Explore Muskoka pinpoints locations across the District which author Susan Pryke finds “interesting, intriguing, or beautiful.” For this variety-pack of locales to explore, the book’s maps are essential. Tours are split into manageable blocks because “there’s so much to see and do.”
Painter Doug Dunford has devoted many years to capturing on canvas the wooden runabouts of Ontario’s
Muskoka region. This volume contains some of his finest work and the magic that can happen when a skilled painter is moved by the work of skilled boatbui
Early Days, Early Ways
Known as “The Gateway to Muskoka,” the town of Gravenhurst’s history is replete with larger-than-life personalities, bold initiatives, major setbacks, and all the usual charms and activities of Muskoka District’s vacation economy. This richly illustrated book with dozens of heritage photographs includes local historian Cecil Porter’s charmingly recounted episodes of community development from rawest pioneer times to the devastating fire that destroyed the town’s building, but not its spirit, in 1887.
Stories From the Trail and Beyond
The 1930s Englishman who became Canada's aboriginal conservationist "Grey Owl" inspired naturalist writer Hap Wilson to follow his own meandering path into the wild. The result is this acount of bizarre and sublime adventures along the trail.
The High Cost of Free Land
The District of Muskoka, today celebrated as a vacation paradise, began as a sort of hell for many would-be farmers who arrived to claim its "free land". This is the true story of one special chapter in that dramatic saga.
My Life and Views on Canada, the U.S., the World & the Universe
This easy reading autobiography by one of Canada’s most engaged political leaders is a welcome key to understanding the man and the nature of public affairs that impact us all. It even clarifies how Hellyer could simultaneously be an Ottawa cabinet minister and Muskoka resort operator.
With Spirit and Resolve
Huntsville never had an easy time during its formative decades. Founded in the 1860s amid the picturesque lakes and rolling wooded hills of northeastern Muskoka, the hamlet struggled in competition with nearby settlements.
Stories From Muskoka's Past
The story of Muskoka is one strongly tied to the environment. For centuries, the granite that lies beneath its surface has shaped life on the edge of the Canadian shield. This is the story of those seeking opportunity just beyond the familiar.
The Evolution of a Carnegie Library (HARDCOVER)
This story of one Canadian town’s library reveals universal patterns in love for reading and battles for books as librarians, politicians, architects, educators, philanthropists and avid book readers mix it up for more than a century.
This work of Muskoka historical fiction by Wendy Truscott follows a young man’s path of emotions through pioneer society to his revenge-seeking act and its consequences.
This book contains a richness of memories of sport fisherman Gord Deval's experiences on hundreds of streams, rivers, and lakes in Ontario and Quebec.
A History of Recreation & Sport in Ontario’s Cottage Country, 1860-1945
This book surveys how Muskoka residents and visitors enjoyed the District’s recreational opportunities by focusing “on how people in the past used recreation and sport to enhance their lives.”
In earliest days of Muskoka colonization, the District’s most central place was also its most spectacularly beautiful. Two colonization roads intersected here, just where Muskoka’s most dramatic waterfall plunged a hundred feet down a rock faced chasm.
Poems
The people, places, and events of Muskoka District moved poet Sylvia DuVernet to lyrical expression. The songs she fashioned as poetry came from Muskoka itself, and are preserved for posterity in this treasured volume of her work.
A Photographic Portrait
Photographer John McQuarrie delivers a vivid portrait of Muskoka's steamboat history and its present-day reality. This book can be gift, souvenir, or education through imagery.