Located along the Trent-Severn Waterway at the intersection of Buckhorn Lake and Lower Buckhorn Lake, the Town of Buckhorn is a hidden gem in the heart of Peterborough & The Kawarthas. Rich in heritage and culture, Buckhorn offers a wonderful all-season lifestyle for both residents and visitors.

On the southern tip of the Canadian Shield, the area was already home to Indigenous peoples when Irish immigrant John Hall settled there in 1830. Hall constructed a dam and mill on what is now the Buckhorn Locks, and the settlement became known as Hall’s Rapids. It was later renamed for Buckhorn Lake, which supposedly acquired the name from its antler-like shape.

A 30-minute drive from Peterborough and two to three hours from Toronto and Ottawa, Buckhorn is a great destination — whether for a day trip or an overnight stay — for your next Canadian winter getaway.

What To Do

See 15,000 square feet of Canadian art at Gallery on the Lake

The Gallery on the Lake is one of Canada’s largest privately owned retail art galleries, featuring 15,000 square feet of original fine art, sculpture, glassware, pottery, and jewellery.

At its beautiful lakeside setting, the gallery offers one of the most extensive collections of artwork by some of Canada’s leading and emerging artists.

Open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays during the winter, The Gallery on the Lake is located on 65 Gallery on the Lake Road, about three kilometres northeast on Buckhorn and walking distance from Westwind Inn.

VIDEO: Gallery on The Lake

For more information, call 1-888-242-7475 or 705-657-1108 or visit www.galleryonthelake.com. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Browse thousands of pieces of native art and crafts at Whetung Ojibwa Centre

Operated by the Whetung family of Curve Lake First Nation, Whetung Ojibwa Centre offers a spectacular collection of Indigenous crafts as well as fine art, jewellery, moccasins, totem poles, leather work, sculptures, and more from artisans from Curve Lake First Nation and from across Canada.

The 10,000-square-foot building is filled from floor to ceiling with carvings, masks, pottery, paintings, bead work, quill work, and other decorative items of every description. Beyond the central gift shop area is a gallery featuring framed fine art and sculpture, original paintings, posters, limited editions, and cards.

Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Whetung Ojibwa Centre is located at 875 County Road 22 on Curve Lake First Nation, about 14 kilometres south of Buckhorn. Admission and parking are free, and the centre is wheelchair accessible.

For more information, call 705-657-3661 or visit www.whetung.com. You can also follow them on Facebook.

Taste made-in-the-Kawarthas wines at Kawartha Country Wines

The first winery in the Kawarthas, Kawartha Country Wines is a small premium family-owned winery located around five kilometres north of Buckhorn.

Owner and vintner John Rufa comes from a long tradition of family wine-making and processes local fruits and berries with the highest standards to produce award-winning wines.

Kawartha Country Wines offers a large selection of fruit wines in different styles, dessert wines, and traditional red and white wines and ciders.

There’s a complimentary wine sampling bar, and tours are available on request. And make sure to check out the giant inuksuk while you’re there.

Located at 2452 County Road 36, Kawartha Country Wines is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 705-657-9916 or visit www.kawarthacountrywines.ca. You can also follow them on Facebook.

Try ice fishing

Whether you’re an avid angler or want to try ice fishing for the first time while in Buckhorn, check out Buckhorn Lake and Lower Buckhorn Lake, as well as nearby Pigeon and Chemong Lakes

When ice fishing, safety should always be the top priority. Dress for the weather (in layers) and check ice thickness and conditions frequently. Fish with a buddy, let someone know where you are and when you plan to return, and bring a charged cell phone with you.

When it comes to your catch, make sure to check the rules and regulations of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources & Forestry.

VIDEO: Ice Fishing in Peterborough & the Kawarthas

And don’t forget to have your fishing licence with you (unless you’re a veteran or an active Canadian Armed Forces member, in which case you just need your military ID or service card).

If you’ve never tried ice fishing before, you can fish licence-free across Ontario during the annual Family Fishing Weekend, which takes place on the Family Day long weekend (Februrary 16th to 18th).

