Huntsville is the largest town in Muskoka, about two hours north of Toronto on Highway 11. It sits on the shores of several lakes and serves as the main gateway to Algonquin Provincial Park, which begins just to the east.
In summer, the town fills with cottagers and day-trippers drawn to the lakes, the hiking trails, and the Algonquin canoe routes. Arrowhead Provincial Park is just 8 kilometres north of town and is the easier option for a quick half-day outing. In winter, Arrowhead has a famous illuminated skating trail through the pines and a network of ski trails — unusual enough to draw visitors from Toronto.
The Huntsville Festival of the Arts runs for two weeks in July and August, bringing chamber music and jazz to waterfront venues. The main street has a decent run of independent shops and cafes. Muskoka Heritage Place, an open-air living history museum on the edge of town, covers the region's settler and Indigenous history. For walkers, the Dyer Memorial offers a short hike to a hilltop viewpoint over Lake Vernon.