Cottage Country

Outcroppings of pink-and-gray granite mark the rustic area in the Canadian Shield known to locals as Cottage Country. Drumlins of conifer and deciduous forest punctuate 100,000 freshwater lakes formed from glaciers during the Ice Age. Names of towns and places such as Orillia, the Muskokas, Gravenhurst, Haliburton, and Algonquin reveal the history of the land's inhabitants, from Algonquin tribes to European explorers to fur traders. The area became a haven for the summering rich and famous during the mid-19th century, when lumber barons who were harvesting near port towns set up steamship and rail lines, making travel to the area possible. Since then, Cottage Country has attracted urbanites who make the pilgrimage to hear the call of the loon or swat incessant mosquitoes and blackflies. "Cottages" is a broadly used term that includes log cabins as well as palatial homes that wouldn't look out of place in a wealthy urban neighborhood. For the cottageless, overnight seasonal camping is an option in one of the provincial parks.