Skip to the page
Scugog Island EscapeGreat Blue Heron, reviewed independently

The town across the causeway

Port Perry: fourteen minutes and a hundred and fifty years away

Across the causeway is a lakeside town with a Victorian main street, a park on the water and the oldest grain elevator still standing in Canada. This is the part of the weekend most guests remember.

A Victorian main street with awnings and a grain elevator by the lake
Illustration, not a photograph of the hotel

How far is it from the hotel?

Palmer Park on Port Perry's waterfront is 11.4 km from the hotel, about 14 minutes by car in our routing model, and the Town Hall 1873 theatre on Queen Street is about the same. You cross the causeway, pass the marsh and arrive almost at the foot of the main street.

What is the downtown like?

Durham Region's tourism office describes a thriving heritage downtown with boutiques, antique stores, specialty shops and food. The town of about 9,500 people (2021 census, encyclopedia account) grew as a railway and grain port: the railway from Whitby arrived in 1872, and the grain elevator built the next year still stands by the water, described as Canada's oldest existing grain elevator. The tourism office even keeps a page for film and TV production in the township.

What should we do there?

5 kmWalk the waterfront trailHighway 7A to Scugog Line 8, along Lake Scugog

The Port Perry Waterfront Trail System runs about 5 km along the lakefront, from behind the VOS Independent Grocer on Highway 7A to just north of Canterbury Common at Scugog Line 8. Surfaces are limestone, pavement and woodchips. You can join it from Queen, Casimir or Mary Street. The Rotary Environment Park trail starts at the rowing clubhouse and municipal boat launch, follows the natural shoreline and returns along the old railway line, with a boardwalk on the way.

ParkSit in Palmer ParkA beach and the Millennium Trail

The town's lakeside park at 175 Water Street is where the township holds its Canada Day fireworks over Lake Scugog and its summer movie nights. The Millennium Trail starts at the beach and loops back to Water Street over a small bridge. The Canterbury Common Loop has a lookout over the lake.

1873See a show at Town Hall 1873A historically designated theatre on Queen Street

Theatre on the Ridge performs at the town hall theatre through the year, and the building is a performing arts centre the hotel lists among local attractions. Check the theatre's programme before you travel.

ArtGalleries and studiosKent Farndale Gallery, Meta4 Gallery, the studio tour

The hotel names the Kent Farndale Gallery among nearby attractions, and the tourism office points to Meta4 Gallery in Port Perry and the yearly Lake Scugog Studio Tour, when artists open their own workspaces.

ShopShops worth a stopVintage, tartan, Scandinavian fashion, Indigenous art

From the tourism office's list: That Place on Queen for vintage and collectibles, Anja of Sweden Boutique, P.O.E. Design, The Wee Tartan Shop for Scottish goods, Tribal Voices for Indigenous art and crafts, and Brock's Department Store for everyday clothing.

Where do we eat?

Our eat-and-drink page has the tourism office's list, from pubs to a gluten-free bakery. For a first visit, our plan would be coffee at The Piano Café, a walk along the water and dinner within sight of the lake.

Can we stay in town instead?

Yes, and some people will prefer to. The township lists The George Stanley Inn (formerly the Piano Inn), the San-Man Motel on Highway 12 and the bed-and-breakfasts of the Port Perry BnB Association. The hotel on the island is the larger, newer option with free parking and an event hall; the inns put you on the main street. Which is better depends on whether your weekend is about the town or the evening show.

A main street of old brick shopfronts and an old grain elevator by the lake
Illustration (cyanotype style), not a photograph of the hotel

Where this page's facts come from (all read on 31 October 2026):