Kawartha Localist is an editorial series from kawarthaNOW sharing trusted local recommendations, hidden gems, and favourite discoveries from people who know and love this region. It’s what we love about where we live. Kawartha Localist is sponsored by Kawartha Financial Services.
Did you know there are proven mental health benefits to spending time with animals? Not only that, but the more time we spend time with and learn about other species, the more we appreciate the natural world and become stewards of it.
Fortunately, here in the Kawarthas, there are many animal lovers who have made it their duty to offer unique experiences where you can learn about, interact with, and develop a love for the creatures living around us — everything from the birds of prey in the skies to the snakes in the grass.
From beehive tours and wolf howls to goat yoga and an alpaca-packed escape maze, there are so many ways to build connections with the animals living across the region. Here are some of our top destinations for amazing animal experiences in the Kawarthas.
Learn about the Ojibwe Spirit horses at Abbey Gardens in Haliburton
At Abbey Gardens, the animals are much more than an attraction — they’re an important part of the charity’s mission to promote environmental education.
The community hub on 300 acres of rehabilitated land in Haliburton County is home to two Ojibwe Spirit horses (a critically endangered Indigenous breed), a miniature Appaloosa, heritage breed chickens, and heritage breed ducks.
The horses are used for the non-profit organization’s equine assisted learning program, led by a certified instructor, that use guided interactions with the horses to teach valuable life skills and build confidence, improve communication skills, and build resilience through experiential, hands-on learning.
During opening hours, visitors are welcome to drop in to observe the animals and purchase feed for the birds. You’ll spot the horses roaming the property with volunteers who will be happy to tell you all about them. You can also follow the “Runs with the Stars” story walk to the paddock that shares the history and cultural significance of the Ojibwe Spirit Horse.
While on the grounds for the animals, spend the day exploring everything else Abbey Gardens has to offer by taking a leisure stroll through the gardens and walking trails, or by stepping into the café for farm-fresh meals.
Abbey Gardens is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 pm. at 1012 Garden Gate Drive in Haliburton. Admission is free to the grounds. To learn more, visit abbeygardens.ca.
Solve an escape maze puzzle with alpacas at Wanderlight Alpaca Experience in Douro-Dummer
In 2020, Katie Maitland decided to turn her family farm in Douro-Dummer into a one-of-a-kind agritourism destination. Since then, she’s only continued to evolve Wanderlight Alpaca Experience to find more and more ways for the public to appreciate and fall in love with alpacas — the woolly mammals native to South America that belong to the camel family.
When you register for an experience at Wanderlight Alpaca Experience, you’ll be introduced to all 10 of the farm’s fluffy alpacas so you can choose the one you’d like to take on a one-hour tour exploring the rolling hills of the farmland.
You can also try your luck at an escape quest, developed by Escape Maze, where you’ll have to solve puzzles and follow a map to find the animals and walk them back to the barn.
In addition to hosting private and special events, Maitland is working on developing more experiences, including an alpaca coffee club where you can enjoy a slow morning with the docile creatures, coffee, and pastries by your side, and a winter experience where you and the alpacas will be fireside with hot cocoa and smores.
Every year, Wanderlight Alpaca Experience creates a special calendar featuring a different alpaca each month to fundraise for Peterborough’s YES Shelter for Youth and Families. Maitland is also in the process of developing a series of portraits featuring each one of the alpacas done by a different local artist in a differing medium that will be available for purchase upon completion.
Wanderlight Alpaca Experience is located at 874 Lynch’s Rock Road, three kilometres east of Lakefield. To learn more and book an experience, visit wanderlightalpaca.ca.
Relax and unwind with goat yoga at Haute Goat in Port Hope
What could be more relaxing and restful than outdoor Sunday yoga with friendly Nigerian Dwarf goats wandering playfully around you? That’s just one of the experiences awaiting you at Haute Goat in Port Hope.
You can also “shmurgle” the goats — scratching, cuddling, and photographing as you fall in love with their playful, joyful personalities.
Other favourite experiences are the regularly scheduled Toodle Tours, where you can interact with the goats, alpacas, and pigs on the farm, and the Baby Goat Jam, where you can help baby goats socialize by snuggling and cuddling them to your heart’s content.
