Rural Guelph/Eramosa

Rural Guelph/Eramosa covers most of the township: about 29,000 hectares of farmland, woodlots and river valleys around the city of Guelph. The Eramosa and Speed rivers run through it, and Guelph Lake, a reservoir made by the Guelph Dam in 1976, is surrounded by a 420-hectare conservation area with two beaches, picnic areas and room for sailing, canoeing and kayaking. Everton, Brucedale, Barrie Hill, Oustic, Hartfield, Marden and the hamlet of Eramosa are small communities among the farms. Marden Park has a large pond, trails and enabling gardens, and the Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail crosses the north of the township. Each July the Hillside Festival is held on the island stage at Guelph Lake.

Eramosa was first settled in 1821 and Guelph Township in 1825, on land first granted to the Six Nations and land bought from the Mississaugas. In 1827 the Canada Company settled the La Guayrans, Scottish emigrants who had first gone to Venezuela, in Guelph Township. The name Eramosa comes from the word Un-ne-mo-sah, possibly meaning "dog". The present township was formed in 1999 from the townships of Guelph and Eramosa, with parts of Pilkington and Nichol.

The 2021 census counted about 5,000 homes in Guelph/Eramosa. Leaving out Rockwood, the countryside, its hamlets and the small villages of Eden Mills and Ariss had about 2,950 homes. About 19 in 20 are single detached houses. About a quarter were built in 1960 or earlier and about a third between 1961 and 1980. More than a quarter were built between 1981 and 2000, and about one in eight in 2001 or later.

Highway 6 and Highway 7 cross the township, and Wellington roads link the countryside with Guelph, Rockwood, Fergus and Erin. Highway 401 is to the south. The GO Transit and VIA Rail line runs through the south of the township with no station in it; the nearest stations are Guelph Central and Acton. The Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail, part of the Trans Canada Trail, crosses the north of the township.

The Guelph Lake Conservation Area at 7743 Conservation Road has about 290 campsites, two beaches and the island stage, and it is open all year. Marden Park at 7368 Wellington Road 30 has sports fields, a lit ball diamond, two picnic pavilions, a pond, trails, a playground and the Marian Brennan Enabling Gardens, with the Marden Community Centre and the Marden branch of the Wellington County Library on the same grounds. Cross Creek Park, at 78 Cross Creek Boulevard, has an outdoor rink, a playground, a walking path and a toboggan hill, and James Lynch Park in Everton has a playground and a basketball court. The trails of the Ignatius Jesuit Centre are open at 5420 Highway 6 North.

• Eramosa Public School — JK to Grade 6. The public school for the east of the countryside, including Everton, on Fifth Line, with Grades 7 and 8 at Rockwood Centennial Public School.
• June Avenue Public School — JK to Grade 6. The public school for the countryside just north of Guelph, including Marden and Cross Creek, in Guelph.
• Willow Road Public School — Grades 7 and 8. The middle school for Marden, in Guelph.
• John Galt Public School — Grades 7 and 8. The middle school for Cross Creek, in Guelph.
• Ponsonby Public School — JK to Grade 6. The public school for Ariss and the north-west, in Centre Wellington.
• John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute — Grades 9 to 12. The public secondary school for most of the countryside, in Guelph, with French immersion.
• Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute — Grades 9 to 12. The public secondary school for Marden, in Guelph.
• Sacred Heart Catholic School — JK to Grade 8. The Catholic elementary school for the east, including Everton, in Rockwood.
• St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School — JK to Grade 8. The Catholic elementary school for Marden, in Guelph.
• Holy Rosary Catholic School — JK to Grade 8. The Catholic elementary school for Cross Creek, in Guelph.
• St. James Catholic High School — Grades 9 to 12. The Catholic secondary school for the east and for Cross Creek, in Guelph.
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School — Grades 9 to 12. The Catholic secondary school for Marden and the north-west, in Guelph.