Muskoka Life magazine

Matthew Fleet’s most popular map is of Georgian Bay, followed by Muskoka’s big three lakes — Joseph, Rosseau and Muskoka. The Big Three Lake map was the second one he drew after Kahshe Lake. He’s now completed about 35 different lakes, a body of work spanning 35 years.

Muskoka enjoys an embarrassment of riches when it comes to locations of stunning natural beauty. There are almost too many to count. At one time, among the most popular of these spots was the Shadow River.

“My conscience tells me to stay here is certain death,” penned Henry Hatherley, facing his second winter on his backwoods Humphrey Township homestead. “To be a bachelor in the woods is to go to an early grave.”

The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is the largest in-water boat show in the world, with more than 1,000 boats on display. Held in its namesake city each October, the Fort Lauderdale show is where boat builders from 52 different countries unveil their latest models for the year ahead.

Surrounded by three oceans, boasting the world’s longest coastline, and with more lakes within our borders than in the rest of the world combined, Canada is a nation made for boats.

The goal was to live closer to town. Mark Wrightman and his wife Hannah wanted their new home to be close enough to schools so their young son could walk there when he was older.

As an only child growing up during the 1940s in Mimico, part of Toronto’s west end, Chuck Allbon’s life was a good one as a city kid.

Yes, Minett, Greavette and Duke are more well-known today, but in their day the Borneman brothers well known for their craftsmanship – some might say artistry – and for the unique method of construction they chose to employ.

While it’s fun to wander through a boat show and look at luxury fibreglass day boats with every imaginable amenity, and the sporty pontoons that can seat a football team and still have room for their gear, the majority of boats that actually sell here in Canada are aluminum fishing rigs in that

There are few winter pastimes as quintessentially Canadian as ice skating. It’s the foundation of hockey, after all, and a popular sport in its own right. Ice skating has deep roots in Muskoka, dating back to the region’s infancy.

Muskoka is rich in legend and lore. There are numerous locations whose evocative names are suggestive of something mysterious or dark. Here are four that have captured our collective imagination.

The holidays really are a special part of the year that many of us treasure. So it stands to reason that if you want to make a special time even more special, well, you need to pick up a special craft beer.

Each year when November rolls into December, we get busy decorating our homes for the Christmas season and for many of us our choice is the natural approach.

Christmas is about cosy, casual elegance for Lena Patten, a Rosseau-based interior decorator, creating a home that’s inviting and warm. That sense of throwing the door open to family and friends begins with a home’s front entrance.

Though far from the oceans where the brutal fighting would take place, boatworks in Muskoka took up the mantle, transitioning from the manufacture of pleasure craft to those intended for war.

Here's what you need to know about some of the newest tech and accomplishments in the boating industry.

There’s a good reason that the traditional bowrider ruled as Canada’s most popular family boat for decades, being fast, comfortable and versatile.

Growing up I always knew it was autumn when I would see beautiful, tall, purple asters growing along the roadsides and in people’s gardens.

Coffee’s popularity didn’t begin with Tim Horton’s or Starbucks. In fact, despite the lack of drive-thrus and baristas, coffee was probably more popular in early Muskoka – and elsewhere – than it is today.

The brilliance of fall in Muskoka is legendary. Birch, maple, and oak all contribute to the carnival of autumn colour. Not all of these festivities are related to flora, however; October is a time of family outings to harvest festivals, pumpkin patches and fairs.

The cottage was too big. Or rather, it was bigger than a family of three needed. That was Patti Milne’s first thought when she walked into the six-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom lake house on Lake of Bays’ Little Whiskey Bay in 2008.

When you wake up at the cottage on a morning in late summer and your object of desire is coffee, you face a choice. Do you fill a mug and slip out to the porch to sip your brew with a view of the lake? Or do you pick up the mug and head down to the dock for a wake-me-up beside the waves?

The popularity of wake surfing continues to grow in Canada, as more and more families discover the magic of this kinder, gentler approach to enjoying the water.