Kawartha Lakes is a sprawling municipality in east-central Ontario that's more countryside than city, despite its official designation. The name comes from the anglicized Anishinaabe word gaa-waategamaag, meaning "shining waters" — and that's exactly what you'll find. Lakes everywhere, most of them ringed with cottages.
The main towns are Lindsay, Bobcaygeon, Fenelon Falls, Omemee, Woodville, and Norland, connected by quiet roads through farmland and forest. This is classic Ontario cottage country: swimming, fishing, paddling in summer, and ice fishing and snowmobiling once the lakes freeze over.