Ruthven Park National Historic Site

Ruthven Park National Historic Site is one of Ontario's most remarkable and least-known heritage treasures. Located on a sweeping 500-acre estate along the Grand River near Cayuga, the property centres on a magnificent Regency-style mansion built in 1845 for David Thompson, a prominent Upper Canadian politician and businessman.

The mansion itself is a masterpiece of early Ontario architecture — a grand stone house with Ionic columns, formal gardens, and interiors that have been carefully preserved to reflect life in 19th-century Upper Canada. Guided tours bring the house and its history to life, telling the stories of the Thompson family and the generations who lived here.

But Ruthven Park is more than a historic house. The estate is also home to one of Ontario's longest-running bird banding research stations. Scientists and volunteers have been banding migratory birds here for decades, contributing valuable data to continental bird population studies. Visitors can often watch banding operations in action during migration season.

The grounds include formal heritage gardens, walking trails through the estate's woodlands, and access to the Grand River. It's a place where history, nature, and science intersect in a uniquely Ontario way. From MoonLake Cottage, it's a 20-minute drive north along the Grand River.