"Cottage Country" Province of Ontario by epicult

There are over 250,000 lakes in Ontario. Over 1600 of those lakes make up the 3800 square km's called Muskoka region. Muskoka is the size of a small European country and and is bordered by the untouched beauty of Algonquin Provincial Park and countless, picture-esque towns.

Although many people call this area home, many hard working city folks call Muskoka "cottage country"... their home away from home where most spend summer weekends and the odd winter weekend (depending if the cottage is a 4-season cottage or not).

Not a cottage... this is just the boathouse

For those looking to vacation here in the summer, you can expect to rent a cottage in the area starting at $300 a week (prices in Canadian dollars) for a cottage with minimal creature comforts to $2000+ for cottages amongst the rich and famous with every luxury imaginable (see photo).

There are guides available for purchase that list hundreds of cottages and their amenities but you'll want to book ahead to be safe as they go fast for the summer season. If you'd like to rent in the winter, you'll have less choice but the prices can drop by 50%.

Pricing depends on things like proximity to water, people, amenities and the ammenties of the cottages themselves.

I'll try to get the website for the rental guide and post it asap.

A cheapy!

Purchase prices vary as much as rental prices. The place to left went for $35K Canadian last year (if you don't mind a handymans projects) while the photo above would comand over 3 times as much, just for the boathouse!!! It's just stupid how beautiful some of these 'mansions' are. The prices of properties in the Russeau area, one of many millionaire rows, probably start in the millions.

Owners of these cottages include pretty much every member of the NHL, Tom Cruise, Kate Hudson, and the list goes on.

• Pros:Clean quiet relaxation, not too far from the city
• Cons:Traffic getting back into the city
• In a nutshell:It's all good.