Top 10 Activities & Adventures in Huntsville

There is still plenty of summer to enjoy, and the Huntsville and Lake of Bays region is the perfect destination to plan your next day of outdoor adventure. Whether you are looking for off-road speed on a mountain bike or ATV, an adrenaline rush playing paintball or treetop trekking or a more relaxed round of golf or scenic paddle, we have got the experience for you. Plan a day-trip close to home or stay at one of our premiere accommodators to create a custom, multi-day itinerary. Keep reading for our guide to the 10 best adventures from thrill to chill.

As an added bonus, this summer Huntsville and Lake of Bays are participating in the Cottage Country Spirit program to give you the opportunity to fully explore the very best the region has to offer. While you are taking advantage of the range of outdoor adventures in the area, you can also uncover a new culinary delight or spend a couple of nights being pampered at a destination close to home. Huntsville and Lake of Bays is the perfect region to use your travel vouchers after a day in the great outdoors. Scroll through to the bottom of the page for a list of the participating businesses waiting to welcome you and provide you with a unique shopping, dining or outdoor experience as well as the ideal place to stay if your day trip spills into a weekend or even a full week.

Axe Throwing

Have you tried axe throwing yet, one of the fastest growing adventure sport experiences? Bush Poker Axe Throwing in Huntsville provides an outdoor variation of the wildly popular sport of axe throwing. You will learn rules and different methods of axe throwing followed by games and challenges surrounded by a beautiful hardwood forest. Open to participants over 16 years of age, social circles are highly encouraged. Experiences come in one or two hour sessions and will be the most fun you will have in the bush this year!

Cycling Adventures

Huntsville and Lake of Bays offers some of the province’s best on and off-road cycling opportunities. With sweeping vistas, multiple elevation changes and kilometres of back roads to explore, you can pedal something new every day. Highway 60 traverses Algonquin Provincial Park, with more than 50km of paved shoulders winding over and through the Park’s epic scenery. Algonquin also has two off-road trails to enjoy. The Old Railway Bike Trail is 16km of mostly flat and hard-packed trail while the Minnesing Mountain Bike Trail provides a challenge over steep and rugged terrain. For off-road enthusiasts, the Echo Valley Nature and Bike Trails in Lake of Bays are maintained by the Huntsville Mountain Bike Association and combine a relatively easy Main Trail with multiple loops and narrow bridges that ratchet up the difficulty. The Oxtongue Rapids Trail follows the shore of the Oxtongue River for two scenic kilometres where you will pass bubbling rapids and a picnic area. If you prefer on-road speed and distance, the Lake of Bays Scenic Drive route combines over 75km of roads with multiple stops including bakeries and even a craft brewery. Huntsville has many scenic roads to travel as well as the unique Fairy Vista Trail and Hunter’s Bay Trail, part of Canada’s Great Trail. The town also has three bike shops ready to provide local knowledge, repairs and rental services. Algonquin Outfitters has a full bike shop for service, bike and equipment sales as well as bikes for rent. Muskoka Bicycle Pro Shop on Huntsville’s Main Street also has bike sales, repairs and rentals. The Bike Shop Huntsville adds a coffee and smoothie bar to their full complement of services.

Find Your Wild

Huntsville’s Find Your Wild provides a wealth of outdoor adventure activities for the whole family to enjoy. Taking advantage of the beautiful Muskoka scenery and with years of knowledge in backcountry guiding and touring, every trip is unique and tailored to your needs. Find Your Wild provides many types of outdoor adventure, including guided paddleboard floats on the Big East River, backcountry bush challenges, axes and arrows and even their firefighter escape challenge. All equipment is provided – simply bring appropriate outdoor clothing and a camera to capture your experience.

Golfing Adventures

Huntsville is also known for world-class golfing. Deerhurst Resort has two courses to suit every golfer’s needs. The iconic Highlands course is a par 72 championship course that winds its way over and through acres of forest and exposed Canadian Shield granite. Every natural feature of the Muskoka terrain has been used to create a gorgeous but challenging course, including the white sand bunkers that ring the multi-level greens. The Lakeside course is open for nine holes this summer. True to its name, the course follows Deerhurst’s bay on beautiful Peninsula Lake before winding through a mix of elevation changes, deep bunkers and strategic water hazards. A member of the ClubLink family of golf courses, Grandview Golf Club’s Mark O’Meara course opened in 2001. Granite outcroppings reach skyward through lush fairways while deep bunkers lie in wait. The course mates spectacular views, terrain that ranges from deciduous forest to wetlands and the opportunity to spot a variety of wildlife. As a ClubLink course, golfers must purchase a membership to play.

