Huntsville is where my heart is. No matter where I live, it will be home. I grew up at a summer resort on Skeleton Lake 20 min south of Huntsville. My hubby and I love coming here and hiking and what better time to come to enjoy the beautiful fall colors.
We had a fantastic time! We visited,
- Sawdust City Brewery, Gravenhurst
- Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls, Huntsville
- Algonquin Provincial Park, Huntsville
- Arrowhead Provincial Park, Huntsville
- Comfort Inn, Huntsville
- Shopping in the Town of Huntsville
Sawdust City Brewery, Gravenhurst
The first place I am going to share is where we stopped for a beer and some food on our way there, Sawdust City Brewery. We love this place for their food, of course their beer, but they also allow dogs inside the brewery. The patio is wonderful in the summer but it very nice to have a place to go when it gets cold.
We ordered a wonderful lager to drink and more to take to the hotel. We had Fancy Fries and Duck Wings – so delicious!
We, of course, had to buy some Sawdust City merchandise. You will see I bought a toque. It will make its appearance through this series of blog pictures!
This was a perfect stop for us to get some food and a break from driving as it is 1.5 hours from Whitby. We had another 40 mins to the hotel for the night. This place is a must visit with your fur baby or even without.
We continued to make our way to Huntsville, making our next stop Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls.
Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls, Huntsville
It was very rainy by the time we arrived at Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls. It is a short walk to some very beautiful falls. This place can be quite dangerous, please be very careful with children and pets. The rapids are quite fierce.
The day was calling for rain and we thought nothing of it. It was a little rainy and we were ok with that!
We had a wonderful visit enjoying the falls and the walk along the river at the top of the falls.
The dogs were anxious to go in the water but it was very cold! Where the actual falls are is a very sturdy fence to protect people from going down to the falls. At the bottom of the falls are little rivers going into a bigger river. I bet in the summer there are hoards of people playing in those streams and swimming around there. Beautiful spot with beautiful views.
Algonquin Provincial Park
We landed in Algonquin Park mid morning Saturday. Please make sure you book your pass as the park does book up! We decided to try our luck at the rain holding up and do the Track and Tower Trail. It is a 7.7 km loop. Click here to go to the All Trails (my favorite app for hiking) site about this hike. It is considered a “moderate” trail but it was definitely not easy in the rain.
Algonquin in the fall draws so many visitors. We had to wait about 20 minutes for a car to leave so we could park and we met a lot of people on the walk. It was drizzling by the time we started the hike and thought for sure it would hold up. It was only 7.7 km, can’t be that bad.
We got to Cache lake and it was beautiful, and pouring rain and extremely windy. By this time there was also thunder (which Maze despises). And as promised in the Oxtongue Rapids blog, here is my video of a less cheerful me!
Although we were only a couple of kilometers in, we had to turn around and head to the car. The dogs were so wet they were shaking every 10 feet and we were also soaked and getting chilled.
Maze and I left Mike and Nyx in Huntsville on Sunday evening so they could spend more time trying to tackle this trail. It unfortunately continued to rain but they went and they conquered. The hike had great scenery including rapids, lookouts, bridges and walkways. Here is some of his pictures.
At one point there is a massive hill that needed to be conquered. Here is Mike at the top of that hill.
And he makes it!
The trails are all marked well in the park and this trail had an bathroom for use at the start of the trail. There are several trails in the park and we have done them all several times. We enjoy Algonquin Park much better in the winter than in the summer as there are far less people and it is so much quieter.
Of course you have to keep your dog on a leash at all times and the Mizzy Lake Trail doesn’t allow dogs at all. Last fall we were at the park hiking with Maze and we came across a lone wolf. Thankfully, Maze knew it was not a dog and just quietly sat beside me until it decided to run off into the bush. We were on high alert the rest of the hike. Algonquin is a very large park with all kinds of wildlife including bears, moose, raccoons and beavers.
