Destination – Kawartha Settlers’ Village 2025

~ Pioneers, Pirates, and Pancakes: A Family Adventure at Kawartha Settlers’ Village!” ~

Please Note: This imagined story is a compilation of the different events and activities that take place at the Kawartha Settlers’ Village. Please visit the village’s website for exact details 
on all of their events and activities.

When the Thompson family packed up their minivan and headed north to Bobcaygeon and Kawartha Setters’ Village, they expected a quiet weekend, maybe a few nature trails and a nice dinner by the lake. What they didn’t expect was to be swept into a thrilling, time-traveling adventure through pioneer days, pirate mysteries, and enough hands-on excitement to keep everyone grinning from ear to ear.

Bobcaygeon

Their destination? Kawartha Settlers’ Village, where history isn’t locked behind glass—it walks, talks, and sometimes even brews its own root beer.

Entrance to the Village

Arrival: A Village Lost in Time

The moment they stepped through the gates, the Thompsons felt like they’d been transported into the 1800s. Rustic log cabins, the clanging of the blacksmith’s hammer, and the smell of woodsmoke drifting from the open-air firepit set the scene.

Village Cabin

Young Max, age nine, darted toward a one-room schoolhouse, while Emma, six, squealed at the sight of a costumed interpreter churning butter. Their parents followed closely behind, marveling at the authentic furnishings inside each preserved building,from quilts stitched by hand to well-worn spinning wheels.

Village School House

Then came the real surprise: a hand-scrawled poster pinned to the General Store door. “Three Islands of Lost Souls – Pirate Mystery Adventure – This Friday at Sunset.”

Max’s eyes lit up. “Are we solving a pirate mystery, Mom?”

“You bet we are,” she said, pulling out her phone to book tickets.

Village General Store

Pirate Night: Mystery and Mayhem in the Village

Friday evening came with the smell of kettle corn and the faint sound of sea shanties. Lanterns lined the gravel paths as families gathered at the Village gates. The Thompsons, now armed with a treasure map and clue card, joined dozens of other explorers ready to unlock the secrets of the cursed islands.

Pirates Treasure Map

They encountered “Captain Flintlock,” a flamboyant pirate with a limp and a talent for riddles. To earn the next clue, Emma had to walk the plank, well, a wobbly wooden beam across a kiddie pool. Max translated a code hidden in the blacksmith shop, while their dad bartered with a ghostly innkeeper for a rusted key.

Captain Flintlock

By the end of the night, they’d solved the mystery, uncovered the location of the lost pirate gold, and earned their honorary pirate sashes. The kids beamed. “This is way better than any video game,” Max declared.

Finding the Treasure

Day Two: Pancakes, Paint, and Pioneers

The next morning, the Village was buzzing with excitement again, but this time, for Settlers’ Camp Day. The Thompsons joined a group of other families in a shaded clearing, where kids were invited to dress up like pioneers, dip candles, play old-fashioned games like hoop rolling, and bake biscuits over a fire.

Settlers’ Camp 1

Emma spent the morning braiding friendship bracelets and helping grind corn, while Max got hands-on in the woodworking shed. Their mom joined a quilting demonstration and their dad, perhaps a little too enthusiastically, competed in the tug-of-war.

Settlers’ Camp 2

After lunch, the whole family strolled over to the Art Camp Tent, where local artists were helping kids paint barns and fields using brushes made from horsehair and twigs. Emma painted a rainbow over a log cabin, while Max made a stormy sea with a ship battling the waves, clearly inspired by last night’s pirate saga.

Craft Brews and Family Tunes

By late afternoon, the grown-ups got a treat of their own: The Bobcaygeon Craft Beer and Food Festival. With local brews, sizzling food trucks, and live music playing in the historic barn, the event blended modern fun with vintage charm. The kids munched on giant cookies and explored a scavenger hunt designed just for them, while the parents sipped cider and chatted with locals.

Kawartha Craft Beer Festival 1

When the fiddle band kicked off a lively reel, the whole Thompson crew joined the dancing on the grassy lawn. Emma twirled in her sunhat. Max tried a moonwalk that didn’t quite land. But for once, nobody was looking at a screen.

Kawartha Craft Beer Festival 2

Farewell to the Village… For Now

On their final day, they explored a few more gems, an 1800s doctor’s office, the old jail, and the Children’s Activity Barn where Emma won a prize for her best chicken impression. Before heading home, they stopped by the gift shop for homemade jam and a handcrafted wooden toy boat, perfect for remembering their pirate night.

Activity Barn

As they drove away from Kawartha Settlers’ Village, Max turned from the backseat. “Can we come back in the fall? I heard there’s a haunted tour…”

Mom and Dad smiled. “Next adventure, here we come.”

Kawartha Settlers’ Village isn’t just a place to learn history, it’s a place where families live it, laugh with it, and leave with stories they’ll retell for years. From pancake breakfasts to pirate gold, the 2025 season is packed with unforgettable moments. Whether you’re a curious kid, a creative soul, or a grown-up looking for magic in the past, your adventure begins in Bobcaygeon.

Memories of “A Family Adventure!”

Would you like a shortened version of this for social media or a tourism flyer?

n In Mississippi Mills)