The Municipality of Trent Lakes is a lower-tier township in the rural, mostly wooded northern section of Peterborough County, Ontario, Canada.

The municipality has a primarily cottage and tourist industry based economy but has grown year round residency due to its commute distance to the Greater Toronto Area.

[2] The name was in recognition of the Trent-Severn Waterway which plays a major role in the cottage history and tourism economy of the area.

A 37,587-hectare (92,880-acre) Natural Environment Park permitting "backcountry" camping and primarily a water access only interior.

These areas are primarily "igneous" granite which was subject to intense heat and pressure during the movement of the Earth's crust.

This same ridge extends to Lower Buckhorn Lake and the erosion on the northern edge has created a scarp (or steep cliff) some 30 metres (98 ft) high in areas.

Surrounded by a limestone karst runoff enters into the lake with very little organic material and this contributes to the unique greenish-blue colouration.

The community is a scenic location where Paleozoic limestone formations yield to the underlying Precambrian bedrock of pink gneiss; as a result, it attracts a large number of summer residents and visitors.

The three wards are based on traditional geographic boundaries and for election purposes there is still Municipal Council representatives for Harvey and Galway-Cavendish.

Several of the communities were originally intended for cottage use but today many of the subdivisions contain year round residents.

[4] The hamlet of Buckhorn is situated on the border of the Municipality of Trent Lakes and the Township of Selwyn.

[10] The border of the Municipality of Trent Lakes is Gannons Narrows in the southeast, Buckhorn on the east (shared with Selwyn Township) and almost to Burleigh Falls in the northeast (includes Perry's Creek).

[11] Trent Lakes is also connected to the Township of Selwyn by a causeway and span of bridge at Gannon Narrows.

Current and some historic communities are Alpine Village, Buckhorn, Buckhorn Lake Estates, Catchacoma, Crystal Lake, Ewan, Flynns, Fortescue, Kawartha Hideaway, Lakehurst, Mississagua Landing, Mount Irwin, Nogies Creek, Oak Shores Estates, Pirates Glen, Point Pleasant, Rockcroft and Sugar Bush and the area has numerous cottager and ratepayer associations.

Due to the topography of the region, agricultural production was limited to only certain areas where soil conditions were adequate and cattle and mixed farming (orchards, cattle, horses, sheep, grains, vegetables, chickens and turkeys) were the predominant formats.

This led to the development of settlements of forestry workers, but non-resident lumber barons took most of the gains from the industry.

The French Canadians, Irish immigrants and other lumber labourers moved to other thriving locations, leaving smaller groups in the region.

Galway, Cavendish and Harvey wards all have ghost settlements and nearly-forgotten communities including Silver Lake, Rockcroft, Scotts Mills, Fortesque.

The two townships, located in the same corner of Peterborough County, had much in common economically, topographically, and historically and agreed to amalgamate.

However, on February 19, 2013, the township changed its name again, this time to its current name, recognising the role of the tourist and cottage industry of the Trent Severn Waterway system.