Highway 41 is a long highway which travels in a predominantly north–south direction across eastern Ontario, from Highway 7 in Kaladar and Highway 148 in Pembroke. The majority of this distance crosses through a rugged forested region known as Mazinaw Country. However, the route enters the Ottawa Valley at a point between Dacre and Eganville; north of there the land use surrounding the highway becomes mostly agricultural. Highway 41 begins in the centre of Lennox and Addington County at Highway 7, in the town of Kaladar. The highway once continued south to Napanee, but this is now County Road 41. The highway travels north through the Canadian Shield roughly following the Addington Colonization Road, straddling the boundary between Lennox and Addington County and Frontenac County. It serves the communities of Northbrook and Cloyne before entering Bon Echo Provincial Park. Within the park is the large Mazinaw Rock escarpment, which is visible from the highway. North of the park, the highway, now entirely within Lennox and Addington County, passes through Ferguson Corners, where it departs eastward from the Addington Colonization Road, and Vennachar Junction. It encounters Highway 28 in the town of Denbigh, then turns northeast. Before entering the community of Griffith, the highway enters Renfrew County and crosses the Madawaska River on a multiple-span concrete rigid arch bridge. East of Griffith, the highway passes through Khartum. Further east, near Dacre, it encounters Highway 132. At that junction, drivers must turn to remain on Highway 41. The route proceeds north towards Eganville, where it meets Highway 60. The two highways become concurrent and travel north for before curving west; Highway 41 departs from Highway 60 at a junction midway through this curve and travels eastward. The highway gradually wraps around the east side of Lake Doré, curving northward as it does. It passes through several communities within a short distance, the most significant of which is Rankin. At its northern end, the route intersects Highway 17 on the outskirts of Pembroke. Within the town, the highway is maintained under a Connecting Link Agreement. Highway 41 ends just south of the shores of the Ottawa River at Pembroke Street; this junction is also the western terminus of Highway 148.
History
Highway 41 was first assumed in the mid-1930s, though ironically it is the only section that is no longer part of the route. On May 1, 1935, the Department of Highways designated the Napanee–Kaladar Road through Lennox and Addington County, a distance of, and numbered it as Highway 41. Just over two years later, the route was extended to Highway 60 at Golden Lake. The DHO assumed the portion within Lennox and Addington on October 6, 1937, followed two weeks later by the portion within Renfrew County on October 20. This extended the highway by. Both Highway 60 and Highway 41 shared a terminus at a junction in Golden Lake until April 11, 1957, when the Eganville to Pembroke Road was designated as Highway 41. The section of highway between Eganville and Golden Lake became an extension of Highway 60. On January 1, 1998, the section of Highway 41 between Highway 2 in Napanee and Highway 7 in Kaladar was transferred to the county of Lennox and Addington, truncating the highway by.
