Port Perry
Homes for Sale.
Lakefront living and boutique shopping on Lake Scugog.
Typical Range
$750K – $2M+ (lakefront commands premium)
See the live report for Port Perry for this month’s median sale price, days on market and sales count.
Housing Style
Detached. Lakefront, heritage, estate lots.
Commute
60+ min to Oshawa, 90+ min to Toronto.
The Vibe
Lakefront, boutique, slower pace, weekend-worthy downtown.
Buying rather than selling? Read the Scugog buyer guide for homes for sale, a 90-day sales snapshot and what to expect on an offer.
Our AI estimate sits beside the asking price on MLS listings. Same math for every home. Not adjusted by an agent. No listing to win. On a listing, the figure shows once you have a free account.
9,553
Population (2021)
21,581
Township of Scugog (2021)
84 km
Distance to Toronto
1850s
Scugog Fair running since
68 km²
Lake Scugog area
What it’s actually like
to live in Port Perry.
Port Perry is the lakefront town Durham residents escape to on weekends and then quietly decide to move to. Queen Street might be the prettiest small-town main street in Ontario: Victorian brick, gabled rooftops, independent shops, century-old hotels, and a working waterfront one block south. People stop their cars to take pictures of it. Locals just call it home.
The lifestyle is the whole point. Sunset walks along the Lake Scugog boardwalk. Saturday-morning coffee at one of the cafes on Queen, then a wander into the Town Hall 1873 for a matinee. Boats on the lake all summer, ice huts in the winter, the Great Blue Heron just over the bridge on Scugog Island, and the Kawartha cottage country forty minutes north. There is a hospital right in town. Crime is rare. People still wave.
The Port Perry housing market is dominated by lakefront and lake-adjacent homes, downtown heritage properties, and estate-sized lots on the outskirts. The trade here is a longer commute in exchange for a life that feels three hours away from the GTA but is actually forty-five minutes from the 401. Once you've spent a sunset down at Palmer Park, you understand.
Photos: Mark (CC BY 2.0); Eric Marshall (CC BY 3.0); The Cosmonaut (CC BY-SA 2.5 CA); Camera Eye Photography (CC BY 2.0). Cropped to fit.
How Port Perry
got here.
Port Perry sits on the south shore of Lake Scugog in the Township of Scugog, on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. European settlement began in the 1820s, and the village was named after Peter Perry, a prominent merchant and politician, in 1852. The arrival of the Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway in 1871 spurred growth, and the Victorian-era Queen Street, rebuilt after an 1884 fire, remains a designated heritage downtown that has defined the town's identity for nearly 150 years.
The reasons people
stay in Port Perry.
Every community has the things you find in the brochure and the things you only find by living here. Here are the ones worth knowing about before you fall in love.
01
Queen Street Heritage Downtown
Walkable Victorian streetscape with independent shops, cafes, and restored 19th-century facades, easily the most photographed downtown in Durham Region.
02
Lake Scugog & Port Perry Marina
Public boardwalk, gazebo, and full-service marina on the south shore of Lake Scugog. Sunsets over the lake are the reason a lot of people end up moving here.
03
Town Hall 1873
Restored Victorian performing arts venue hosting live theatre and concerts year-round in the heart of downtown.
04
Great Blue Heron Casino
Entertainment and gaming complex on Scugog Island operated in partnership with the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.
05
Scugog Shores Museum Village
Open-air heritage village preserving 19th-century buildings and Indigenous history just outside town.
06
Palmer Park & Bandstand
Lakeside park with the iconic gazebo, summer concerts, splash pad, and sweeping Lake Scugog views.
07
Nonquon Provincial Wildlife Area
1,120-hectare protected wetland and birding paradise just outside town.
08
Ocala Orchards Farm Winery
Family-run estate winery, cidery, and U-pick orchard in the township.
09
Trans Canada Trail / Beaver River corridor
Rail-trail for cycling, walking, and snowshoeing through Scugog farmland.