Horse Adventures

Riding or being pulled by a live animal through field and forest is an amazing adventure that harkens back to the days of cowboys and the wild west. It also provides a unique vantage point from which to enjoy the region’s tree-lined trails and expansive views. Back of Beyond Equine Centre has 14 retired and rescued horses. Schedule an appointment to participate in family fun horse adventures including their meet and brush experience and wagon ride and farm tours. While Stoneleigh Farms at Deerhurst Resort does not offer trail rides, they currently have a petting farm that includes horses, donkeys, llamas, goats, sheep and more.

MJD Paintball

Located just outside Huntsville, MJD Paintball provides a vigorous mental challenge combined with team building in a fast-paced outdoor activity in the Muskoka wilderness. They have a large open-air field with plenty of space and natural covers for longer game play as well as the tire field which is smaller and provides short games in close quarters. No experience is necessary and all gear is provided. Participants must be aged 10 and up and the fields are open Thursday-Sunday.

Paddling Adventures

Huntsville and Lake of Bays has kilometres of waterways to plan the perfect paddling trip. From Provincial parks to expansive lakes and narrow winding rivers, the region combines incredible water views with trips suited for paddlers of any experience. Algonquin Provincial Park is one of Canada’s best known paddling destinations, with hundreds of lakes that can be used for day trips or multi-day backcountry adventures. The park has many amenities including equipment rental, expedition services as well as restaurants and cafés for food and ice cream at the end of your trip. Arrowhead Provincial Park in Huntsville offers two lakes and a stretch of river for paddling, with limited rentals available on-site and a large sandy beach perfect for family swimming. Huntsville’s Big East River has sandy banks and winds among forests and into Arrowhead Park. The best place to access the river is from Hutcheson Beach, which has parking, a boat launch and excellent post-paddle swimming. The Oxtongue River in Dwight offers a couple of perfect paddling day trips. Starting from Dwight Beach, paddlers can access the river and follow it through wetlands to the base of Marsh’s Falls. One of the region’s most impressive waterfalls can be reached by paddling through Oxtongue Lake and up the river to Ragged Falls, made famous by Group of Seven artist A.J. Casson’s painting Below Ragged Falls. Downtown Huntsville provides excellent paddling opportunities from the Town’s docks. Algonquin Outfitters offers canoe, kayak and paddleboard rentals at their Huntsville and Oxtongue Lake locations for you to enjoy your trip on the scenic Muskoka or Oxtongue River.

Treetop Trekking

Huntsville’s Treetop Trekking provides the ultimate up close and personal view of the Muskoka forest. Feel like Tarzan while you climb, swing and zip through the forest canopy in a huge aerial game and zip line park. Test your balance and your bravery as you traverse obstacles high above the forest floor. Surrounded by birds and other small wildlife, you will truly become part of the wilderness. With activities for ages 12 and up, Treetop Trekking provides a thrilling adventure for couples, families and groups. They also offer a unique night trek where you will discover the trails under a starry sky by headlamp.

Watersport Adventures

SWS Watersports at Deerhurst Resort is waterfront fun for the whole family. They offer 30 minute and 1 hour sessions for waterskiing, wakeboarding, wakesurfing and tube rides. Muskoka’s favourite ski show team, SWS offers experienced waterski and wakeboard instructors who will have you up on the water and having fun in no time! They also offer a cable park for wakeboarding and waterskiing that is perfect for learning, whether you are a first-time rider or you are looking to perfect your tricks and rails. SWS also offers jet ski rentals on beautiful Peninsula Lake.

Yamaha Riding Adventures

Deerhurst Resort’s Yamaha Riding Adventures provides guided tours on ATV’s and side-by-side machines. Located on over 200 acres of scenic private trails, individuals, couples and families can receive a lesson and then test themselves over the forested Muskoka terrain. Individuals can pilot their own machines while families of up to four can ride together in their new Yamaha side-by sides. Staggered starts and small group sizes provide a private experience as you push yourself and your machine to conquer the rugged terrain.

Whether your preferred outdoor adventure is a fast-paced challenge or a relaxing commune with nature, Huntsville and Lake of Bays should be your next destination of choice. The region is full of experiences to create the perfect day-trip in your own backyard. Create a custom, single day itinerary or include a stay in one of our amazing accommodations to assemble a multi-day traverse of some of Muskoka’s most unique and exciting landscapes. Don’t hesitate – get out of the office and into the wilderness with one of these amazing adventures.

If you have participated in the Cottage Country Spirit local travel package from Explorers’ Edge, Huntsville and Lake of Bays is the perfect region to use your travel vouchers. Below is a list of the businesses waiting to welcome you and provide you with a unique shopping, dining or outdoor experience as well as the ideal place to stay if your day trip spills into a weekend or even a full week.

ALGONQUIN PARK

HUNTSVILLE & LAKE OF BAYS

ACCOMMODATIONS

ALGONQUIN PARK

HUNTSVILLE & LAKE OF BAYS

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