Try backcountry snowshoeing and winter camping at Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park

Located just north of Buckhorn, Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park is the largest park in southern Ontario after Algonquin Provincial Park.

The 375-square-kilometre area of the park offers lots of opportunities for the avid snowshoer to experience untouched wilderness and nature.

VIDEO: Winter Camping at Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park

If you’re feeling really adventurous, you can even try winter camping (you must obtain a permit online at reservations.ontarioparks.com or by calling 1-888-668-7275).

Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park is accessible via Highway 36, Highway 507, and Highway 28. For more information, visit ontarioparks.com/park/kawarthahighlands.

Where To Stay

Westwind Inn

Located three kilometres northeast of Buckhorn on the shores of Lower Buckhorn Lake, Westwind Inn is an ideal destination if you’re looking for a romantic getaway, some winter fun, or maybe a bit of both.

You can head out for some cross-country skiing and snowshoeing through the wilderness (you can borrow gear at no extra charge if you don’t have your own). You can skate on the lake under the stars, or try your hand at ice fishing.

If you prefer your winter fun motorized, there’s easy access to the Ontario Federation Of Snowmobile Clubs trail and the Buckhorn District Snowmobile Club is only a kilometre away.

After a day enjoying the outdoors, you can relax by the fire in your own private room and maybe try the outdoor hot tub.

Popular with couples, Westwind Inn offers 35 cozy guest rooms with cedar-lined walls, antique furnishings, fireplaces, and more. There are also four larger suites in the chalet, located on the lakefront away from the main lodge, with many amenities including large four-poster beds, an air jet tub, a mini-fridge, and more. Pets are allowed in some rooms.

Your stay at Westwind Inn includes dinner and breakfast. For reservations, call 1-800-387-8100 or 705-657-8095 or email info@westwindinn.net.

Westwind Inn is located at 37 Fire Route 21 (Gallery On The Lake Road). For more information, visit www.westwindinn.net or follow Westwind Inn on Facebook.

Beachwood Resort

If you’re looking for a winter getaway featuring your own private cottage, you’ll want to head to Beachwood Resort.

Originally built in 1926 as a summer fishing lodge, Beachwood Resort has been welcoming guests for more than 90 years.

Located on Lower Buckhorn Lake’s Deer Bay, the resort offers a lakefront cottage getaway with all the amenities of home.

Along with quaint lodge rooms, Beachwood Resort has fully winterized condos and cottages on 1,400 feet of shoreline surrounded by 330 acres of wilderness and wildlife.

The three- and four-bedroom cottages provide beautiful views of the lake and come with fully equipped kitchens, fireplaces, and more. Pets are welcome in some of the units.

For reservations, call 1-888-313-1118 or 705-657-3481.

VIDEO: Beachwood Resort Winter Tour

Beachwood Resort is located at 3043 Beachwood Drive, about eight kilometres southwest of Buckhorn. For more information, visit www.beachwoodresort.com or follow them on Facebook.

Catalina Bay Resort

Located on the shores of Big Bald Lake around four kilometres north of Buckhorn, Catalina Bay Resort is another great option for a winter cottage getaway.

The resort offers two and three bedroom cottages that come with fully equipped kitchens, fireplaces, and more. For winter activities, the resort has 15 kilometres of groomed cross-country ski trails, a large toboggan hill, an outdoor skating rink on the lake, and ice fishing.

For reservations, call 705-657-1655 or email info@catalinabayresort.com.

Catalina Bay Resort is located at Fire Route 82B. For more information, visit www.catalinabayresort.com or follow them on Facebook.

Where To Eat

Lock Stop Cafe

Opened in 2018 by local entrepreneur Kelli Coon, Lock Stop Cafe in Buckhorn has quickly become a popular destination for locals and visitors alike.

The café and restaurant features coffee from locally roasted beans, loose leaf and bag tea, artisan sandwiches and paninis fresh to order on home-baked bread, soups, and sweets like croissants, petit fours, eclairs, and butter tarts.

The restaurant also contains a marketplace showcasing products from local artisans and others.

Open during the winter from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday, Lock Stop Cafe is located at 1919 Lakehurst Road in Buckhorn.