Algonquin Park is a great place to go with your fur baby. From camping to dog beaches (although not great beaches to swim with your dog) it is a great place to visit.
Arrowhead Park Provincial Park
Arrowhead has to be my favorite park in this area, yes, I like it even more than Algonquin Park. This place has it all; camping, swimming, hiking, a dog beach, park stores, cross country ski trails (no dogs on them!), a road for skating and a tubing hill. It has it all!!
We got there right at 9 am on Sunday morning when it opened. The crowds the day before at Algonquin made us early risers and it paid off. It was lovely and quiet until about 10:30 am. We couldn’t go any earlier as we had to check in at the Information Station when we arrived to have our permit printed.
We start with the Homesteaders Trail. It is a beautiful wide trail that is 3.1 kms. There aren’t any landmarks along the walk, just beautiful colored leaves.
Here are some pictures of the trail. Mostly just beautiful colors but the same scenery as any forest!
At the end of the Homesteaders trail we met up with the Mayflower Trail. At this connection is the outdoor theatre.
The Mayflower trail is a short trail that walks partly around the Mayflower Lake.
At the end of the trail you are back to the main gate which is where we parked. As you can see the mud was overwhelming and the dogs were covered (while Red was black but Black seemed ok! haha) so we walked down to the dog beach and got them cleaned off before heading back to the car.
The dog beach is our favorite place to swim with the dogs. It is very sandy and it is at the end of the public beach so you are still part of everything. This is my favorite dog beach so far (with North Beach at North Beach Provincial park being my second favorite currently).
It was wonderful morning. We went back to the hotel, dried off and warmed up and then headed into town to visit the shops. The Comfort Inn in Huntsville is our home away from home.
Comfort Inn – Huntsville
Comfort Inn is our favorite place to stay when we visit Huntsville. The rooms are always spotless, the beds are SO comfy and they love our dogs. Use their Choice app as the rates are lower on that app then anywhere else, including in person reservations.
Each room is decked out with a microwave and fridge. Here is a picture of our room. We put our blankets on the beds to protect the bed from fur.
Breakfast is included and they have wonderful little breakfast area by the main desk. They have warm eggs, sausages, yogurt, any type of bread you want, juices, cereal, oatmeal, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and fruit. Grabbing a couple of pieces of fruit for the hike is a must. If you aren’t eating at Boston Pizza (like we do all the time) then heading to the grocery store and having yourself a BBQ is another must. We spent a week with kids here in July and had many BBQ’s (no, we do not like camping).
This is also where we take the dogs to do their business. They have a garbage close by for your to use. The location of this hotel is also very central. There is a bakery, Henrietta’s Pine Bakery right next door and you also can very easily walk to the main street. Kawartha Diary is a stone’s throw away and always a must. Dogs get their own cones!
Arrowhead is about a 5 minutes drive away and Algonquin is about 30 minutes. Wonderful place for you to stay if in the area with your pups! Especially if you don’t want to sleep on the ground and wish to have the comforts of a bed!
The Picturesque Town of Huntsville
The shops in Huntsville are so welcoming to pets. Both of our dogs know exactly which stores gives them treats. We visited Algonquin Outfitters on the main street and Maze got away from me and went right behind the counter and stared at them until they gave her a treat. I was so embarrassed! Nyx hasn’t visited enough to know the drill.
I will list all the shops that have open arms for the dogs, but I also love Muskoka Bear Wear (I have tons of their clothes but they give treats and sell dog items too!)
Here are some of our favorite shops:
Big Bear Outfitting & Supply Co.
Algonquin Outfitters (treats!)
Christmas Tyme (treats!)
Muskoka Bear Wear (treats!)
Reflections of Muskoka (one dog at a time please)
Decorated on Main (treats!)
We had so much fun and managed to fit everything we bought into the car to get home!
Huntsville is one of our favorite road trips but also check out trips!
