The Muskoka Golf Retreat Guide — Where to Play, Where to Stay
Muskoka is one of Ontario's most underrated golf destinations — Canadian Shield granite, elevation changes carved into forest, and courses that consistently rank among the best public and semi-private layouts in the country. If you're planning a golf retreat in Muskoka with friends or a corporate group this fall, here's a course-by-course guide, plus how to base your trip out of a waterfront property instead of a hotel room.
Why Fall Is Prime Time for a Muskoka Golf Trip
Most Muskoka courses run their season from early May into mid-October, and fall rounds come with two advantages summer can't match: cooler playing temperatures and thinner tee sheets. Book your golf retreat for September or the first half of October and you'll get fall colour on every fairway, without the July heat or the wait times.
The Courses
Muskoka Bay Club — Gravenhurst A Doug Carrick and Ian Andrew design carved into 280 acres of Canadian Shield, Muskoka Bay is consistently ranked among Canada's top public-access courses and is one of the most dramatic layouts in Ontario — rock outcroppings, forced carries, and undulating fairways throughout. It's open to the public and only minutes from downtown Gravenhurst, making it the closest top-tier course to our Woodland Drive properties.
Muskoka Highlands Golf Links — Bracebridge A more relaxed, walkable links-style course just outside Bracebridge, Muskoka Highlands is known for some of the best-maintained greens in the region and a genuinely flexible format — play 2 holes or 18, in any order, on your own time. It's also one of the only dog-friendly courses in Ontario, and one of the few in Muskoka with an indoor practice facility for winter lessons once the outdoor season wraps.
Deerhurst Highlands — Huntsville Part of Deerhurst Resort, Highlands is a Robert Cupp and Thomas McBroom championship design ranked among Canada's top public courses, with a second, shorter Lakeside course on-site for a more relaxed round. It's a longer drive from Gravenhurst-area properties (roughly 45 minutes), but worth building into a two-course retreat if your group wants a full golf weekend.
Building a Golf Retreat Around a Waterfront Stay
Golf resorts do one thing well: golf. A waterfront cottage retreat does something a hotel room can't — it gives your group a real house to come back to after the round. Where a golf trip out of Muskoka Bay Club or Muskoka Highlands really comes together is basing the group out of a private waterfront property nearby, then handling everything around the golf through concierge:
Tee time coordination across one or multiple courses for the group
Private chef or catering for a group dinner back at the cottage after the round — no need to book a restaurant for 8+ people
Boat and jet ski rental for the group members not golfing, or for an afternoon on the water after the round
Mobile massage booked to the cottage for anyone's back after 18 holes
Corporate retreat planning if this is a client or team golf trip — we coordinate the golf, the group meals, and the meeting space if you need one
Plan Your Muskoka Golf Retreat
Whether it's a guys'/girls' annual golf weekend, a client entertainment trip, or a corporate team retreat with a round built in, browse our Gravenhurst waterfront properties — closest to Muskoka Bay Club and Muskoka Highlands — or talk to our concierge team about coordinating tee times and everything else around them.