From Auto Racing to Museums: Peterborough Has It All

In Peterborough and the surrounding area, you’ll find enough attractions to keep you busy for weeks, or even months, on end. With splendid natural features, plenty of cultural activities, and wonderful dining and entertainment opportunities, the region offers something for everyone. Let’s take a closer look at just a few of the many destinations around Peterborough.

Lang Pioneer Village

What better way to learn more about a place, than by stepping right into its history? Lang Pioneer Village, located a quick 10 km east of Peterborough, offers a trip back in time to the 19th century. Created as an interactive outdoor museum, with buildings from surrounding townships being moved as far as 145 km to be added to the site. Some of the attractions here include the South Lake log schoolhouse, a fully operational grist mill, David Fife’s 1820 log cabin, and more. Altogether, there are more than 25 buildings to explore. Pathways meander from one place to the next, allowing visitors to enjoy interacting with farm animals and costumed interpreters along the way. With picnic areas, activities like rug hooking, candle making, blacksmithing, and more, plus a well-stocked gift shop and many fantastic artifacts, this is a fantastic place to spend a day.

Riverview Park and Zoo

A small zoo with just 27 well-kept exhibits and nearly fifty species of animals, Riverview Park and Zoo is a fantastic place for adults and kids alike. Situated just north of downtown Peterborough, this little piece of paradise offers a diversified playground, a Frisbee golf course, a splash pad area, a miniature train guests can ride on, and of course, animals ranging from squirrel monkeys to cougars. The park covers just over 55 acres and features beautiful gardens everywhere.

Museums

Peterborough is home to three museums, each of which is a destination unto itself. One of the best is the Canadian Canoe Museum, located at 910 Monaghan Road in Peterborough. Here, you’ll find the world’s largest collection of canoes and kayaks, along with a vast amount of in-depth information that details the historical and cultural significance of these simple watercraft, not only to the people of Canada, but to civilizations worldwide.

Other museums include the Peterborough Centennial Museum and Archives at 300 Hunter Street East, which houses more than 25,000 artifacts; and the Hutchinson House Museum at 270 Brock Street, where interpreters dressed in 19th century garb offer tours and Scottish tea delicacies.

Speedways

You’ll find not just one, but two speedways where stock car races are held seasonally just outside Peterborough. The Peterborough Speedway even offers a driving school where you can learn your way around the fast track. At Kawartha Downs and Speedway, which is five minutes away in Fraserville, you can enjoy the Richard Petty Driving Experience and take race car driving lessons, watch professional auto racing, and even bet on har