The Orono Crown Lands

The Orono Crown Lands are located just west of the village of Orono, between Taunton Road and the Fifth Concession. They can be accessed from Taunton Road and from Ochonski Road - there is parking in both areas.

Because they are located within the Wilmot Creek watershed, the Lands offer significant aquatic natural resources. They are a haven for frogs and brown trout. The Lands feature abandoned nursery production beds, natural forested areas, abandoned seed orchards and open fields, along with the remnants of man-made structures. As such, they are an ideal site for hiking and we have developed a number of trails in case that's your interest. These appear on the map below as dotted and dashed lines.

The lands are suitable for a variety of other outdoor activities, including fishing (in season), cycling, cross-country skiing, dog walking (dogs must be leashed and feces picked up), bird watching, horseback riding, snowshoeing and tobogganing. There is also an outdoor education centre maintained by the Kawartha-Pine Ridge Board of Education; this allows area students to study the land and participate in educational and physical activities.

If you click on the map below, you will be taken to a larger, printable version of the map.  Please note you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print this picture. If you don't have it, you can download it free from Adobe .

The Orono Crown Lands Trust operates under a management plan developed jointly by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the community consultative group. For more information, please contact us. For an update on the management plan, click here.

One of the exciting things happening in Ontario, which will affect us in the very near future, is the reintroduction of Atlantic salmon into watersheds draining into Lake Ontario. We're involved because the Wilmot Creek watershed includes part of the Orono Crown Lands. For more information on this initiative, click here.