couple sitting on a dock at sunset

Summer Bucket List

Summer in Canada is short. 

So short, in fact, that it can feel like you’re trying to squeeze every last drop of summer into two months!

To help get the most out of the season, we’ve created a Summer Bucket List! Crafted with activities across Ontario, this is more than just your typical bucket list. While we love the idea of kayaking, building sandcastles and roasting marshmallows around the campfire, this bucket list is filled with the potential for lifelong memories!

Check out our Top 12 Summer Bucket List Items in Ontario:

1. Cruise the Rideau Canal with LeBoat

Have you ever cruised with LeBoat? While they’ve had destinations in popular tourist locations across the globe, including France and Italy, for over 50 years, they have recently expanded into Ontario!
This unique opportunity offers a houseboat rental, in the form of a luxurious, self-catering vacation! Reserve your self-guided voyage on the beautiful Rideau Canal in Eastern Ontario this summer for a minimum of 3 nights.

2. Go on a Buttertart Tour

What could be sweeter than the Buttertart Tour of Ontario? This Kawartha Northumberland tradition, once made of only a handful of bakeries, now offers over 50 stops across the region!
From Port Hope to Campbellford, up through to Apsley, and over to Sebright, this large spanning region is Buttertart Country! So, get your sweet tooth ready and hit the open road!

3. Float the Big East

One of our funnest days of 2020 was a float down the Big East River. It was a blast.

On a hot, sunny day, throw on your bathing suit, grab some floaties and start your 6-hour float at Williamsport Road!
The winding journey will take you right into Arrowhead Provincial Park, where your ride can pick you up after a fun day on the water! Don’t forget to pack some sandwiches in your dinghy!

As you can see, the distance on the map isn’t much, but the scenery is spectacular, making this day trip one for the books!

4. Explore – Go Geocaching

If you follow our blog, you’ll already know we love geocaching! 

But, have you ever tried it? 

This summer, at the cottage, is the perfect time to plan a half-day trek to find some geocaches around the property! All you need for this free activity is the app from the Play Store or App Store, some running shoes & a little something to add to the collection for the next person to find!

5. Catch an SWS Water Ski Show

If you’re looking for entertainment on the water an SWS Water Ski Show is for you! 

This upbeat spectacular water show is performed Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays in different areas around Muskoka and is guaranteed to be fun for the whole family.

Check out their YouTube video below to see glimpses of their shows in action!


6. Take a Mushroom Hunting & Foraging Tour

Thinking about trying something new this year? 

While foraging has been part of human existence since before Homo Sapiens evolved, the Ontario Mushroom Hunters and Foragers group, in Tweed, is now offering tours!

Learn all about mushrooms — what’s edible, what can be used as medicine and so much more! 

Join tour guide, Travis Newman, founder of the Ontario Mushroom Hunters and Foragers group on Facebook, for your up close and personal experience with mushrooms!

With so many mushroom varieties and ways to enjoy, whether you’re sauteing, grilling, adding to pasta or baking, you’re bound to find a new mushroom recipe to try!

7. Hear the Wolves Howl in the Wild

If you’re in the Haliburton area this year, check out the Haliburton Forest & Wildlife Reserve and stop in to the Wolf Centre! 

Hear these magnificent members of the Canidae family in their natural habitat. Observe them in their pack and day-to-day life, in this wild-like setting.

If you’ve never been, this day trip experience for the whole family is one for the books!

8. Visit the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame

On your next trip North, to Parry Sound, plan a stop into the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame

The Boston Bruins legacy hockey player, who hung up his skates for retirement in 1978, opened the Hall of Fame in 2003 alongside the Stockey Centre for Performing Arts. 

Learn fun facts about Bobby Orr, including his introduction to skating, on the Seguin River, and how he’s supporting his community still to this day.

9. Go on a Trail Ride with Icelandic Horses

When you visit Magnetawan, Ontario, check out Magnetawan Cottage and Clear Lake Farm Bed & Bale

This uniquely beautiful farm experience gives you the opportunity to stay in a century farmstead home overlooking Newell Lake, on a picture-perfect Icelandic Horse Farm; all right in the middle of cottage country!

Chat with CottageLINK Rental Management to secure your Icelandic Horse Trail Ride for the whole group, or, a shorter Pony Ride, for your little ones, during your cottage stay.

10. Take a Sip & Cycle Wine Country Tour

If you want to experience Eastern Ontario’s wine country, look no further than Prince Edward County. At only two hours from Toronto, it’s the perfect location for a short getaway or a week-long holiday! 

Book a Sip & Cycle Tour and travel via bicycle with The County Wine Tours

Visit a minimum of four wineries & even an alpaca farm, along the 18-20km, 6 hour-long tour. With packages available for 4-6 guests, this day trip experience isn’t one to be missed for the wine connoisseurs in your family!

11. Visit Dyer Memorial

Next time you’re in the Huntsville area, up by Arrowhead Provincial Park, before you hit the Big East River to float your day away, check out Dyer Memorial

Here lies the late Clifton Dyer and his wife, Betsy. This is the chosen resting place, as their favourite spot in the world.

The couple honeymooned in Huntsville in 1916 and continued visiting the cabin for many years after. In more recent years, dozens of trees have been planted by Muskoka Conservancy to create the Dyer Memorial Forest.

12. Check out Algonquin Park’s Old Railway Bike Trail

Take this 16KM (one-way) bike trail through Algonquin Park in Spring, Summer & Fall; or go fat-biking during the snowy season. This family friendly trail is hard packed and flat, making it a great spot to take the kids! The best part is, other than your paid parking pass, it’s a free activity for the family! So, when you’re heading to Algonquin territory this summer, don’t forget your bikes & helmets!


While we realize this might not all be possible to do in one short season, it sure would be a summer to remember, wouldn’t it?

Take what you will from this list, and make life long memories with your family this summer!

CottageLINK Rental Management
Email: info@clrm.ca
Toll Free: 1-866 323 6698

Our Hours:
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Sat-Sun 9-5

Business Address:
PO Box 39036
Columbia PO, Waterloo, ON, Canada N2T 0A7

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