General: Ontario (Canada) > Reviews > Bobcaygeon - and the Kawartha Lakes Area

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money
Shopping
Nightlife

Advantages:	small town based on tourism
Disadvantages:	hard to go home after you visit !  (how do you think I wound up here ! )

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

My Grandmother first traveled through Bobcaygeon with her cousins a little more than 45 years ago, fell in love with the area and bought a piece of property where she and my Grandfather built our cottage. At first, it was a vacation home but then, she told me, she just couldn't bear going back to the city anymore and moved up full time.

Through my lifetime, I have move around southern Ontario a lot. Every time, however, it seems I wind up back in Bobcaygeon. There seems to be a certain charm about it that draws me in. The people here are wonderful and friendly, and the area is full of breathtaking natural beauty.

Bobcaygeon is home to about 3,000 permanent residents and around 12,000 live in the surrounding area. We are a small community oriented town, in the heart of the City of Kawartha Lakes located just 200 kms North East of Ontario's capital of Toronto.

Since Bobcagyeon is only an hour and a half journey from Toronto, I find this location to be suitable for most people's needs - certainly my own since I find Toronto to be to crowded and busy for my tastes. You can't have everything in a small town, so having the city close by is very handy. If you don't feel like going to Toronto, Peterborough is closer and has an active nightlife.

The name Bobcaygeon come from the Algonquin language meaning "shallow rapids", describing the rivers surrounding our town. The Lock 32 was the first to be built on the Trent Severn Waterway. There are often crowds of people watching our swing bridge in motion, and I suggest that you take the by-pass during these times as traffic is often backed up for twenty minutes.

If you wish to see the highest Lock in the world, you can take a short trip to Peterborough not an hour away.

Boating is a very popular activity in our area since there are over 130 lakes in our area! Not everybody can bring their boat with them so there are many places to rent a boat or to even rent a houseboat. The houseboat, in my opinion, is the best deal. You can rent one from Happy Days Houseboats that sleeps ten people and is equipped with everything you need for about $950 - $1400 CDN for a week. Considering this will be your accommodations as well as your entertainment (fishing, swimming, seeing the sites) a lot of people choose to rent a houseboat.

Our residences are avid golfers. Our local golf course is called Eganridge and it is a semi-private establishment, meaning you have to call ahead for a tee-off time, and they favor members when booking. Eganridge also has it’s own Inn with either rooms or cottages to rent from $250 - $500 Canadian per night. They also have unique package deals where different adventures are included such as a private one-hour plane ride over the Kawartha lakes area.

Our public parks are well kept and contain a baseball diamond, a soccer field, tennis courts, a basketball park and a skateboard park. During the summer, there is a popular Fun-Ball league every Friday night that only costs a small donation of $5.00 to pay for the electricity to keep the lights on. We also have an active curling club in the winter, and a lawn bowling club during the summer. The indoor heated swimming pool is a cheap way to spend a rainy day. It is a clean building with friendly staff, and also has some work out equipment but isn’t fully furnished.

The snowmobile trails are well maintained and it is a great way to experience nature. On one such a trial, it winds up a very tall hill. At the very top is a clearing where you can look out over the entire area. It is wonderfully beautiful, and is a must-have experience that I suggest to every visitor. If you look around closely on top of Tie’s Mountain (it’s just a local name, not a mountain) you can spot signs of a fox den. If you sit still enough for awhile far enough away from her den, she will usually come by.

We are home to Ontario's oldest fall fair held in September, and we hold a Spring Social in the spring. I haven't been to the Spring Social, but the fall fair is something I look forward to every year. It has the traditional carnival rides, as well as many livestock shows. They have the BEST candied apples, and many fresh baked goods and quality hand made crafts. The fiddle and step competition is held in the summer, and you can hear the music throughout the town!

There are several shops on our main street to browse through, and just around the corner beside the library is a museum all about Bobcaygeon and the area. After a busy day of shopping and site-seeing, many of our tourist friends head down to Lock 32 Pub and Restaurant for a hot home-cooked meal and friendly service. You'll fall in love with our town as soon as you set foot in Bobcaygeon. We aren't one of Canada's fastest growing small towns for nothing!

(for more information, or to find a place to stay during your visit, a helpful site is www.bobcaygeon.org)