Healthcare
Lakeridge Health Port Perry
Community hospital on Paxton Street with a 24/7 ER, inpatient beds, surgical services, diagnostic imaging, and dialysis, full hospital care right in town, which is rare for a community this size.
Port Perry Medical Associates
Multiple family health teams and specialist clinics in the area; tertiary care at Lakeridge Health Oshawa, ~25 km south.
Schools
Port Perry High School
Public secondary school, Durham District School Board, grades 9 to 12. 160 Rosa Street, Port Perry.
R.H. Cornish Public School
Public elementary school, Durham District School Board, JK to grade 8. 494 Queen Street, Port Perry.
Cartwright Central Public School
Public elementary school, Durham District School Board, JK to grade 8. 10 Alexander Street, Blackstock.
Port Perry is in Scugog, where public schools are run by the Durham District School Board (DDSB) and Catholic schools by the Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB). School names, boards and grades were checked on October 29, 2026 against the school boards' own directories and the Ontario Ministry of Education school lists.
Boundaries are set by the boards and can change. Confirm the school for a specific address with the board's own locator: DDSB Find My School, DCDSB Find My Local Catholic School.
Parks & Recreation
Palmer Park
Lakefront park with gazebo, playground, and direct boardwalk access to the marina, the centre of summer life in Port Perry.
Lake Scugog
Shallow Kawartha-chain lake popular for boating, fishing for walleye and bass, and winter ice fishing.
Scugog Community Recreation Centre
Twin-pad arena, indoor walking track, and community programs serving the whole township.
Scugog Memorial Public Library
Heritage building on Queen Street with programs and a stunning lakeview reading room.
Year-round in Port Perry,
things to look forward to.
The events that turn a town into a community. Mark these on the calendar before you even unpack.
Labour Day weekend
Scugog Fair
150+ year old agricultural fair with midway, livestock, and demolition derby.
Summer
Mississaugas of Scugog Island Pow Wow
Traditional dancing, drumming, and crafts hosted by the MSIFN.
Summer
Port Perry Dragon Boat Races & Festival
Community race day on Lake Scugog drawing teams from across the region.
Summer
Highland Games
Pipe bands, heavy events, and Celtic culture downtown.
June–August
Theatre on the Ridge Summer Festival
Live theatre performed at Town Hall 1873.
People who came
from Port Perry.
Towns are shaped by the people who grow up in them. These are some of the names Port Perry has sent into the world.
Emily VanCamp
Actress (Revenge, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Resident), grew up in the Port Perry area.
Brad Goreski
Celebrity fashion stylist and TV personality, raised in Port Perry.
Daniel David Palmer
Founder of chiropractic medicine and the Palmer School of Chiropractic, born in Port Perry in 1845.
Where Port Perry
eats out.
Queen Street punches well above its weight for a town of under 10,000. Locals and day-trippers fill patios at spots like Piano Cafe, Hank's Pastries (legendary butter tarts), Old Flame Brewing Co. (Czech-style lager brewed in a restored heritage building), Stone & Sky, and a deep bench of independent bakeries, cafes, and bistros. The surrounding Scugog countryside supplies pick-your-own farms, Ocala Orchards Farm Winery, maple syrup producers, and a busy summer farmers market, so menus skew local and seasonal year-round.
Transit & commute.
Port Perry has no GO Train station; commuters typically drive Highway 7A and Simcoe Street about 25 minutes south to Whitby GO or Oshawa GO for Lakeshore East service to Toronto. Highway 407 ETR is accessible in about 20 minutes via Simcoe Street or Brock Road. Living in Port Perry is openly a lifestyle choice that trades commute convenience for small-town waterfront living.
Port Perry,
the real story.
Is Port Perry a practical commute to Toronto?
Honestly, no. Port Perry is a lifestyle choice. If you commute to Toronto daily, expect 90+ minutes each way by car. It works for hybrid work arrangements and for buyers whose work is in Durham Region.
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