13 Amazing Things To Do in Huntsville, Ontario

Huntsville is a medium-sized Muskoka town nestled near the Algonquin Highlands, right on the Canadian shield. Huntsville is a special place for myself and my husband as we go there every year for our wedding anniversary. Every time we head out to Huntsville, we look for something new to do that we haven’t done before. Huntsville has a quaint downtown, and surrounded by so much beauty and lots of amazing things to do.

Huntsville is the second-largest town in Muskoka, and is full of little gems that make it worth checking out. I’m sure you’ll agree after seeing it tbhat its one of the cutest small towns in Ontario. Most of the ideas below are designed for summer, as many small businesses open only seasonally. Huntsville is quieter in the winter, although it does still receive some visitors who want to experience a snowy Ontario winter destination. So, let’s jump in – here are all the amazing things you can do in Huntsville, Ontario!

Best Things To Do in Huntsville, Ontario

1. Spend time on downtown Huntsville’s main street

One thing we never want to miss out on during our trips to Huntsville is to take time to just walk up the main street. There are so many great independent stores, cafés, ice cream, art galleries, street art and restaurants. Definitely build some time into your weekend to just take a walk.

Huntsville may be a small town, but its actually has decent shopping. Most of the shopping is along this Main street. I’ve bought many gifts for others here – some of my favourite stores are Soapstones (they make their own skincare products, Canoe Book, an independent bookstore. I also love Muskoka Bearwear, where I’ve gotten a number of my hoodies and comfy cottage pajama pants. Overall the main street is a great place to find unique Canadian souvenirs and gifts.

The best part is that Main street isn’t all shopping and food. You’ll see other things such as:

• Lots of colourful town murals
• Tom Thomson Maler, a nice place to sit down on a bench for a break, maybe with an ice cream
• Town Dock Park, where you can enjoy views of the river. It connects to a park that has a kids’ playground
• The Old Town Hall, one of the oldest buildings in town. It is often decked out for different seasons of the year, such as Christmas and Halloween
• Algonquin Theatre/Civic Centre, which plays year-round love performances. See what’s upcoming on their schedule here

2. Enjoy some great cuisine options

For a smallish town, Huntsville is actually home to quite a few great food options! The restaurant options are part of what we love about Huntsville. The town often has people who are on vacation; including couples, retreats, and girls’ weekends – and for that reason, I find it does has a small but decent foodie scene. Without repeating the restaurants we mentioned above along the river, here are OTHER great places to eat that you should consider eating at in Huntsville!

• Tall Trees – its slightly upscale, with really good food. You’ll need a car to get here as its just outside the downtown area. It looks like an old house, and they have cozy seating in a few different dining areas which you choose when you reserve. Tall Trees is perfect for a special occasion or date night. Do make reservations in advance; they fill up fast in high season! We made our reservation a few weeks before the day we wanted it. They do breakfast as well
• Seng’s Thai Cuisine – This is the only place we’ve eaten at every time we’re in Huntsville. I love their Thai food, and some of their dishes I haven’t been able to find anywhere else. It’s very hole-in-the-wallish and casual. They’re right beside 1858 Caesar’s Bar, and right on the main strip
• Five Guys and a Stove – Located more in the outskirts of town, Five Guys is a Huntsville Classic. It has a really nice dining environment with wood floors, fireplace and high ceilings. It’s also great for date nights or girl’s nights. They have some creative dishes, everything I’ve ever tried there has been good. (Amazing vegetarian and vegan options too.) see menu.
• Main St. Local Kitchen – Right on Main Street, as the name suggests. Great breakfast, but they do lunch and breakfast too. We’ve only ever had breakfast here,and their breakfast wraps were a nice way to fuel up before a day of hiking. See their menu here. Since everyone is trying to get a protein filled breakfast before a day in the woods, I find that this place usually fills up by 8:30-9am on weekends. You can reserve online in advance, which I’d recommend if you’re here on a weekend

3. Take a stroll along the Muskoka River

Part of what makes Huntsville such a scenic area is the Muksoka River running through it. The boardwalk shown in the photo below is nice to walk down on a summer or fall day, getting photos of the river, and of the Historic Swing bridge (the green one in the background.) We come to this spot every year during our anniversary weekends, its a nice place to relax and take a scenic stroll.

Up ahead, Algonquin Outfitters rents out kayaks so you can go kayaking on this river. We haven’t rented kayaks from them yet, but every year we see people taking their kayaks onto the river right from behind the Algonquin Outfitters.

There are a few restaurants that overlook the river as well. In the summer, there’s outdoor seating, but all of these places have indoor seating with windows that look out to the river.

• On The Dock’s Pub – This place (pictured above) is right beside the river, and has indoor and outdoor seating. Serves pub food
• 1858 Caesar Bar – Across the street from the river, but has a patio and windows that look out over the review. The food here is still comfort food, but a little bit more upscale than On The Dock’s. (Funnily enough, 1858 used to be an AirBnb before it was turned into a restaurant- my husband and I stayed in it back in 2019!) So, we can attest to the river views are great from this place
• That Little Place By the Lights – a cute, hole-in the wall Italian place. Has a patio with view of the river in the summer months
• Boston Pizza has a location right beside the Muskoka River, with a patio right on the river.

