1 A few years ago, the owners of Toronto catering business Toben Hospitality Group noticed a pattern: every Friday, half of their customers stopped in to stock up for the weekend before heading north to the cottage. So they followed, setting up shop in Bala with a shipping-container kitchen and a charming clapboard market stocked with prepared meals (chicken-and-ricotta meatballs, everything-spiced roast salmon, charred summer corn, fingerling potato salad) and pantry supplies. Hungry shoppers can stay for a bite and a cocktail on one of the covered patios. With the iconic Kee to Bala concert hall just down the road, it’s perfect for pre-show snacking. Must try: The Bomb breakfast sandwich
2 From May to October, this waterside scoop shop doles out artisanal gelato and pulls shots of robust espresso. The freezer is stocked with classic flavours—pistachio, hazelnut, lemon—while the coffee menu lists the standard Italian hits before wandering into caffeine-spiked dessert territory. Must try: The tiramisu latte
3 Ashley Eady’s beachwear shop has swimwear for sunbathers, serious athletes and everyone in between. She started her business in 2005 by stocking a vast offering of unique one-piece bathing suits and colourful bikinis. But she now sells all manner of summery ’fits, including loose linen shirts and dresses made by small Canadian brands like Eve Gravel and Jennifer Glasgow, plus summery accessories such as beer koozies, cute floaties and wide-brimmed hats. The pretty-in-peach storefront operates from May to October, but the online shop is open 24/7, rain or shine.
4 A low bar is usually set for dockside restaurants. Are the fries hot? Is the beer cold? Good enough. Taboo Muskoka, however, tapped a culinary heavyweight for its lakeside watering hole. Chef Mark McEwan designed the resort restaurant’s seasonal Italian menu, and this spring he made a visit to revamp it. The new lineup includes complex coastal creations like Calabrian chili–laced fried calamari sandwiches on crunchy ciabatta and Ontario walleye cioppino, a bright seafood soup with a fire-roasted tomato and clam broth. Must try: The Muskoka Mule cocktail, which gives its Russian counterpart a run for its money.
5 Talk to any Huntsville resident or seasonal regular and Smokin’ Hot BBQ will come up—usually with a story that sounds like a religious experience. The Moore family is behind the Texas-style barbecue, which they make inside a repurposed heritage train station. Every day, Larry Moore smokes more than 1,000 pounds of brisket over cherrywood along with 200 racks of ribs. Even on the busiest days, a meal here is worth the wait—and waiting has its own charms: a new saloon bar hosts blues and country bands, who serenade diners seated at long harvest tables or sprawled across the lawn, making it the prime spot for a midday hootenanny. Must try: The 16-hour-smoked Angus brisket on a bun.
6 It may not have coin-operated massage chairs, but Jack and Stella is otherwise like a very cool mall. The one-stop shop is a café, a restaurant, a bar and bottle shop, an ice-cream shack, a women’s clothing store, and a cottage decor emporium. In the evenings, Le Cordon Bleu–trained chef Matt Macpherson serves an upscale snacky menu that will satisfy anyone who would like to trade cottage country for coastal Italy—olives, burrata with summer-fresh tomatoes, pizza and pasta, including a popular mushroom paccheri packed with chervil and chives. Must try: A chocolate, peanut butter and banana smoothie.
7 For a hit of floral dopamine, Happy Acres Farm Muskoka is worth a visit. Founder and sunflower guru Kim Machado sells bunches of her bright-yellow beauties—as well as zinnias, gladioli and assorted bouquets—at the Dwight Farmers’ Market, just a few kilometres from Algonquin Park’s south gate. Occasionally, Happy Acres will offer “u-pick” days, where around 15 guests can roam the micro farm’s fields at peak bloom. Flower fiends should keep a close eye on the farm’s socials and be prepared to pounce.
8 An event venue with a commercial kitchen? An indoor-outdoor indie market? A stage flanked by food trucks? Hale, a new five-acre hub for food, art and music, has it all. Owners Robin Kerbel and Eric Abugov joined forces to combine their respective event management and real estate development backgrounds. Every Friday morning until Thanksgiving, it’s a bustling market that sometimes offers food-focused programming, including a late-July charcuterie-making class with St. Catharines’s acclaimed Fat Rabbit as well as Smash and Sear, a burger competition, in August. Next year, they plan to add a massive zen garden—as if cottage country could get any more relaxing.
9 Brit Wilkinson is committed to keeping the production of her sporty loungewear close to home whenever possible. Not only are the garments cut and sewn in Canada, but the size labels, the swing tags, the shipping packages and many of the textiles are sourced here too. The soft crewnecks, long duster cardigans and knitted tuques hit the sweet spot between cozy and stylish—the kind of thing you want to wear in the morning while watching the fog lift off the lake, steaming mug in hand.
10 Vanessa Veenhof likes to describe her vintage/thrift clothing store as a place where cottagecore classics, western wear and preppy staples collide. Sharing rack space are chunky wool sweaters, wildlife-emblazoned tees, cut-off jorts and patterned silk scarves. She focuses on cool clothes with good stories, but the shelves are also stocked with housewares, records and witchy ephemera—useful, one can only imagine, for cabin séances and summertime love spells.
11 Ten years ago, Luke McCann blessed Toronto with a modest burger operation that inspired a not-so-modest cult following. Since then, Rudy has ballooned into a mini empire, with its 17th outpost opening in Huntsville this summer, serving its signature smashed patties topped with American cheese, crunchy iceberg and fresh tomato on smooshy buns. The new location also comes with a first for the brand: a drive-through, making it a convenient pit stop on the way to or from the cottage. Watch out, Webers. Must try: The Rude Dude (a double cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato and Rudy sauce) with a side of pickle chips.
