Spring Fever in Northumberland

As temperatures reach double digits and the snow melts, activities draw us outdoors with a passion like no other season. Take a spring tour of the county by bike, motorcycle or by car by using our Top 5 Road Trips Map Guide. Attend a spring festival, shmurgle (hug) baby goats at Haute Goat, or take an historical walking tour and enjoy the fresh spring air.

Maple Syrup

There is nothing more Canadian than maple syrup and Northumberland has plenty of it! Venture out to Curle's Sugar Shack in Campbellford and taste test the varieties of syrup before you take home your favourite.

You can tour the Maple Museum and see memorabilia from the Curle Family dating back to 1862. Another well-known local maple syrup producer is Sandy Flat Sugar Bush and Pancake House. Visit the sugar bush on weekends in March and April and enjoy a pancake breakfast with maple products. Sandy Flat Maple Syrup is sold throughout the county at local shops, farm markets and at the Big Apple in Colborne.

Go Fishing

Get your fishing gear ready and hit Northumberland's lakes and rivers for excellent spring fishing. You can fish license free on Mother's Day and Father's Day weekends. The Ganaraska River is one of the best trout streams in Southern Ontario. The last weekend in April, steelhead fishing opens with many anglers lining the banks of the river for their chance to catch a magnificent rainbow trout. Stay at the Budget Inn or Comfort Inn to get in more days of fishing.

Spring crappie fishing is fantastic on Rice Lake but the excitement is walleye opener, the second Saturday in May. In spring, walleye can be found in weedflats, at the mouth of the Otonobee River and around the many islands. Rent a cottage where you can boat and stay for a relaxing spring fishing vacation.

See Northumberland in Bloom

Spring is your only chance to see trilliums in full blossom on our forest floors. Ontario's official flower grows in the Northumberland County forest, on walking trails and along the roadways. Peter's Woods Provincial Nature Preserve on the Oak Ridges Moraine and Presqu'ile Provincial Park in Brighton are excellent locations to view trilliums and enjoy hiking trails at the same time.  

Zigzag through Northumberland's countryside at the end of May and view the thousands of lilac bushes.  Here's your chance to breathe deeply. The Northumberland Lilac Tour will lead you to the Warkworth Lilac Festival and Millennium Park trail where you can see and smell over 65 varieties of lilacs in bloom. 

Celebrate the start of apple growing season at the Apple Blossom Tyme Festival at the end of May. It's held in Colborne, south of the Big Apple at exit 497 on Highway 401. At the festival are kids games, local vendors, and displays of classic cars. Surrounding the village, you'll find apple orchards brilliantly displaying their trees full of blossoms. Many of the orchards are listed in the Farm Fresh Destinations Map Guide.

*Due to COVID-19, some businesses, events and attractions may not be operating as normal through 2021. Contact individual businesses and organizers for the most up-to-date information.