The 'Township of Muskoka Lakes' is an area municipality of the
District Municipality of Muskoka,
Ontario. It has a year-round population of 6,000 and a summer population of 34,000.
Geography and economy

A typical lake scene in Muskoka Lakes.
The township is located on
Canadian Shield and thus is marked with outcrops of igneous rock and evergreen trees. Although inland from both
Lake Huron's
Georgian Bay and
Lake Simcoe, the township contains the Muskoka Lakes consisting of
Lake Muskoka,
Lake Rosseau and
Lake Joseph, amongst many other smaller lakes.
Timber was initially the greatest economic attraction for the region. The soil is poor and rocky and consequently is not especially suited to
agriculture.
As the resource industries dried up, the area soon latched onto
tourism as its economic base based on its proximity to
Toronto and the rest of
Southern Ontario. For many Ontarians, this is the centre of
cottage country.
History and government
The area now covered by the
township was opened for settlement and organized in 1870 into the following geographic (and sometime municipal) townships of
Watt,
Cardwell,
Humphrey,
Christie,
Medora and
Wood.
In 1971, the current municipal structure took hold when Cardwell Township, Watt Township, Medora and Wood Townships,
Bala,
Port Carling, Windermere and part of Monck Township were merged.
Communities
★
Bala
★
Bala Park
★
Bardsville
★
Barlochan
★
Beaumaris
★
Bear Cove
★
Beatrice
★
Bent River
★
Brackenrig
★
Cedar Village
★
Dee Bank
★
Dudley
★
Duffy
★
Echo Beach
★
Ferndale
★
Foot's Bay
★
Glen Orchard
★
Gregory
★
Gull Rock
★
Hekkla
★
Inverness Lodge
★
Juddhaven
★
Mendora
★
Milford Bay
★
Minett
★
Morinus
★
Mortimers Point
★
Park Beach
★
Port Carling
★
Port Keewaydin
★
Port Sandfield
★
Raymond
★
Redwood
★
Roderick
★
Rossclair
★
Rosseau Falls
★
Rostrevor
★
Shannon Hall
★
Sunset Beach
★
Thorel House
★
Tomelin Bluffs
★
Torrance
★
Ufford
★
Ullswater
★
Valley Green Beach
★
Walkers Point
★
Willow Beach
★
Whiteside
★
Windermere
★
Woodington
★
Woodward Station
★
Ziska
Demographics
'Racial Groups'
★ 97.1%
White
★ 2.0%
Aboriginal
★ 0.3%
Chinese
★ 0.2%
Black
★ 0.4% other
'Religious Groups'
★ 58.8%
Protestant
★ 17.4%
Roman Catholic
★ 2.0%
other Christian
★ 21.8% non-religion
External links
★
Township of Muskoka Lakes municipal site
★
Muskoka Lakes Association residents' organization
★
Muskoka Area Attractions
★
Township of Muskoka Lakes Ratepayers' Association organizational site
★
Muskoka Lakes Chamber of Commerce business site
★
Boating Muskoka Lakes