Loyalist.
Loyalist Township sits at the eastern end of the Loyalist Parkway (Highway 33) on the north shore of Lake Ontario between Bath and Amherstview, the township that picked up Amherst Island, Ernestown, and Bath Village when the three amalgamated in 1998. The eastern gates of the parkway open in Amherstview at Fairfield House — the 1793 Loyalist-era home named in 2000 by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada to its 250-best Canadian architecture list — and the road runs west along the lake to the heritage village of Bath, settled by United Empire Loyalists in 1784 and home to the 1796 Fairfield-Gutzeit House (reopened in 2025 after a two-year restoration).
Three kilometres offshore, the M/V Frontenac II runs 365 days a year between Millhaven and Stella on Amherst Island — a globally and continentally significant Important Bird Area where Northern Saw-whet Owls, Long-eared Owls, Snowy Owls, Short-eared Owls, Rough-legged Hawks, and Northern Harriers concentrate on open farmland through winter. Inland, Parrott's Bay Conservation Area carries 6 km of woodland and wetland trails on the western edge of Amherstview.
Kingston is fifteen minutes east; Toronto and Ottawa are each within a few hours along the 401 corridor.
Today's read.
Real-time conditions updated; AI field notes unavailable.
On the record.
Every claim sourced. Click through to the original.
- 01Bath was first settled by United Empire Loyalists in 1784, making it one of the oldest communities in Ontario.Source ↗
- 02Fairfield House in Amherstview was completed in 1793 and is among the first permanent structures built in Ontario in the decade following Loyalist settlement; in 2000 it was named by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada one of the 250 best examples of Canadian architecture over the last 1,000 years.Source ↗
- 03The Fairfield-Gutzeit House in Bath was built in 1796 by brothers William Jr. and Benjamin Fairfield and reopened in 2025 after a two-year restoration; new exhibits and guided tours run Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., admission $3.Source ↗
- 04Amherst Island is internationally recognised as one of the largest gathering places of wintering owls and raptors in eastern North America; the Kingston Field Naturalists' site guide records Northern Saw-whet Owl, Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, Snowy Owl, Rough-legged Hawk, and Northern Harrier among the species commonly seen in winter.Source ↗
- 05Parrott's Bay Conservation Area covers 75.6 hectares of woods and wetlands with 6 km of trails just west of Amherstview; the area is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to dusk.Source ↗
- 06The M/V Frontenac II runs 365 days a year between Millhaven and Stella on Amherst Island; the crossing takes about 20 minutes and the round-trip fare is collected on the Millhaven side.Source ↗
7. activities
worth your time
Hiking
Parrott's Bay Conservation Area carries 6 km of trails across 75.6 hectares of woodland and wetland just west of Amherstview, with a boardwalk through the marsh and an osprey nesting platform at the Bath Road trailhead. Across the Millhaven ferry, Topsy Farms on Amherst Island has 6 km of interconnecting forest and farmyard trails on a working sheep farm — flat, family-friendly, with pre-registration and a $5 donation requested. The Great Lakes Waterfront Trail's Loyalist segment runs about 40 km along the Loyalist Parkway between Amherstview and the western township boundary.
Read field guide arrow_outwardWalking & Strolling
The eastern gates of the Loyalist Parkway open at Fairfield Park in Amherstview, where short lakefront walks pass the 1793 Fairfield House and the limestone-shelf shoreline of Lake Ontario. Fifteen kilometres west, Bath's heritage village core gives a flat waterfront loop past Centennial Park and the 1796 Fairfield-Gutzeit House. Across the Millhaven ferry, Stella's main street threads the harbour from the M/V Frontenac II dock past the Neilson Store Museum and McGinn's General Store — twenty minutes of crossing and the village is walkable end to end.
Read field guide arrow_outwardNature & Discovery
Kingston Field Naturalists curates the Amherst Island birding inventory — Owl Woods for Saw-whet and Long-eared Owls (privately owned, accessed under a landowner agreement with a code of ethics displayed at the kiosk; closed during November deer hunt); the open island farmland for Snowy Owl, Short-eared Owl, Rough-legged Hawk, and Northern Harrier; and the harbour and shoreline at Stella for waterfowl. On the mainland, Parrott's Bay Conservation Area adds 6 km of woodland-and-wetland trails with an osprey nesting platform at the marsh edge.
