Northumberland County is an upper-tier level of municipal government situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, east of Toronto in Central Ontario. The Northumberland County headquarters are located in Cobourg. Municipalities Northumberland County consists of seven municipalities (in population order): Town of Cobourg Municipality of Port Hope - originally part of Durham County Municipality (town) of Trent Hills Municipality (town) of Brighton Township of Hamilton Township of Alnwick/Haldimand Township of Cramahe The Alderville First Nation is within the Northumberland census division but is independent of county administration. Demographics As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Northumberland County had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Towns/villages Town of Cobourg, Ontario Municipality of Port Hope, Ontario Municipality of Brighton, Ontario Municipality of Trent Hills, Ontario Cramahe Township, Ontario Hamilton Township, Ontario Alnwick/Haldimand Township, Ontario History Together with Durham County, it formed the Newcastle District from 1802 to 1849 and the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham from 1850 to 1973. Effective January 1, 1974, part of Durham County was merged with Ontario County to create the Regional Municipality of Durham. At that time, Northumberland reverted to a standalone county. It was first aggressively settled by United Empire Loyalists fleeing the former 13 British American Colonies in the late 18th century. The Crown provided plots to the settlers for nominal sums (with the stipulation of making the land productive in a set number of years) or free to those who had served against the American Colonial Army. Following the War of 1812, many port towns, Port Hope and Cobourg in particular, became important centres for commercial activity and a landing point for European immigrants arriving on steamers. Recreation There are two provincial parks in Northumberland County: Presqu'ile Provincial Park in Brighton, and Ferris Provincial Park in Campbellford. There are also several other protected natural areas and forests, including Ganaraska Forest, Northumberland County Forest, Goodrich-Loomis Conservation Area, and Peter's Woods. Waterfront campsites and cottages are located along Lake Ontario and Rice Lake. Northumberland County has various cycling, hiking and other outdoor trails. The Waterfront Trail along Lake Ontario passes through Northumberland County, as does the Trans-Canada Trail. The Northumberland portion of the Trans-Canada Trail spans from Hastings to Hoard's