Land for sale in Frontenac County, Ontario

About Frontenac County

The area

Frontenac County runs from the islands off Kingston north past Highway 7, about 3,270 km² of land outside Kingston. Its four townships are South Frontenac (about 20,200 people in 2021), Central Frontenac (about 4,900), North Frontenac (about 2,300, plus some 7,000 seasonal residents) and Frontenac Islands (about 1,900, including Wolfe and Howe islands). The City of Kingston (about 132,500 in 2021) sits at the south end outside county government, but the Statistics Canada census division called Frontenac includes it (about 161,800 people in 2021), so census figures for "Frontenac" are mostly Kingston. Much of the county lies on the Frontenac Arch, very old Precambrian rock linking the Canadian Shield to the Adirondacks: rocky knolls, forest and many lakes. Villages include Sydenham, Verona, Sharbot Lake and Plevna.

History

South Frontenac names its land as ancestral territory of the Algonquin, Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. Upper Canada sold land north of Kingston to mostly British settlers between about 1810 and 1830, and the Rideau Canal, built from 1826 to 1832, carried trade through the eastern part. Mica, feldspar and iron mines, mixed farms, cheese factories and logging followed. South and North Frontenac were each formed from four older townships in 1998.

Services and access

Kingston Health Sciences Centre is the referral hospital for southeastern Ontario; its Kingston General Hospital site has a 24-hour emergency department. Highway 401 runs along the south (exits at Road 38, Sydenham Road, Perth Road and Battersea Road); Highway 7 crosses the middle, and Highway 41 and Road 509 lead north. The largest employers are in Kingston: Queen's University, the health sciences centre and CFB Kingston. Wolfe Island is reached by ferry from downtown Kingston.

Land and climate

Frontenac Provincial Park, near Sydenham, protects 5,355 ha at the southern edge of the Shield, with canoe routes through 22 lakes. Many waterfront lots sit on private lanes: a 2016 county study counted about 980, roughly 770 km in all, mostly built for cottages. In North Frontenac a new house needs a potable water supply, Hydro One permits, and a township entrance permit and civic address.

Before you buy

Each township sets zoning and issues building permits; South Frontenac also handles septic permits and severances itself. The county approves township official plans and plans of subdivision. Cataraqui, Quinte and Rideau Valley conservation authorities cover South Frontenac, and Mississippi Valley covers parts of Central and North Frontenac. Cataraqui requires a permit to build, fill or alter a shoreline near lakes, rivers and wetlands (generally within 30 m). In North Frontenac a 20 m shore road allowance can separate a lot from the water; the township owns it unless a past owner bought it. Ontario's Crown Land Use Policy Atlas maps nearby Crown land.

Sources

• County of Frontenac: about, planning and development, getting here
• Statistics Canada, 2021 Census population and dwelling counts (tables 98-10-0002, 98-10-0007)
• Township of North Frontenac: about, shore road allowances, building checklist
• Township of South Frontenac: history, building, planning
• County of Frontenac, Private Roads (Lanes) Study, 2016
• Frontenac Arch Biosphere, natural history
• Kingston Health Sciences Centre: regional role, emergency department
• Kingston Economic Development, major employers
• Ontario Parks, Frontenac Provincial Park
• Cataraqui Conservation, permits
• Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority, board of directors
• Ontario, Crown Land Use Policy Atlas

Written by AcreScout from the sources listed; facts checked October 1, 2026. Rules change: confirm anything that matters with the municipality.