Balsam Lake is the highest navigable point on the Trent-Severn — boats coming up from Lake Ontario climb 184 metres to reach it — and the provincial park on its eastern shore has the best public beach in the Kawartha Lakes. The sand is fine, the water shelves gently, and the shallow inlet stays warm into September.
The park has a campground with around 450 sites, walking trails through mixed hardwood forest, and canoe and kayak rentals. Reservations open five months in advance and shoreline sites are gone within hours. Day-use parking is generous but fills on weekends in July and August.