Itinerary: A fall weekend getaway in Peterborough, Ontario

Fall is a fantastic time of year for road tripping in Ontario, especially once the leaves start to turn. If you’re looking for the perfect spot to take in the autumn vibes, check out this fall weekend getaway in Peterborough. You’ll discover great shopping and cafés, a rich arts and culture scene, beautiful parks, and not one but two farmers markets!

Our two-day itinerary for Peterborough, which we’ve developed over multiple visits to this central Ontario city, covers it all. This weekend escape is great for families, couples, friends, or even solo travellers who want to make the most of the crisp weather and fall colours. Have questions about planning your autumn weekend getaway to Peterborough? Join our Facebook community!

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Why you should take a fall weekend getaway to Peterborough

Over the past few years, Peterborough has attracted many young artists and entrepreneurs with bold and fresh ideas. The trendy retailers downtown and in the East City range from vintage shops and cafés to unique artist studios and specialty stores that are hard to find in larger cities. And if you love new and used bookstores and second-hand record, movie, and video game shops, trust us: you could spend an entire weekend in Peterborough exploring these alone!

On top of that, the Canadian Canoe Museum reopened in 2024 at a beautiful waterfront location on Little Lake. It offers world-class exhibits on a mode of transportation that’s deeply connected to Canada and Peterborough’s surrounding waterways. You’ll also find an up-and-coming food scene, plenty of parks and trails to explore, and a hub for the city’s thriving arts community at the Art Gallery of Peterborough.

Peterborough is just one and a half hours from Toronto, two hours from Kingston, and a three-hour scenic drive from Ottawa along Highway 7, making it an ideal distance for a fall weekend getaway from many points in Southern and Eastern Ontario.

Want to stay longer? Take a look at more things to do in Peterborough >

Check out the Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour

If you happen to be planning your Peterborough getaway for the last weekend of September, ignore everything you see below and check out the Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour instead! For two full days, this annual event flings the doors open on 40 artist studios in Peterborough and the surrounding area.

The 2025 edition of the Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour takes place on Saturday, September 27, and Sunday, September 28, from 10 AM to 5 PM on both days. To make the most of the event, we highly recommend starting on Saturday morning with a visit to the Art Gallery of Peterborough. Take a stroll through their tour selections exhibit to find the works that interest you most, then grab a copy of the Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour map to plan out a route to the corresponding studios. In between, you’ll be treated to an autumn road trip through the city and Central Ontario back roads as you discover your new favourite local artists!

Fall weekend getaway in Peterborough, Day 1: Saturday

Morning: Visit the city’s farmers markets

Arrive in Peterborough on Saturday morning and head out to its two farmers markets. Both run in outdoor locations from May to October. The Peterborough Farmers’ Market on Lansdowne Street is held on Saturdays from 7 AM to 1 PM (and moves indoors from November to April so it operates year-round). The Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market at Quaker Foods City Square downtown happens on Saturdays from 8 AM to 1 PM (and it’s open again for the same hours on Wednesdays and moves inside Peterborough Square from November to April). You’ll find unique vendors at each market, so if you have time, why not hit both?

Lunch: Grab a bite to eat in downtown Peterborough

Enjoy lunch at one of the city’s great casual spots. We love Tora Bistro (Tora Sushi) for the fresh sushi and creative special rolls, One Eighty Hunter for classic sports bar fare, and La Hacienda for authentic Mexican dishes. If you’re at the farmers market on Lansdowne and haven’t made your way downtown yet, try Hanoi House for the best Vietnamese cuisine around or One Fine Food for pizza, pasta, and other Italian favourites.

Afternoon: Do some shopping

Explore downtown Peterborough’s shopping district. There are so many fabulous shops to check out! Our can’t-miss stops include:

• Providence, a one-stop men’s shop with clothing and shoes, accessories, a barber shop, a bar and café, new vinyls, and more
• Flavour Fashion, a streetwear store with unique PTBO merch
• Bluestreak Records, a used record store with a decades-long legacy in the city
• Watson & Lou, a gift shop that stocks local artist works
• Couture Candy, a locally owned candy store with hard-to-find selections

You’ll also find specialty shops like Needles in the Hay for yarn and East City Knife Co. for knife sales and sharpening, plus a bunch of vintage clothing stores and used book and media stores. Get a jump on your holiday shopping, or just treat yourself and go hunting for treasures!

If local art interests you but you can’t get to the Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour, spend some time on Saturday afternoon at the Art Gallery of Peterborough exploring the KAST submissions exhibit, which runs until October 5. Most Peterborough and area artists welcome visitors into their studios outside the tour weekend by appointment. If a work of art jumps out at you in the exhibit, you can contact the artist and ask to arrange a visit for the following day.

Dinner: Hit another great downtown Peterborough restaurant

Our top choice for an excellent Saturday night dinner is Love You, Mean It. The contemporary seasonal takes on heartwarming classics here is out of this world. Smoked wings, roasted chicken supreme, and a phenomenal Brussels sprout salad with beet, bacon, and goat cheese were on the menu for our visit, and we enjoyed every bite.

