred’s as Your Base

All eight of these work well from Mildred’s Lakefront Resort Cottage in Keene — on Rice Lake, cottage for 6, Bellmere Winds resort amenities at the end of the day. Check availability at resortcottagesontario.ca/book/.

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