Georgian Bay Islands, Cranberry Wine, Fine Food and a Beer Spa: Two Days in Marvellous Muskoka

MUSKOKA – We’ve just finished a fabulous picnic lunch at a table set two meters from the shore on Beausoleil Island in Georgian Bay Islands National Park. We’re watching small waves lap against a sloping, deep orange rock under a sky so blue it would make a robin’s egg jealous.

We suddenly hear the cries of small children, and see a gentleman and three young boys walking along this massive slab of exposed Canadian Shield.

We learn he’s the grandfather and that he and his son are taking the boys, a six-year-old and two four-year-old twins, camping for a couple days to provide a bit of a breather for the boy’s mother, who’s home with a three-month-old, also a boy.

“I want them to appreciate all this,” the man says, gesturing to the powerful rocks and white birch trees and deep blue waters of Georgian Bay. A few feet away we spot the boys’ shoes and socks in a pile. They’re walking on ancient Canadian rock and literally getting in touch with nature.

Georgian Bay Islands National Park is a small but mighty piece of real estate that most people reach by a short ferry ride from the cute, huggable village of Honey Harbour. It’s a wonderful spot for a hike or a bike ride, with well-marked trails for both and a bike rental shop. You also can arrange campsites, sleep in a wood cabin or bed down in comfort in a Parks Canada oTENTiks, which are large, permanent, glamorous tents outfitted with raised floors, cosy beds and furniture. They provide the feel of camping with the comfort of a hotel room.

Our boat captain explains that the Georgian Bay islands are the world’s largest freshwater archipelago, but that this park is the smallest in the Parks Canada inventory. He also talks about the birds and wild life we might spot as we walk about; osprey, turtles, bald eagles, bears and more.

Honey Harbour has a nice waterfront park and a couple of fun shops, as well as a grocery store that sells delicious ice cream. It’s a marvellous part of Ontario’s Muskoka region, which has been delighting visitors for decades with its clear, pristine lakes, tree-dotted islands and glorious summer weather.

Honey Harbour’s big red chair. Barbara Lonergan-Byers Photo.

Getting to Muskoka from Toronto becomes all that much easier on June 24, when Porter Airlines begins service between Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and Muskoka Airport. Flights will operate twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays. The Monday flights shift to Tuesdays on long weekends.

Flights are a mere 25 minutes in the air, and the Muskoka Airport is conveniently located between Gravenhurst and Bracebridge. One-way flights start at just $95. They’re a great way to save hours on a busy commute, and the scenery en route is spectacular. I flew from Muskoka to Toronto/Billy Bishop a few years ago and loved it.

Explorers’ Edge, a regional tourism group, has partnered with Hammond Transportation to operate a hassle-free shuttle service at the Muskoka Airport to connect you with Porter flights this summer. If you are flying in or out of the region, use the shuttle to access any one of the five designated routes that span from Algonquin in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. A $20 fee per person per one-direction trip applies.

One of those five routes is from Muskoka Airport to Port Severn, where you’ll find the lovely Rawley Resort, Spa and Marina. The resort fronts the Trent-Severn canal and Georgian Bay, and there’s a ton of docking space for boats, so it’s marvellous for anyone itching to get out on a boat and explore the area. It’s also great for those who prefer dry land.

My wife and I had a lovely suite with a separate living room, a coffee maker and mini-fridge, a big-screen TV and sofa, and a large bathroom with a big shower, as well as a good-sized bedroom with a comfy, king-sized bed.

The resort is done up in a bit of a Tommy Bahamas look, with plenty of dark, polished wood and, at least in our room, a table lamp with a pineapple. It’s a very relaxed, enjoyable spot to spend a few days.

The resort has a fine spa, as well as a pretty swimming pool and tons of grass for the kids to play on. They have a third-floor games room with plenty of entertainment options, including books and a video game, as well as a four-storey lighthouse with terrific views. We didn’t get to try it, but they have a large patio overlooking the grass and the canal. It would be perfect for a morning coffee or an afternoon Gin and Tonic.

We had dinner at Oak Bay Golf Course, which is just a couple minutes away by car and has a modern, lovely restaurant overlooking a small arm of Georgian Bay. We enjoyed a terrific Muskoka Mule with lime juice, ginger and fresh mint, substituting bourbon for vodka, as well as a fine gin and cucumber smash. For dinner we had a lovely salad with roasted beets, goat cheese, arugula and candied pecans, as well as a fine Bolognese ragu and a veal dish with tomato sauce, plump shrimp and a side of pasta. Our server, Connor, was both knowledgeable and enthusiastic.