Read field guide arrow_outwardCycling
The Loyalist Parkway (Highway 33) runs 60.9 km from Bloomfield in Prince Edward County east to Collins Bay Road in Kingston — the Loyalist segment between Amherstview and Bath delivers a designated heritage corridor along the Lake Ontario shoreline, with Fairfield House and Fairfield-Gutzeit House on the route. The Great Lakes Waterfront Trail follows the same corridor for about 40 km inside the township. Across the Millhaven ferry, Amherst Island's quiet farm roads form a flat, low-traffic loop from Stella that birders ride year-round and casual cyclists ride between April and November.
Read field guide arrow_outwardSailing & Boating
Loyalist Cove Marina in Bath is a full-service deep-water cove marina sheltered behind Amherst Island — a gateway to the upper St. Lawrence and the Thousand Islands cruising waters east of Kingston. The lee of Amherst Island shelters one of the most cruising-friendly stretches of eastern Lake Ontario, with Bath Centennial Park's lakefront and the Stella harbour opposite as easy small-craft stops. Open-water sailing east toward Kingston and west toward the Bay of Quinte both stage out of Bath.
Read field guide arrow_outwardWildlife Viewing
Amherst Island is internationally recognised as one of the largest gathering places of wintering owls and raptors in eastern North America. Kingston Field Naturalists' Amherst Island site guide records Northern Saw-whet Owl, Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, Snowy Owl, Rough-legged Hawk, and Northern Harrier among the species commonly seen on the open farmland from November through March, and Owl Woods — a privately owned forest patch stewarded under a long-standing landowner agreement with KFN — is the most reliable site in Ontario for both Saw-whet and Long-eared Owls. The mainland adds Parrott's Bay Conservation Area's marsh, with osprey nesting and waterfowl through spring and summer.
Read field guide arrow_outwardHeritage & Culture
Fairfield House at Fairfield Park in Amherstview was completed in 1793 — among the first permanent structures built in Ontario after Loyalist settlement began at Cataraqui in 1784, and named in 2000 by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada to its 250-best Canadian architecture list. The eastern gates of the Loyalist Parkway, dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II in Amherstview on September 27, 1984, sit on the same grounds. Fifteen kilometres west along Highway 33, the village of Bath has the 1796 Fairfield-Gutzeit House, restored and reopened in 2025 — a Georgian-style waterfront museum that anchors a heritage village settled by Loyalists in 1784.
Read field guide arrow_outward15. more outings
surveyed.
Activities supported across Loyalist without a featured write-up.
- 01
Trail Running
Parrott's Bay Conservation Area - 02
Mountain Biking
cross-country - 03
Paddling — Flatwater
kayaking · sup - 04
Paddling — Sea & Coastal
sea-kayaking - 05
Surf & Wind
windsurfing · kitesurfing - 06
Diving & Snorkeling
scuba-diving - 07
Swimming & Beach
lake-swim · beach-day - 08
Freshwater Fishing
smallmouth-bass · largemouth-bass · walleye - 09
Cross-Country & Nordic
classic-xc - 10
Snow Adventure
snowshoeing · ice-skating - 11
Seasonal Phenomena
fall-colours - 12
Motorized Touring
scenic-drive - 13
Food & Drink
brewery · farm-tour-u-pick - 14
Geology & Discovery
rockhounding - 15
Arts & Craft
artist-studio-tour
Local operators.
Trusted outfitters, guides, and experience providers in Loyalist.
Key resources.
- loyalist.caLoyalist Township parks, trails, and museums (Fairfield House, Fairfield-Gutzeit House)
- kingstonfieldnaturalists.orgKingston Field Naturalists — Amherst Island birding site guide
- loyalistparkway.orgLoyalist Parkway Association — Highway 33 heritage corridor
- ontario.caOntario Fishing Regulations Summary — Fisheries Management Zone 20 (Lake Ontario / upper St. Lawrence)
- cataraquiconservation.caCataraqui Region Conservation Authority — Parrott's Bay Conservation Area
- kingstonfieldnaturalists.orgKingston Field Naturalists — Owl Woods access, code of ethics, deer-hunt closure
- naturallyla.caNaturally Lennox & Addington — county tourism, Amherst Island and Loyalist visitor info