Quinte-Northumberland

Quinte-Northumberland is a region in Eastern Ontario which extends from Cobourg eastward into the Bay of Quinte region. The bay is east of Trenton, where it separates Belleville and Napanee from Prince Edward County.

Cities and towns

• 1 Addington Highlands — a rural area that includes Bon Echo Provincial Park, which is home to Indigenous pictographs
• 2 Belleville — the largest city in the region, it has some fine heritage buildings
• 3 Cobourg — a lovely boardwalks connects the harbour and large sandy beach, and it has a historic downtown
• 4 Napanee — a centre of United Empire Loyalist settlement
• 5 Port Hope — one of the best-preserved main streets in Ontario
• 6 Prince Edward County — wineries, fruit farms, antique shops, and the dunes of Sandbanks Provincial Park
• 7 Trenton — home of the National Air Force Museum of Canada
• 8 Tweed — on the shores on beautiful Stoco Lake, it's popular with sport fishers

Other destinations

Upper Mazinaw Lake facing Mazinaw Rock from The Narrows, looking north

• 1 Bon Echo Provincial Park — features the massive 100 m (330 ft) high Mazinaw Rock, an escarpment rising out of the water, adorned with many Indigenous pictographs
• 2 Sandbanks Provincial Park — the world's largest fresh water sand bar and dune system

Understand

This region is United Empire Loyalist country, colonised by loyal British subjects who escaped the United States of America after it fell to revolutionary forces in 1783. Many towns and cities in the area were founded in 1784 and were part of the front line of the War of 1812.

The area is now a peaceful place and a welcome transition from the hectic pace of big-city life to the west in Oshawa-Toronto and their endless, sprawling suburbia.

Get in

The Quinte-Northumberland region falls within the busy Windsor-Quebec corridor, in the section between (but not including) Oshawa and Kingston. The area is largely rural with the occasional small city.

By car, the region is accessible from Toronto and Oshawa via Highway 401 (and the road it bypassed, Highway 2 / County Road 2) which both run (from west to east) Oshawa-Port Hope-Cobourg-Trenton-Belleville-Napanee-Kingston. The Loyalist Parkway (Ontario Highway 33, County Road 33) also joins Trenton to Kingston, but by a more southern route through Prince Edward County with a ferry crossing to Adolphustown; it then follows the Lake Ontario waterfront eastward through Bath, ending at old Highway 2 (Princess St.) in Kingston.

By bus, Megabus (Coach Canada) stops in Belleville on Kingston-Peterborough trips. Deseronto Transit runs a local bus from Belleville-Napanee and Belleville-Prince Edward County.

By train, Via Rail makes a few stops in Napanee, Belleville, Trenton, Cobourg and Port Hope on its Toronto-Kingston-Montréal or Toronto-Kingston-Ottawa "Corridor" service. Most runs are "express" and do not stop. Some of the smaller stations on this line (built in 1856 as the Grand Trunk Railway) are unattended shelters opened briefly before the train's expected arrival.

Cruising on small craft may be an option to reach various towns in the region from Lake Ontario but is inherently seasonal.

There is no major civilian airport in-region (despite Trenton hosting Canada's largest air force base); Megabus operates a bus from Toronto Pearson International Airport to various towns along the 401.

Get around

While there is local or city bus service within Belleville and Cobourg, for most of this largely-rural region a motorcar is a necessity. Many attractions (such as provincial parks or farms with pick-your-own strawberries and apples) are off the beaten path and beyond the reach of public transportation.

See

View of Cobourg

The National Air Force Museum of Canada in Trenton displayed restored military aircraft, including North America's only Halifax Bomber.

Prince Edward County offers several museums and a pioneer village.

Port Hope has over 200 buildings with a heritage designation, 50 of them on Walton Street in the downtown.

Pick apples and strawberries in season in Napanee or Prince Edward County.

Do

Fish for fMuskie, trout, pike, walleye, large-mouth and small-mouth bass on Stoco Lake in Tweed. There's ice fishing in winter, too.

The Cobourg Highland Games is an annual Scottish festival held in late June.

The "Land O Lakes" region, which includes Addington Highlands and Twwed has many opportunities for boating, fishing, and renting a cottage.

Wine shop in Prince Edward County

Prince Edward County is a great place for a day out to enjoy small towns, visit a winery (see also Wine Regions of Ontario), browse for antiques, or check out art galleries. It is also a high-traffic bird migration point for many species and a popular destination for bird watching.

Bon Echo Provincial Park is popular for rock climbing, camping, hiking, boating and swimming.

Sandbanks Provincial Park draws thousands of people to urs beaches in summer. There is a dog-friendly section, and one for naturists.

Eat

Strawberries are in season in early summer, usually soon before Canada Day (July 1). Various farms offer pick-your-own produce in Picton and Adolphustown.

Apples ripen mid-summer and may be picked in various communities from Brighton to Picton to Adolphustown.

Pumpkins are in season in early fall, usually a month or so before Halloween.

Drink

See also: Wine Regions of Ontario

There are many small wineries in Prince Edward County doing innovative things with Cabernet Franc, Riesling, Gamay, Pinot Gris, Baco Noir, Merlot. In 2020, there are 33 wineries and vineyards, and 3 cideries.