4. Do a self guided art walk

Part of what makes Huntsville so cute is the artwork all around town. Many can be seen on Main street, but some are located down side streets that you’d have to go for a walk beyond just the main strip to see. These paintings are replicas of the Group of Seven, a classic Canadian art group.

Whether you’re being intentional to see all this artwork as a free self-guided tour, or just happen to see it as you’re walking around – you’ll see lots of these paintings regardless. They really liven up the town and give it the artsy vibe.

5. Head up to Lion’s Lookout

Lion’s Lookout is just a short drive from downtown Huntsville and offers a panoramic scenic view of the surrounding lake. It’s like the top of a mountain that you can walk around, getting different views from all directions (it’s not just one single view!) You could spend a good hour up there, just relaxing and taking in the beauty, getting millions of different shots.

You have three options for getting up to the top of Lion’s Head:

• Walk from the parking lot at the bottom. There’s a parking lot at the bottom of Lookout Road, where you can park and walk up to the top – it would take 15 minutes from that parking lot, and it would be a pretty steap climb
• Park at the top. You can drive all the way up; there’s also a parking lot at the top. If you want to drive all the way up Lion’s Head, just keep in mind that parking can be pretty tight, and it won’t be easy to get a spot on summer or fall weekends. (A spot will open up, you just might have to be patient.) We actually had no idea that there was a parking lot at the top, until we got there. We just kept driving until we were at the top. Luckily, we were able to get a spot but we saw some people struggle after we arrived (around 1pm in the afternoon on a Saturday.)

6. Check out Muskoka Heritage Place

Don’t miss this Muskoka Heritage Place, which is a small museum with a little train station (and an actual running train) beside it. It’s right at the bottom of the hill that you would take to drive up to Lion’s Lookout. We came to Huntsville for too many years before realizing it was here – finally last year, we visited and we were glad we did!

It’s a cute, small museum with people dressed in century outfits. The museum is generally open between 10am and 4pm, and you can just wander in and learn about the roll the train played in the development of Huntsville, and some history of the Muskokas. We spent about 20-30 minutes walking around reading about the town’s history. It’s wild to think that public transit used to be so much more widespread in Ontario than it is now.

7. Ride the old-fashioned train

From the Muskoka Heritage Place (museum mentioned above), you can hop on a train ride which only takes 25 minutes. It’s called the Portage Flyer Train, and it generally runs from mid-May until October. The Portage Flyer Train is one of the best things to do in Huntsville with kids. We don’t usually bring our kids to Huntsville (not that it isn’t kid friendly – just that we’re always here for our anniversary weekend.) But when I do bring the kids, we will for sure be riding this train.

To ride the train, show up at least 15 minutes before departure time and buy tickets on the spot. See departure times for each season here. We haven’t ridden the train yet, but we enjoyed watching it coming through. It’s nice to have this piece of heritage in town!

8. Go Treetop Trekking

Treetop Trekking Huntsville is just a 10 minute drive from downtown Huntsville. There are only a handful of other places in Ontario that offer Treetop Trekking (the only ones I know of are Barrie and the Blue Mountains) so its pretty cool that a small town like Huntsville has this option. The place also has more than just tree-top trekking.

You can do night treetop trekking here, ziplining and a few other activities. Some activities are summer only, but many are year-round! Check out all their options here.

9. Go on some incredibly scenic hikes

Hiking is the reason why my husband and I choose Huntsville as our anniversary weekend every single year. No other place in southern Ontario compares to us in terms of the amazing views we can get from so many different trails. With Huntsville being located on the Canadian shield, there are so many dramatic, rugged views. So many lakes, and serene Ontario beauty. This is the reason why we always come back here. We have hiked many other places around Ontario, but the Algonquin Highlands offer something special. Some views that literally stop you in your tracks, and make you want to have framed, or printed on a postcard.

Algonquin Provincial Park –42 km (35 minute drive) from Huntsville. Algonquin isn’t by any means the closest hiking spot to Huntsville, but it’s by far, the most popular! Yes, it gets a bit overcrowded in the fall, but for a good reason. Its so, so gorgeous. We almost always visit Algonquin in fall for our wedding anniversary. Huntsville is over half an hour from Algonquin, but still a great place to stay for hiking Algonquin. If you want to beat the crowds (on a summer or fall weekend) then I highly recommend getting out there early so you can secure parking in your parking spot in your preferred hike. Also remember to buy your park pass in advance, as at peak times, they often sell out for the day. I have seen people arrive from Toronto only to be told that they can’t get in.

