Mark S. Burnham P.P. is located at 846 Highway 7, in Peterborough, ON. This park is day use only, and is notable for being one of the only pieces of land in the area never to be burned or farmed. We visited in January 2025.
The land was first owned by Zacheus Burnham. Zacheus was from New Hampshire, arriving in Cobourg to be a land speculator, moving to this plot of land with as much as $100 (around $3,000 in the 1820s). This man's son was Zacheus Jr., a preacher in Peterborough. Eventually, Zacheus Jr. took a gamble, and returned broke from the Yukon Gold Rush he attempted to invest in. After returning home, Zacheus Jr. bought the land from his dad for $1. Yes, 150 acres for $1. Anyways, him and his son built the Burnham mansion on the plot to the west of the modern-day park. This plot was farmed by Zacheus Jr's son, Mark. Mark continued to own the land until donating it to the province in 1955, when the provincial park was founded.
Mark S. Burnham offers:
- a charming walk in the woods
- numerous interpretive signs
- a picnic pavilion used as first-come-first-serve
- vaulted toilets
- large day use area for picnicking
- a stopover when passing through the city
There are two loops, neither can be biked:
A charming walk through a hemlock forest notable for its old growth stands along a drumlin. This old growth is a direct result of the Burnham family not farming this plot. This trail provides a climb atop the drumlin, over a pretty little valley.
A shorter loop if you don't feel like hiking it all. This trail still provides glimpses at old growth and the dense forest floor. Too bad you can't see this density in the wintertime.
Drive into the park. The toilets, picnic area, and trail entrance are immediately apparent.
In the winter, the gate is closed. Park at another location or park outside the park. Make sure to not block the gate, or risk being towed.
Note that the photos in this section are not explicitly from this park, they are good photos of species that live here.
Old growth stands
Eastern red-backed salamanders (according to the sign)
Very dense forest floor, highlighted by the interpretive signs throughout the trail
If you're ever in Peterborough and have a half hour to kill, come here and do a hike. It's a nice little place.
A drumlin is a simple kind of hill. It is a teardrop shaped hill, where the highest point is the big, fat part on the bottom; and the lowest point is the tip, thin part. Many parks are built on drumlins (see Ferris and McRae Point), and they offer an interesting valley landscape and a host of interesting species. This park specifically is a great example of a totally undisturbed drumlin environment, unlike that of Ferris. You can really glimpse at what drumlins were naturally like way back when.
The interpretive sign on the right is a good insight into drumlins.
I have been waiting to do this park for 3 and a half years. Not that it was shockingly beautiful, nor was it in a list of "TOP 100 PLACES TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE!!!". No, it was a hole in my scratch map. One that is successfully filled in! The park is nothing too special. Not even water. 10/10 experience, 2/10 park. But, come here expecting a walk in the woods, because that's what it is. Mind you a very pretty walk in the woods.
Here's a map:
There is no official Ontario Parks map online, this one is from the trailhead.
