Several generations of hardworking Canadians use Haliburton Highlands to escape. Haliburton is still a popular destination for Canadian and international celebrities seeking a quiet retreat. Notable stars and celebrities spotted vacationing in the Haliburton Highlands include Carrie Underwood & Mike Fisher, Mike Myers Theresa Longo Matt Duchene, & Rachel McAdams. While Muskoka boasts high-end dining, golf courses and upscale boutiques, sometimes solitude is the ultimate luxury.
Halliburton is slightly further from Toronto than Muskoka, and it’s known for peace, tranquillity, and nature. It has over 600 smaller, deep-water lakes, surrounded by thick forests. The community is close-knit, and it’s true that ‘everyone knows everyone’. Carved through the Canadian Shield is an epic driving route which quickly transitions from cityscape to thick cottage country forest. The most direct driving route from Toronto to Haliburton covers roughly 215 km and takes about 2.5 to 3 hours. In this article, Regarding Luxury takes you to top Haliburton Highlands hotspots, where to eat, the best boat-in dockside restaurants, and how to land the biggest pike of your life.
Top 3 Lures to Hammer Muskies and Pike in Haliburton This Summer
Haliburton’s clear lakes and weedy structure hold solid muskellunge (muskies) and northern pike populations. In summer, these aggressive predators cruise weed edges, points, and drop-offs. They respond best to lures delivering flash, vibration, or surface commotion. Run heavy musky gear—9-foot rod, 80-100 lb braid, and wire leader. With decades of experience on Lake Kashawigamog, these three proven producers dominate Canadian summer fisheries and will work here too.
Haliburton firepit, image by Jeffrey Eisen, Unsplash
Musky Mayhem Double Cowgirl Bucktail
The king of fast-water covering in Canada. Dual massive #10 blades create serious thump and flash, while the long Flashabou skirt gives a big, lively profile. Muskies and pike key on the vibration during steady retrieves along cabbage beds or rocky breaks. It triggers reaction strikes from active summer fish and covers water efficiently. Cast it out, wind it in, and be ready for follows.
Available here: Musky Mayhem Double Cowgirl
Joe Bucher TopRaider Prop Bait
When you want explosive surface action, this is the go-to. The single rotating tail blade produces a loud, rhythmic “plop-plop” and churning wake that pulls fish up from depth or weeds. Perfect for low-light periods or shallow flats. Pike and muskies smash it with vicious strikes. Retrieve steady or vary speed—figure-8 at the boat every cast.
Available here: Joe Bucher TopRaider
Suick Thriller Jerkbait
Classic dive-and-rise action that excels on neutral or following fish. Rod sweeps make it dart and pause like a wounded baitfish. The buoyant design lets you control depth and work structure or weedlines precisely. Muskies and pike often commit on the pause or during the figure-8. Tough build handles rocks and teeth.
Available here: Suick Thriller.
If you go with good old-fashioned worms or other live bait, the figure-8 is always a professional tip to increase your chances of a catch.
Theresa Longo
Haliburton wood cabin, by Mary Tuano, Unsplash
Transcend Time: Refuel In Isolation
Bonnie View Inn remains the only real B&B on Lake Kashagawigamog open to the public year-round. The last of an era long gone, which we will get into soon, the Inn is named after a Scottish woman who admired the view from shore and aptly named it so. Many other inns like Bonnie View vanished.
There was Chateau Woodland (where 4 generations of my family had stayed) or Halimar Resort – which was a popular 3-star lakeside cottage resort acquired by Haliburton Hockey Haven and was ultimately closed. Another, next door to Bonnie View Inn, used to be called Birch Point Lodge. When it became unsustainable, a few parcels of the land were sold for multiple $M. Now private cottages sit on the old Birch Point Lodge property.
A Typical Haliburton Highlands Retreat In the1960s
The main features of these Inns were large dining rooms where families would gather for their ‘3 square’. Between meals, leisure activities like hiking, swimming, tennis, shuffleboard, fishing, and birdwatching are common. Families enjoy time together. There is a golf course conveniently located nearby, still in operation to this day.
The Haliburton Highlands Golf Club is a scenic, challenging 9-hole course established in 1932. Located at 3180 Kashagawigamog Lake Road in Haliburton, Ontario, it spans 2,425 yards and features uneven terrain and hidden hazards. The 8th tee is famous for its stunning views of Lake Kashagawigamog.
Two Haliburton Time Shares To Watch For
Marcus Beach Cottages is a private, 39-acre fractional cottage community located on the shores of Lake Kashagawigamog in Dysart, Ontario (about a two-hour drive north of Toronto). It features 19 well-appointed cottages that are primarily shared-ownership or available for select rentals, often sleeping up to eight people.
Chateau Woodland offers incredible, ultra tiny cottages set on the old grounds of the lakeside resort. The community pays a modest annual amount <$6000 for maintenance and landscaping, but residents own the cottage structure. Sales are ultra rare. To get in here, you have to keep an eye on the market. Tiny cabins have sold for up to $200,000 in previous listings. Others, much less, fetching ~$110,000 in 2013.
When the Inn closed to the public, a lot of the public were off put that their annual resort, complete with 2 beaches, a tennis court and saltwater pool would be privately sold off. To this day, in the lodge hangs a banner saying “Chateau Woodlands Community: They said it couldn’t be done”. But, to this day, it does remain, and the only way to get in is to keep a close eye on Real Estate.