For more information, call 705-313-3330 or visit www.lockstopcafe.com. You can also follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Pizza Alloro

Opened in 2013 by Endrit Karaj, Pizza Alloro is another popular stop in Buckhorn for locals and visitors.

The restaurant offers freshly made pizzas and calzones, along with salads, wings, appetizers, and pasta. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options are also available.

Pizza Alloro is highly rated on TripAdvisor, and people have been known to drive long distances to enjoy a slice or two. The Chicken Caesar pizza — covered in Caesar dressing and topped with mozzarella cheese, spinach, chicken, bacon strips, and grated parmesan — is a favourite of many.

Open from 11 am to 8 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, Pizza Alloro is located at 5 Main Street in Buckhorn.

For more information, call 705-657-7575 or visit www.pizzaalloro.com. You can also follow them on Facebook.

This story was created in partnership with Peterborough & The Kawarthas Tourism. Visit thekawarthas.ca and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. It’s a day that is often considered to be just another over-consumptive holiday and an opportunity for retailers to increase sales.

The seemingly obligatory chocolate, cards, and flowers soon end up in the landfill alongside the waste of Christmas.

That being said, there’s no need to boycott the day of love. GreenUP can help you spread the love to your significant other, your BFF, and your kids while leaving the guilt behind.

Why not give your Valentine a gift that gives back? You can support local business and artisans with handmade jewellery, soap, or art. Handmade gifts are unique, one-of-a-kind treasures that feel more personal because they are carefully made by a person.

Peterborough is full of options — including The GreenUP Store (378 Aylmer St. N., Peterborough), which carries goods from over 40 local artisans and crafters.

This Valentine’s Day, when you choose to support a local maker from The GreenUP Store, you will have the chance to win a locally made gift basket with an assortment of handmade items from Whitney Lake of Lake Reflections Apiary.

Lake is a sustainable beekeeper who prides herself on responsible stewardship. She has 10 hives in Cobourg, 20 hives in Fenella south of Peterborough, and also manages the seven beehives located on Trent University’s Peterborough campus.

Beeswax food warp

Lake Reflections Apiary makes beautiful food wraps with beeswax sourced from her local beehives — the perfect Valentine’s gift for your domestic diva. These wraps are made with repurposed cotton and a blend of beeswax, jojoba oil, and pine resin, which make them a non-toxic and earth-friendly alternative to single-use plastic wrap.

Beeswax food wrap is reusable, washable, and completely biodegradable.

Beer can earrings

If your Valentine isn’t a bee lover, they might be a beer lover. Pick up a pair of upcycled beer can earrings (“beerings”) made by Kathryn Bahun of Keetarella.

Bahan hunts for delightfully designed beer cans right here in Peterborough, to design her one-of-a-kind earrings.

She turns this everyday household recyclable into wearable pun-worthy art that will look great on your sweetie throughout the year.

Felt and fibre art

If fibre art is your love’s passion, then consider a felted gift handmade by Manon Gagnon of Atelier Frankie. Gagnon is an experienced felt and fibre artist who creates a variety of woodland flora and fauna through the painstaking process of needle felting. The GreenUP Store is delighted to carry her whimsical works of art, including Blue Jays, bumblebees, mushrooms, and more.

Some of Gagnon’s larger works are mounted on branches, while the miniature varieties come complete with a pin to adorn the lapel of a jacket. So, if you are keen on gifting your Valentine the birds and the bees, you can find them here along with many other felted friends.

Handmade and eco-friendly bath and beauty products

Your au natural Valentine will love the luxury of handmade soaps, oils, and bath and beauty products.

Katie Leger of Free to Be Wellness is a small batch soapmaker, yoga instructor, and mom living and creating in Peterborough. Her soaps have been featured at the GreenUP Store for many years and they are a favourite among GreenUP staff and customers alike. Leger creates textured soaps using organic, plant-based ingredients and essential oils. Her soaps are packaged in brown, dye-free boxes, which are both compostable and recyclable. Let your sweetheart lather in love, knowing this soap is good for them, as well as the planet.

