Experience Napanee through history and water

Napanee offers a range of themes to consider when planning your trip: county history in museums, trails along Lake Ontario and fishing on the Napanee River. Deciding which of these interests you most first can help you choose experiences more deliberately. The historic sites offer different ways to explore the past—from changing exhibitions and a museum in a 19th-century house to significant church and settlement history.

Museums and historic sites

The County of Lennox & Addington Museum and Archives presents changing exhibitions on the history of the county. It is located at 97 Thomas Street East in Napanee and offers programs for people of all ages. The exhibitions give your visit a regional history focus; the events provide another reason to explore the museum’s program.

The Allan Macpherson House offers a different perspective. Built in 1826, it is now operated as a museum. This means visitors with different interests can choose between an exhibition venue with changing themes and a museum housed in a historically dated building: in the first, the exhibition content changes; in the second, the house’s construction date is itself a specific part of the story.

Built in 1792, the Old Hay Bay Church is Canada’s oldest surviving Methodist church. In Greater Napanee, the UEL Heritage Centre and Park also commemorates a different chapter of history: it is located at the site where the first United Empire Loyalists landed in 1784. The UEL Heritage Centre and Park includes a museum and a campground. Together, these places highlight different historical themes—from church history and the Loyalists’ early landing to the history of the county.

Water, trails and fishing

Springside Park has a seating area beside waterfalls. A kiosk and information panels share local history. Here, you can find both a place to sit by the water and information about the area’s past. This is a distinct focus from the museums: the park brings waterfalls together with local history, while the museum buildings explore their themes through exhibitions or the history of their architecture.

The Waterfront Trail passes through Greater Napanee and runs along Lake Ontario. Six loops of the Lennox and Addington County Trails are also located in Greater Napanee; together, they cover 600 kilometres of paved roads. This figure refers to the combined total across all six loops, not the length of each individual loop. This distinguishes two different details: the Waterfront Trail’s route along the lake and the overall extent of the larger loop network.

The Napanee River is in downtown Napanee. It is a fishing spot for spring walleye fishing and also has a remarkable salmon run. This distinction can be useful when planning: spring walleye fishing is explicitly seasonal, while the salmon run is another notable feature of the river. This lets you take both fishing opportunities into account without assigning them the same timeframe.

The Glenora Ferry carries passengers between Greater Napanee and Prince Edward County. If you would like to include this connection in your travel plans, check ferry operations before your trip. Museums, trails, fishing and the ferry offer different ways to experience Napanee; you can prioritize whichever best suits your interests.

For an overview of the wider destination: Lennox And Addington County.