Haliburton lakeside, by Derek Sutton, Unsplash
Life on Lake Kashagawigamog
Let’s go back to that era. It all started with Wigamog Inn. The Wigamog Inn was a historic, sprawling lakeside resort on Kashagawigamog Lake in Haliburton, Ontario. Originally opening in 1903, the former “lady of the lake” eventually closed in 2011. Following years of vacancy, decay, and a structural fire, the property is slated for demolition but it still stands today!
Founded in 1903 by Robert and Anne Gould as a boarding house, the historic Wigamog Inn on Kashagawigamog Lake in Haliburton, Ontario, operated for decades before falling into disrepair and being slated for demolition. The Goulds eventually sold it to the Robertson family. It is one of the first Summer Inn’s which operated in the lake. It was especially popular during the 40s-80s. As kids, we always marveled they separated the kids from the parents at dinner! “Barbarians!” we thought. Now, I kinda get it.
The Wigamog inn began in 1903 as a modest boarding house operated by Robert and Anne Gould on their sheep farm, offering room and board for $3 a week. In 1917, the Goulds sold the Wigamog property to the Robertson family. They then established the first purpose-built resort directly across the lake, Birch Point Lodge, which remained in the family for nearly a century until it was divided and sold as previously noted.
Wigamog Inn – The Robertson Family Era (1917–1967)
Purchased by William Robertson in 1917, the Wigamog Inn property was heavily upgraded and welcomed its first official inn guests in 1922. The Robertsons transformed the boarding house into a fully operational summer inn. Merv and Alison Robertson took over the property, raising their son, Keith Robertson, on the lodge grounds.
Armed with the full history of the region, let’s see why Haliburton is a premier destination for the summer of 2026.
Top 3 Destination Eats: Haliburton, Ontario
The Dockside at Bonnie View Inn
Few things compare to enjoying a meal beside the water. From casual lunches and refreshing afternoon cocktails to relaxed dinners with family and friends, The Dockside at Bonnie View Inn offers front-row views of one of Haliburton’s most beautiful lakes. Take a seat on the patio, soak in the scenery, and enjoy a menu designed for sharing great moments.
Whether you’re stopping in after a day on the water or making an evening of it, every visit comes with a side of spectacular lake views. You can pull up to the Dockside Restaurant by boat. There is live music on the patio every Wednesday. Look across the lake to the old Wigamog Inn.
A cabin at The Bonnie View Inn.
Kosy Korner Restaurant
Kosy Korner is the oldest family-owned restaurant in Haliburton, serving home-cooked meals at 166 Highland Street for nearly 90 years. It’s a casual, scratch-kitchen spot famous for its all-day breakfast, freshly cooked turkey, and house-made burgers.
Location: 166 Highland Street, Haliburton, ON (in the heart of downtown).
The Pepper Mill Steak & Pasta House
The Pepper Mill Steak & Pasta House, located at 15141 Hwy 35 in Minden, Ontario, is a cozy, family-friendly cottage-country destination. Known for its rustic, wood-beamed interior, the restaurant is famous for its AAA and Angus steaks, seafood, and fresh, made-from-scratch pasta dishes. We made sure to book in advance, but if you plan to eat later (past 7 PM), no reservation is typically required. The meal was savoury, fresh and home-cooked.n The seafood was fresh, and the calamari was cooked perfectly.
Places to Go
Haliburton Skyline Park
Located off Highway 118 on Skyline Park Road, it is a popular lookout offering panoramic views of the village of Haliburton and the surrounding highlands. Open 24/7 and free to visit, it is a quick, easy drive from downtown with space to park alongside the road.
The Bonnie View Inn
When you really want to fish with the boys but the old lady loves glamping, get here! The Dockside Restaurant is here, and nothing beats your own private cabin on the lake.
The Bonnie View Inn, image by Theresa Longo
Boshkung Brewing Co.
Located in nearby Minden (on Highway 118), this is the place to grab a local craft beer right on the water.
Why Haliburton Highlands is Still the Real Deal, Summer 2026
After all these years, what keeps pulling me back isn’t just the fishing or the food; it’s the feeling that you’ve stepped out of the rush and into something that still feels real. The old resorts may be gone or turned private, but the spirit of those family summers lives on in places like the Bonnie View Inn and the quiet corners of Lake Kashagawigamog in the early morning fog when all you can hear are the loons calling.
You can still pull up to The Dockside by boat, grab a cold one at Boshkung, and watch the sun drop behind the pines the same way families did back in the ’60s. Whether you’re out on the water hammering muskies and pike with the Double Cowgirl or the Suick Thriller, or you’re the one who’d rather sit on the dock with your lady and a coffee in hand, Haliburton gives you both. The lakes are still deep and clear, the deer still cross the road at dusk, and the people still know your name after a couple of visits.
So if you’re looking for that perfect mix – serious fishing, good honest food, a little history, and the kind of peace you can’t buy in Muskoka anymore – this is it. Pack the rods, book the cabin, and get up here before the summer slips away. The water’s waiting, the stories are still being written, and there’s always time for one more cast.
Top image, Haliburton sunset, by Derek Sutton, Unsplash
Theresa Longo (B.B.A Hon) is a former Miss Italy World contestant & professional brand ambassador based in Toronto. She covers topics such as performance auto, high fashion and world travel.