Sherrie LaMasurier of Simply Natural Canada is an eco-friendly alchemist who has developed a variety of natural soaps, deodorants, and home cleaners. For Valentine’s Day, LaMasurier has made many love-themed soaps. She uses little or no packaging and natural ingredients, sourced locally whenever possible. Felted soap is particularly desirable because it produces a rich lather and holds the bar together nicely and allows the soap to dry between uses extending its life.

Debbie Alger of Birch Babe Naturals lives near beautiful Bon Echo Provincial Park where the birch trees provide her with ample inspiration. Alger has created an all-natural shaving soap that produces a lovely lather leaving skin feeling fully nourished. Her shaving soap comes in a reusable tin or in nearly package free, cardstock band. The delicious scent profile and low-carbon footprint will surely make both you and your honey swoon.

Looking to pamper your Valentine even more? Consider a natural eye pillow, lovingly made by Karen Halley of Two Birds, One Seed. Halley creates her soothing eye pillows from fabric scraps left over from other sewing projects. She is a firm believer in doing more with less. The eye pillow is rice filled, so it can be used warm by heating in the microwave for a minute or two, or chilled in the freezer for a cool at home eye treatment. This relaxation tool is the perfect gift for any Valentine that needs to unwind and take it easy.

Green kitchen products

Is your Valentine going zero-waste? Pick up a handmade reusable straw holder made by local seamstress, Jadwiga Brzozowska of Sewing Creations. Brzozowska has designed single and double straw holders, complete with Velcro or snap closures, and with unbleached cotton and hemp fabric. If you and your Valentine are looking to ditch single-use plastics, this is a great companion gift alongside stainless steel straws and is available only at the GreenUP Store.

Mini Me Napkins by Jeannine Crowe of Ecomum are made with 100 per cent organic cotton in lovely bright and fun prints. These are an excellent replacement for single-use paper napkins and can be washed along with your regular laundry. If you plan to picnic with your sweetheart (indoors perhaps) consider pairing these napkins with local cheese, fine wine, and fresh fruit. They also make great hankies to cushion a tender nose during these cold months and are a soft and reusable alternative to tissues.

Pottery

The GreenUP Store also features pottery from local potters Bill Reddick, Amy Doole, Clara Doucette, and Kristina Rose. We are happy to house a fine collection of unique ceramics.

Bill Reddick is a renowned ceramic artist who finds inspiration in the classical ceramic tradition of the Song Dynasty. He has developed original techniques and a fluency of form through his contemporary expression of this ancient tradition. He is the creator of Canada’s official state dinnerware, which resides at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. All works are individually handmade by Reddick in his Peterborough studio.

Amy Doole creates functional pottery pieces in stoneware clay that are intended for everyday use and enjoyment. Her work has a rustic and whimsical aesthetic with earthy colours, matte glazes, and simple decoration. Doole creates texture in clay using items from nature, embroidered fabric, and random objects like toys or hardware. The result is a collection of work that is influenced by rural life and local landscapes that are uniquely designed and carefully crafted in Maynooth.

Kristina Rose and Clara Doucette are contemporaries at the Kawartha Potters’ Guild here in Peterborough. They have created a variety of nature-inspired pieces featuring birch trees, beet root, and conifers, each unique in form and finish. Doucette’s signature mugs make use of wax in the glazing process to create negative space, while Rose has developed a unique style of teacup that is beautifully glazed and ever so slightly elevated. Valentine’s Day coffee in bed really gets an upgrade when it’s served in a beautiful new ceramic mug!

If you choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day, you can do so the eco-friendly way. Let your heart show love for your Valentine and for the earth. Purchase any handmade item at the GreenUP Store and enter to win a basket full of bee-themed handmade products from Lake Reflections Apiary, valued at $50.

When you choose to buy local, handmade products, you directly support members of our community. This is bound to give you and your Valentine the warm fuzzies!

For GreenUP Store hours and product lines, check out www.greenup.on.ca or visit us at 378 Aylmer St. N. in downtown Peterborough.

Note: The photos used in this story are examples of each artisan’s work; the specific items pictured may not be available at The GreenUP Store.