Arrowhead Provincial Park – 9 km (10 minute drive). I don’t know why Arrowhead isn’t more popular, especially for the amount of people visiting Huntsville. It’s a beautiful provincial park; much smaller than Algonguin and doesn’t get anywhere near the crowds. I’ll admit it doesn’t have as many ‘spectacular’ views as Algonquin; its a bit less epic and postcard like. But there are some really pretty sites and its definitely worth a visit, especially if you want more of a peaceful day out rather than dealing with crowds. My favourites (and the most popular) in Arrowhead are Stubb’s Falls, and Big Bend Lookout.

Hunter’s Bay Trail (4 km or 10 minute drive from Huntsville) Hunters Bay Trail is a lesser known hiking trail just outside Huntsville. Its largely made up of floating dock sections over the water. You can walk, bike or run along it surrounded by open water. The entire trail is 4.6 km and takes over 2 hours to finish if you’re walking. I’m actually sad that I didn’t know about this place before, we’re going to have to do it during our next anniversary weekend. To walk Hunter’s Bay Trail, you need to head to the Centre St North Bridge, which is about a 5-minute drive out of downtown Huntsville. From there, you should find free parking at 42 Centre Street North.

10. Check out the Dyer Memorial Monument and Nature Reserve

Distance from Huntsville: 12.5 km (20 minute drive)

The Dyer Memorial Monument is somewhat of an off-the-beaten-path thing to do in Huntsville. It’s a monument with a story behind it, surrounded by a nature reserve. It’s just a 20 minute drive from Huntsville. You can check out the monument and enjoy the old-growth pine forest surrounding it.

The drive up to this rugged, natural spot is steam with some rocks – just drive carefully. There is a parking lot at the top. The park is open from mid- May until mid-October.

11. Visit a nearby Sugarbush

Distance from Huntsville: 10 km (12-minute drive)

Sugarbush Hill Maple Farm is close to downtown Huntsville. They produce maple syrup, and offer many ‘maple’ related things to do for visitors between mid March to end of October:

• Sugarbush hiking trail, 1.2 km (25-30 minutes) and family-friendly
• Maple Heritage Cabin, where you can learn about the history of maple syrup tapping in the area
• Maple Weekend, an annual event held first weekend of April

12. Grab some treats from Henrietta’s Bakery

My parents are obsessed with Henrietta’s Bakery, and recommend it to us every time we go to Huntsville – and we have gone there, a few times. (And yes, the baked good are very good.) Everything is baked in Dwight, another village near Huntsville – and sold either in Dwight or Huntsville.

Sometimes it can be tricky to visit Henrietta’s in Huntsville because they’re closed on Sundays, and don’t open until 9:30 on Saturdays (we’re usually long gone by then, to get to our hikes early.) But if you do manage to make it there, its worth it. They have fresh croissants, quiches, pizza bread, scones, tarts and so much more.

13. Stay in a cabin

Whenever my husband and I go on our anniversaries to Huntsville, we always rent a nearby cabin. Part of what we love is that connection with the peaceful outdoors, while still being close to Huntsville and provincial parks. We love enjoying fire pits, starry night skies, and the simplicity of being together outside in the wilderness. While we usually do this as our anniversary weekend, it can be done as a family too (depending on which cabin you choose.)

Some of the cabins we’ve stayed in have been eco-cabins, and others offered more luxuries – like hot tubs. Many are good for winter, summer, or fall – it depends on the specific cabin. Here are a few cabins that we’ve stayed in and recommend (none of these are affiliate by the way – we booked and paid for them and genuinely recommend them based on our experience:)

• Allure Muskoka Tiny Homes – this is more of a five star retreat for couples. We stayed here for our 4th wedding anniversary, which had a hot tub and a fire pit. They have a glass dome that you can rent as well. Great customer service Check their website here.
• Eco cabin (pictured above) We felt like we were in the middle of the forest at this place, and still very close to Huntsville. Check out their AirBnb listing here.
• Haus in the Trees – this house was pretty simple on the inside, but the views from the little wooden patio were amazing. It felt like we were floating in the forest. Listing on AirBnb here.

Best Places to Stay in Huntsville, Ontario

Not into the cabin idea? No worries – here are some other great places to stay that are closer to downtown Huntsville.

• Budget: Motel 6 – Huntsville  Only 2 km (5 minute walk) from the town centre, and offers a great value
• Mid-Range: Home2Home Suites by Hilton Huntsville – Offers a free breakfast, and is within walking distance from downtown
• Luxury: Deerhurst Resort – A fun resort with two swimming pools, and a restaurant and spa on site. They also rent out equipment for you to enjoy

Final Thoughts on Huntsville, Ontario

I hope that you’ve enjoyed my guide on Huntsville, Ontario. Being the location for our mini honeymoon (during covid) and our anniversary destination for so many years, it has become near and dear to our hearts. It’s a bit far for a day trip from Toronto, so staying for 1-2 nights is worth it to really feel like you get to connect with the surrounding nature. If you want to venture off a bit, I also recommend the Dwight Lookout Tower, or Screaming Heads in Burk’s Falls. Thank you for reading, and I truly hope you love Huntsville as much as we do!