Not ready for the adventure to end? At Haute Goat, you can play an 18-hole round of disc golf, have a bite at the Screaming Goat Café, return for special events like the well-attended annual Goatchella, or spend the night in one of the unique overnight experiences.
To continue with the legacy of founder Debbie Nightingale, who passed away in 2025, her children run Haute Goat with the same commitment to making animal interactions accessible. That means there is no admission cost for use of the playground, café, and other amenities on the property outside of the animal experiences.
Haute Goat is open Wednesday to Sunday at 1166 5th Line, around 13 kilometres northwest of the town of Port Hope. To learn more or register for an event, visit hautegoat.com.
Discover the fascinating world of raptors at The Eyrie in North Kawartha
Farm animals get a lot of love around the Kawarthas region, but you can’t overlook some of the spectacular wild birds that live here as well — including the region’s impressive birds of prey.
With a focus on public education, The Eyrie in North Kawartha wants to help you get to know and appreciate some these raptor species by inviting you to on-site demonstrations.
The Eyrie’s founders, husband-and-wife team Matthew and Kristin Morgan, have roughly 25 birds of prey — including a bald eagle, black vulture, Harris’s hawk, saker falcon, American kestrel, and Eurasian eagle-owls — who show off their skills, their intelligence, and often their large stunning wingspans during demonstrations.
During your visit to The Eyrie — which is named after the term for a raptor’s nest — you’ll learn fun facts about these creatures. The Morgans aim to break down some of the misconceptions about raptors so people know about their important role in the natural world and how human activity can affect their survival.
They also host photography sessions to give participants the opportunity to photograph the raptors in a natural setting. On select evenings in the early months of the year, The Eyrie also hosts “owl prowls,” inviting you to walk through the trees in search of finding and hearing these nocturnal birds of prey.
The Eyrie is located at 922 Peterborough County Road 504 in North Kawartha, around four kilometres east of Apsley. To learn more and check the schedule of on-site demonstrations, visit theeyrie.ca.
See over 200 reptiles at Canada’s Dinosaur Park in Asphodel-Norwood
You may know that Peterborough County is home to Canada’s Dinosaur Park, but did you also know the life-sized replicated animatronic dinosaurs were added to support the live rescued reptiles in the sanctuary?
Established in 1999 as the Indian River Reptile Zoo, the not-for-profit registered reptile sanctuary is home to over 200 rescued alligators, crocodiles, caimans, snakes, turtles, and lizards from around the world.
You can get a good look at the reptiles in their enclosures that present them in natural setting with specific information about each species, and you can even take a “croc-walk” around the outside of the building to see crocodiles and alligators basking in the warm sun.
Sure, we’re rounding out the best live and real animal experiences in the Kawarthas, but while you’re at Canada’s Dinosaur Park, you may as well go on a tour of the 100 replica dinosaurs, dig for real dinosaur bones in the park’s boneyard, and play a round of 18-hole mini-golf at course featuring megalithic standing stones like those at Stonehenge. After all, proceeds from admission fees support the rescued reptiles.
Canada’s Dinosaur Park is open seven days per week during the summer from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2206 County Road 38 in Asphodel-Norwood. To learn more, visit reptileanddinosaurpark.org.
Get up close and personal with bees at The Bee Works Honey & Gift Shop and Dancing Bees Equipment in Port Hope
VIDEO: Me & The Bees Tour Experience at The Bee Works
You’ll be buzzing with excitement when taking the tour experience led by The Bee Works, a retail store in Port Hope owned by The Dancing Bee Equipment.
During the Me & the Bees experience, which runs almost daily from June to September when the bees are most active, you will don your beekeeping suit and to learn all about bees and why we love them.
You’ll learn about the various by-products found in the hive, hold a frame, see a smoker demo, see how honey gets from the hive to the jar, roll a beeswax candle, and taste honey for an all-encompassing, hands-on experience. The workshop runs about 1.5 to 2 hours in length and is guided by professionals.
Can’t get enough? Step into The Dancing Bee Equipment located right next door for even more selection of in-depth workshops on beekeeping and candle making.
The Bee Works Honey & Gift Shop is open at 5029 County Road 2 in Port Hope. To learn more and book a tour, visit www.beeworks.com.