It’s only a few minutes by car from Rawley Resort to Six Mile Lake Provincial Park, a lovely slice of Muskoka that’s very popular with campers in summer. We enjoyed a great walk along the David Milne Trail, enjoying views of a pretty pond and clambering over Canadian Shield rocks in the dappled sunshine. As well as campsites, the park offers boat rentals, fishing, a nice playground for kids and a roped-off swimming area. It’s just a few metres from Highway 400, but a world away.

After our morning walk at Six Mile Lake it was on to Mrs. H’s Fish and Chips, a legendary spot for locals and visitors looking for great, simple food at a fair price. Mrs. H’s has won “best fish and chips” in Muskoka many times over, and the owners cheekily bill the restaurant as having “the best fish and chips north of the south pole.” The shop is located on Highway 38 in Wahta Mohawk Territory, just a few minutes east of Highway 400 and perhaps 10 minutes east of Bala. We paid $25 for three good-sized pieces of halibut and a small mountain of fries; plenty for two people at lunch. The haddock is a few dollars less. Pull up a seat at one of the picnic tables outside and enjoy the feast.

Just outside of Bala is the Muskoka Lakes Farm and Winery, where we sampled the “Bog to Bottle” tour. Our guide explained how cranberries grow in a bog with lots of moisture. They don’t actually grow in water, like some might think given TV commercials, but they do float, so they are harvested that way.

Cranberries are a cousin to the blueberry, we were told. But while blueberries like a climate that’s “high and dry,” cranberries like acidic, peaty soil that’s low and wet. You might think there are tons of suitable places in Ontario to grow them, but Bala, which calls itself the Cranberry Capital of Ontario, seems to be the only place they’re commercially grown in the province, our guide said.

In addition to telling fun stories about how the business got established in the 1950s, our guide explains that they bring in bee hives in mid-summer to help with pollination, which speeds up the ripening process. Of course, bears love honey, so they’ve learned to fence in the bee hives.

The cranberry business has been in the Johnston family for four generations.

Following our tour we repair to the tasting room to sample a variety of Muskoka Lakes Winery products, including pure cranberry wine (tart, which you might expect), cranberry-apple, and blueberry wine, which tastes to me like wine from grapes. It’s a fun time, and quite interesting.

They also have maple trees on site and make their own maple syrup. In winter, there’s an ice-skating trail around the bog, as well as snowshoeing.

There’s a nice café on site, as well as a shady picnic spot with games such as corn hole. They also post cranberry recipes on a blackboard in the washroom, which gives you something productive to do while you’re conducting your business.

Bala stages a Cranberry Festival every fall, with live music and plenty of food, including cranberries. This year’s event is slated for October 14-16.

Just a few clicks south of Bala is a relatively new spot called the Muskoka Beer Spa, which is quite something. The property, in the small village of Torrance on Highway 169, has a swimming pool, hot tubs, steam room and sauna. They also have Muskoka chairs gathered in small relaxation areas with fire pits, as well as a small beach on Clear Lake with chairs on a dock and loungers on the sand. They have kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddleboards you can use with no added charge.

There are a few places in the region with nice pools and waterfronts. The kicker here is the beer. Clear Lake Brewing Company is directly across the street, and you’re encouraged to sample the goods. We were given a small cup of beer when we checked in, and they have a beer bar near the pool so you can try more varieties.

The Beer Spa offers several year-round, three-bedroom cabins, as well as seasonal units with one or two bedrooms. If you’re up for it you can order a keg, which they’ll put in a fridge in your room and connect to a tap on the kitchen counter. They also provide free, in-room snacks, including potato chips and candies. It’s a beer and snack lovers’ dream.

We had a spacious cabin on a hill (number 22) with three upstairs bedrooms and a main floor bathroom with a tub and shower. There was a microwave and a coffee maker and coffee, as well as a microwave, but no coffee mugs we could find. They had a television and an old-school VHS player, as well as tons of VHS tapes to try out.

It’s a great spot for beer fans who enjoy the water, as well as for spa fans who like a good, cold brew.

There’s an “El Gringo” taco truck on site selling tacos for $7 and margaritas for just $12. Across the road, next to Clear Lake Brewing, is a fine, casual dining spot called The Cottage. They’ve designed it to resemble a cottage, and there’s a nice bar and a small patio out front. A large Caesar Salad was $12, and a six-slice “Guns and Rose” pizza with rose sauce, parmesan, bacon and pepperoni was just $18. Plenty enough good food for two people for $30? That’s a deal.

There are a couple dozen pizza varieties on the menu, so everyone is bound to find something they like. We ordered a Clear Lake summer lager and an amber ale to go with our meal and enjoyed a fine, June evening in the heart of one of Canada’s most beautiful regions.

Visit the Explorers’ Edge website for more planning in this beautiful part of Ontario.

Editor’s Note: The government of Ontario has a “staycation” tax credit in place for this year, allowing residents to get tax rebates of up top 20% on stays at approved accommodations in the province.