We’ve also heard rave reviews for St. Veronus Café and Tap Room but haven’t yet had a chance to visit. You could also try any of the other restaurants already mentioned in this itinerary.

After dark: Enjoy Peterborough’s night life

Take in some live music at Jethro’s Bar + Stage, where you can often catch local acts from Wednesdays to Sundays. Or take a stroll over to The Only Café in the Hunter Street Café District for some late-night libations. This local favourite has been serving downtown Peterborough for 35 years and is open from 10 AM until 2 AM on 364 days of the year.

Overnight at one of the hotels in Peterborough

Our favourite hotels in Peterborough are locally operated facilities from reputable chains. They offer clean and comfortable rooms with great locations and competitive rates. Here’s a look at our top recommendations.

Holiday Inn Peterborough Waterfront

Roughly 50 percent of the rooms at the Holiday Inn Peterborough Waterfront have balconies or patios with views of the picturesque Otonabee River. Its central location provides walkable access to favourite spots in the city like Del Crary Park and Millennium Park, and downtown Peterborough’s restaurants and shops are just a few blocks away. The indoor-outdoor pool and kids-eat-free dining makes this a favourite home base in Peterborough for families.

Best Western Plus Otonabee Inn

Peterborough’s Best Western Plus Otonabee Inn is located on Lansdowne Street, providing easy access to the Peterborough Farmers’ Market, the Peterborough Memorial Centre (home of the OHL’s Peterborough Petes), big-box shopping centres, and Highways 7 and 115. It offers an indoor heated pool and free hot breakfast, among other amenities.

Fall weekend getaway in Peterborough, Day 2: Sunday

Breakfast: Check out a classic Peterborough café

If breakfast isn’t included with your hotel stay, Peterborough has several local favourite cafés. Try the Silver Bean Café’s locations in the Canadian Canoe Museum or Millennium Park (but check its opening dates at the latter as it closes before Thanksgiving). Or head back into downtown to Dreams of Beans or the Cork and Bean. All three are excellent cafés with delicious and affordable breakfast options.

Morning: Visit the Canadian Canoe Museum

The Canadian Canoe Museum’s new waterfront location on the shores of Little Lake opened in 2024 and instantly became Peterborough’s signature attraction. Long before there were highways and byways in Canada, rivers and lakes were the primary means of transport. The exhibits here will send you on a journey through Indigenous culture, Peterborough’s early history in canoe manufacturing, and how the canoe continues to shape modern Canadian life.

An exhibition called Nastawgan: Pathways of Temagami examines the paddling history of this Northeastern Ontario region and runs until summer 2026.

If the weather is cooperating, rent a canoe or kayak from the museum’s Canoe House and spend some time on Little Lake. Paddlecraft rentals through the Canadian Canoe Museum are available from May to October as weather permits.

Lunch: Explore another great Peterborough eatery

If you didn’t get a chance to check out the Silver Bean Café for breakfast, hang out at the cozy Canoe Museum location for lunch. If you did have breakfast here and would like to try something different, try the Ashburnham Ale House in the East City. This will give you a chance to check out some of the great locally owned East City retailers like Take Cover Books and even more used bookstores and vintage shops.

Afternoon: Visit an artist, or take a walk in the park

Remember when we sent you to the Art Gallery of Peterborough on Saturday afternoon to check out the KAST submissions exhibit and pick a local artist to visit? This is the time slot to set aside for that. If you missed the exhibit, the Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour map will stay online for a while, so you can scope out the artists there. Contact the artist that interests you in advance to arrange an appointment.

If art isn’t your thing, there’s plenty more to check out. Spend the afternoon watching boats go by at the historic Peterborough Lift Lock, the tallest hydraulic lift lock in the world. This is the crown jewel of the Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site, which operates daily from the May long weekend until Thanksgiving Monday.

The Riverview Park & Zoo is another great spot, and it gets our vote for the most family-friendly spot in Peterborough. As the only free-admission zoo accredited by Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA), it’s a very affordable place to spend an afternoon. Check out the monkeys, meerkats, turtles, camels, otters, and more. The park also has a large playground, a summer splash pad and train ride, and a long hillside slide. Spend a couple of hours here, and your kids will sleep very well on the way home!

Take the long way home through Trent-Severn Trail Towns

To squeeze out every last drop of autumn’s spectacular colours, take your time as you head back home and stop at some of the postcard-perfect Trent-Severn Trail Towns along the historic Trent-Severn Waterway. From Campbellford in the east to Buckhorn in the north or Bobcaygeon and Fenelon Falls to the west and more, you can extend your road trip through Central Ontario as little or as long as you’d like.

Map out a road trip on Ontario’s Trent-Severn Waterway >

Add on an extra night for the First Friday Art Crawl

On the first Friday of every month, downtown Peterborough stays up late for the First Friday Art Crawl. Local and visiting artists set up shop in their studios or at pop-ups in downtown retailers, giving you a chance to roam around and discover artistic surprises of all kinds. Selections change every month, so be sure to visit the First Friday Art Crawl schedule to plan which locations you’d like to visit!

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