July 26, 2020

ENJOY ‘STAYCATIONS’ IN YOUR OWN MUSKOKA BACKYARD

MUSKOKA — Looking for a staycation in your own backyard?

There are dozens of day-trip opportunities minutes away for hikers and family-friendly.

Many free.

Often they take less than an hour to explore and enjoy.

With Muskoka sites like Huntsville’s Heritage Village re-opening and Gravenhurst’s Muskoka Steamships set to sail next week, there’s plenty to do locally.

So get out and see all those places you tell all your friends and tourists to visit — and that you probably haven’t been to in years yourself.

“It doesn’t get any better than being in Muskoka in the summer,” says Andrea Baston, who was hiking the peninsula trail behind the Marriot Hotel in Gravenhurst with her husband Fernando Traficante.

“Can’t beat the natural beauty of the lakes and woodlands that surround us,” says the local author of books on the former Muskoka Centre and Little Norway.

They were among dozens meandering the myriad of trails covered in orange pine needles along the rocky outcrop of Lake Muskoka.

“Pappa” and his grandson, kids from the Muskoka Discovery Centre’s Museum Day Camp, families, teens on bikes and a sunbather basking in the sun at the water’s edge.

Many with masks and bottled water to help them keep hydrated on their journey of discovery.

The Town of Gravenhurst trail is located behind the hotel, at the Muskoka Wharf, and there are two sets of stairs to access the easy to climb hill at either end of the Marriot.

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*See photo gallery below for a look at the trail.