12 This bakery has been around since the early aughts, but husband-and-wife team Sebastien Carpentier and Sarah Morrison took over in 2024 after moving to Huntsville from Newfoundland. Wisely, they kept its legacy alive using the original owner’s recipes, baking some 160 loaves of bread per day. Must try: Regulars arrive early for the cranberry-brie loaf, which is chock full of cheese and pairs nicely with a mimosa or two.
13 Jonathan Park—born and raised in Muskoka—opened his taqueria at the tail end of August 2025, which means this is its first full summer. The menu is simple, with small bites like zesty street corn queso and a taco lineup that includes crispy battered cod, chicken tinga and sweet potato with avocado cream. For dessert, there are churros with chocolate sauce. And to drink, two words: frozen margaritas. Must try: The fan favourite is the quesabirria, birria-style beef with melty cheese and diced onion tucked into a corn tortilla.
14 When flip flops and spider dogs start to feel too casual, Cliffside is ready with the linen napkins. Chef Daniel Kozluk cut his teeth at the Fairmont Royal York, and his menu brings much of that polished hotel elegance to cottage country. The kitchen moves between classic and contemporary dishes, with local ingredients sourced by Toronto’s 100KM Foods and Bondi Produce. This season, the resort is getting even glossier with Skybar, a rooftop bar and restaurant with loungers, two infinity pools and its own snack menu. Must try: The prime rib dinner special, available Friday through Sunday.
15 When Judy Carter’s kids went off to university, she launched this slow-fashion brand. Port Carling already had plenty of shops selling lovely things. Carter wanted to create unique pieces that felt rooted in Muskoka—the kind of apparel that would remind the wearer of a summer well spent. That translates into an eclectic mix of upcycled vintage clothing and jewellery as well as ceramics. Humblebrag: Carter re-worked and embellished a button-down shirt Ryan Reynolds wore last year during his TIFF press tour. While the store’s brick-and-mortar location is seasonal, Carter also has a sister shop called Jude that operates year-round in Summerhill.
16 Alexa Gamache’s rural-inspired clothing brand, Northern Bronco, has an outback Canadiana core, offering an assortment of upcycled Realtree camouflage jackets and graphic tees adorned with largemouth bass. The signature item: trucker hats that depict a cowboy riding (of course) a moose. This year, in addition to being available online, Gamache’s wares will be popping up at Port Carling’s seasonal shipping container village at SWS Boatworks—perfect for anyone who loses their favourite hat to a boat ride.
17 Cousins Anthony and Luca Mazzaferro opened their pizzeria two years ago after clocking a serious slice deficiency in Muskoka. Drawing on their Calabrian roots, the Mazzaferros have made waves on Lake Rosseau with their Neapolitan pies pulled from stone ovens—the aroma drifts just far enough to tempt hungry cottagers nearby. The ideal order is a pizza and an Aperol spritz on the restaurant’s patio. But takeout works too—by car, by jet ski or by seaplane (which happened more than once last year and feels on brand for the area). Must try: The Mortadella, topped with bologna’s more delicious Italian cousin plus clouds of burrata, caramelized onions, dollops of pesto and pistachio.
18 Delighting kids and the nostalgic in equal measure is Bucky’s, a sugar rush disguised as a store, every nook packed with neon-coloured treats from around the world. The shop’s main beat is rare retro candy, the kind that owner Brenda White says has sent more than a few adults into full Proustian reverie. There are also imported British and Swedish sweets, plus slushies and hard-to-find pop. Presiding over the saccharine treasure trove is Bucky himself, an eight-foot-tall sasquatch mascot. (Unlike Bigfoot, he’s happy to pose for photo ops.)
Plus: the OG Muskoka gems every newbie should know about
Prepare to be dazzled: this conservation area and dark-sky preserve offers an uninterrupted view of the cosmos. Entrance is free, and committed stargazers can book one of six campsites.
From its start as a quaint roadside charbroiled burger stop in the early ’60s, Webers grew into a sprawling seasonal institution and an Ontario landmark, serving up to 6,000 burgers a day. Look for the lineup on the northbound side of Highway 11.
The oldest brewery in cottage country, Muskoka helped pave the way for Ontario’s craft beer boom. The taproom, patio and takeaway shop still serve the easy-drinking lagers and bracing IPAs that made them famous.
The town of Bala has been a music hotspot since the 1940s, luring generations of concert goers to its iconic barn-like hall. This summer, it will host world-class Canadian acts like the Beaches and Sam Roberts Band.
Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Andalou Agency/Getty Images
Wading through bogs of floating cranberries during the late-September harvest is a cottage-country baptism. Visitors can book in advance for access to scenic trails, wagon rides and 27 acres of cranberry pools. For those scared to get wet, there are guided tastings with plenty of cranberry wine.
This vestige of the early-aughts farm-to-table craze feels like it could double as the set of an Alice Waters biopic. Its patio is big enough for large parties, but the dining room—strung with twinkly fairy lights—is date central.
The July issue of Toronto Life features the monster cottages of Muskoka versus the resistance. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.
Lindsey King is a Toronto-based writer and editor whose work can be found in Toronto Life, Maclean’s, Canada’s 100 Best and more. She is interested in arts and culture, food and drink, architecture, design, and real estate stories