Fall in love with the donkeys at PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary in Roseneath
Many people believe donkeys are stubborn and dumb. According to Sheila Burns, your perception of a donkey will change with just one interaction, as soon as you see how gentle, joyful, and smart they are.
That’s why she has built her life around the PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary, a charitable organization she founded in 2000 in Roseneath. She named the sanctuary after PrimRose, a donkey she adopted in 1994 who passed away in 2021 in her 47th year.
Today, PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary is home to 54 rescued donkeys, mules (the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse), and hinnies (the offspring of a female donkey and a male horse).
Every Thursday and Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. by donation, you can say hi to the donkeys over the fence. You’ll meet, pet, and get to know them while hearing stories from engaging and passionate volunteers.
On the same days at 11 a.m., you can go on a private behind-the-scenes one-hour walk of the farm to then interact with the animals and see their large ears up close.
PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary is only open during tour times at 1296 Bowmanton Road in Roseneath. To learn more and donate, visit www.primrosedonkeysanctuary.com.
Watch wolves in a seven-acre enclosure that mimics the wild at the Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre
VIDEO: Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre
If you’ve ever wanted to safely watch how real-life wolves behave in nature, visit the Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre in Haliburton County.
At this 5,000-square-foot educational facility operated by Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve, you can look through the one-way observatories to watch the resident pack of western timber wolves interact in their seven-acre enclosure that mimics the wild as closely as possible.
At the Wolf Centre, you can also learn about the fascinating animals by walking through the museum displays or by watching a documentary in the theatre.
Alongside general admission passes, the Wolf Centre offers unique, custom, and private experiences, including beginner step-by-step painting parties to help you capture the wolves with direction from an art instructor, and programs that combines education about wolves with education about raptors from the Royal Canadian Falconry.
Want to also hear the wolves? On Thursday evenings in July and August, the Wolf Centre hosts Public Wolf Howls. The experience invites visitors to learn about wolves before heading on a short hike, after which the team will attempt to get the resident wolf pack to howl back. Admission to the wolf howl is by donation.
The Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1305 Redkenn Road in Haliburton County, around 30 kilometres north of the village of Haliburton. To learn more, visit www.haliburtonforest.com/things-to-do/wolf-centre/.
Sponsor a pig at The Pearly Acre in Havelock-Belmont-Methuen
Is there anything cuter than cozying up to a pot-bellied pig? Sarah Heydon knows just how adorable they can be, since she went from simply wanting a companion to creating a whole sanctuary for pigs.
Heydon was living in Peterborough in 2017 when she bought her first pot belly named Bullet, but after a few short months she realized he needed a companion and adopted Pearl. Unfortunately, when Pearl was just eight months old, she passed away, breaking Heydon’s heart and changing the trajectory of her life.
Today, on a farm in Havelock-Belmont-Methuen, Heydon operates The Pearly Acre, a not-for-profit sanctuary that is home to 20 pigs, including farm pigs, pot-bellied pigs, and kunekune pigs, as well as three alpacas, one llama, and two rescue dogs.
At least once a month, The Pearly Acre hosts tours where you can walk through the sanctuary, go into the pig pen, and touch and learn about the pigs. The educational guided tour will help you better understand the animals and, while you’re there, you might just connect with a pig you want to sponsor.
To support the sanctuary, Heydon is taking orders for custom pet portraits. Just send her some photos and you’ll have a custom painting of your companion in a matter of days!
The Pearly Acre is only open by appointment only during select tour days from May to September at 3967 County Road 44, around nine kilometres north of Havelock. To learn more, visit www.thepearlyacre.com.
Kawartha Localist is an editorial series from kawarthaNOW celebrating the places, experiences, businesses, and communities that make our region extraordinary. Written by people who live here, work here, and have spent nearly 30 years exploring the Kawarthas and surrounding region, each edition shares trusted local recommendations, hidden gems, and favourite discoveries from across Peterborough County, the City of Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, Haliburton County, and Hastings Highlands.
Whether you’re looking for your next hiking trail, favourite patio, scenic drive, farmers’ market, or weekend adventure, Kawartha Localist is what we love about where we live.
Kawartha Localist is sponsored by Kawartha Financial Services.
