What To Do

Explore our waterways - historic locks and dams, ghost towns, turn-of-the-century cemeteries, corduroy roads and abandoned homesteads along an unparalleled picturesque roadway.

The quiet country roads surrounding the village are ideal for mountain biking, driving, hiking, or even horseback riding and become a psychedelic cavalcade of colour during the transitory days, leading from summer into fall.

The Magnetawan Lion’s Centennial Park in the Village of Magnetawan is accessible by road (just off highway #520) or by boat and canoe. There is a dock at both ends of the Park for convenient boat and canoe docking, and there is plenty of parking spaces in the Park for vehicles.

The Magnetawan Lion’s Centennial Park provides great playground equipment for children and a very nice large sandy beach. The Lion’s Park also has picnic tables and charcoal BBQs. From the Park there is a good view of the locks leading in Lake Ahmic, and it is just a short stroll to the Village with it’s shops and stores where you can get ice cream cones on a warm day. 

From late-June until Thanksgiving weekend the Village of Magnetawan has a Farmer’s Market every Saturday from 10 AM  until 2 PM. Fresh produce, home baking, honey, home made jams and jellies, wood carving, crafts and lots more. Entertainment weekly!  A place to shop for the unusual and to meet your friends and make new ones! One of a kind items abound. 

Swim off the docks, along the rocky shore lines, or boat to the sandy beach at the Lion’s Centennial Park in the nearby Village of Magnetawan. It has a large sandy beach and a full range of playground equipment that are ideal for young children.

Echo Rock is only available by boat, it is a large high granite slab at the west edge of Cecebe lake. Some fishermen think the waters just off Echo Rock are  especially good for fishing. 

Once in the Village of Magnetawan, venture over to the newly restored dam and locks. Follow the “Dam Trail” signs around the island and take in vistas of waterfalls, granite outcroppings, the old lighthouse on Scenic Lake Cecebe, and Centennial Park. This trail is adjacent to the museum in the old Powerhouse. AHMIC LAKE TRAIL (50 KM.) 

Ahmic Lake Bicycle Route
Length: 42 km / 26.1 mi   Activities: bike, drive

Description: The Ahmic Lake Route allows cyclists to explore the quiet country back roads around Ahmic Lake. Starting from Magnetawan Community Center at 31 William St where you can find parking and a bike fix station, the route is laden with picturesque scenes along the Magnetawan River and Ahmic Lake. The two small village hamlets of Magnetawan and Ahmic Harbour present cyclists with all of the amenities needed to make a day of this enjoyable trip around the lake. This 40.1 km route. Be aware while riding, this route has some rough patches that are in the process of being repaired. The route has a total ascent of 415.2 m and has a maximum elevation of 329.18 m. 

Cornelia Levering Broadmeadows Trail
Length: 3 km / 1.9 mi   Activities: hike, cross-country ski, snowshoe

Description: The Cornelia Levering Broadmeadows Trail is located at the Ahmic Lake Golf Club and Broadmeadows Wildlife Area in Magnetawan. This trail is not a closed loop, though users can bridge the gap by using the Ahmic Lake Golf Club Road. The trail traverses areas of different forest stands and ecosystem types including hardwood maple, pockets of white pine, and a small tamarack plantation. 

Dam Trail
Length: 1.2 km / 0.75 mi   Activities: hike, snowshoe

Description: The Dam Trail begins with a small footpath that crosses the provincial lift locks over the Magnetawan River leading to a small island chain that stretches across the water. The trail is a network of footpaths on the first and largest of the islands and provides a short and easy walk through a mixed upland hardwood and conifer bush. Interpretive signs can be found beside the trail in several locations detailing some of the local history and ecological features of the area 

Old Nipissing Road
Length: 70 km / 43.5 mi   Activities: hike, bike

Description:  The Nipissing Road was once home to many settlements of hopeful pioneers, but is now guarded by their abandoned log cabins and weathered barns. The road runs through the centre of the Parry Sound District between highways 69 and 11. It winds along 70 km of gravel road, bush trail and paved highway (#510) from Rosseau on Hwy 141 to Nipissing on Hwy 534. The Nipissing Road is a ghost town trail with no facilities between Magnetawan and Nipissing. Although the road is gravel, its condition varies. Some sections are wide and well kept; others are little more than two ruts plunging into dark woods, much as the pioneers might remember it. A series of historic markers are located along the route. 

 Magnetawan River Loop Length: 44 km / 27.3 mi   Activities: canoe  

Outstanding natural and human heritage values make the Magnetawan River one of the most outstanding rivers in Ontario. This protected waterway is characterized by mature red and white pine stands, rocky shorelines, several sets of rapids and numerous islands. A number of significant species have been document in the park, and most communities remain in excellent condition. Follow the Magnetawan River from scenic Burk’s Falls through the locks system between Lake Cecebe and Ahmic Lake. The River continues beyond Ahmic Lake offering paddlers a more challenging route  

Not to be out done by anyone else, this river system offers boating, swimming, fishing or just plain relaxing and lounging around. Whether you are an avid fisher or a recreational angler, the pickerel, pike, bass and trout will give you a good fight and provide hours of enjoyment.You can put your boat in the water in the Village of Burk's Falls and travel through scenic Lake Cecebe through the historic locks and on to Ahmic Harbour, thus following the historic route, used by many Steamships of the early days.. 

And let's not forget the bounty of birds and wildlife that can be observed throughout the year.  For the “birdwatcher”, don't forget your favorite bird book and your binoculars as, they are a must in this region. There have been over 260 speicies of birds reported within the Lake Cecebe area  

Discover the enchantment of a true artist’s vision at Screaming Heads – Midlothian Castle & Gallery. Midlothian Castle is the creation and home of retired Secondary School art teacher Peter Camani, an artist and sculptor who’s created an unusual residence in the form of a castle complete with sculpture garden on an old 310 acre farm which is most commonly known as “Screaming Heads”. The castle, a former farmhouse, is guarded by a fire-breathing dragon which sits on the chimney and emits smoke whenever the fireplace is used. Gargoyles sit atop a fence surrounding the castle. 

With his paintings already hanging in such coveted places as the Vatican and Buckingham Palace, Camani decided to focus his energy on realizing a vision of significantly larger proportions and permanence, the Screaming Heads. Scattered throughout the property are more than a hundred sculptures created over a 30 year period, each one is approximately 20 feet high and can weighs as much as 30 tons. Camani says he built his otherworldly creations as a warning about environmental degradation.

Peter has continued to add to the property. There is now the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the Primeval Forest. The Primeval Forest is comprised of eighty screaming concrete trees, roughly eighteen feet (six metres) tall, with a treed ridge and fantastic sunsets as the backdrop.  Four ponds are also on the property. Midlothian Castle on the Screaming Heads grounds is a truly magical place that’s continually changing and evolving. It’s a place where all are welcome to explore throughout the year as there is a donation box at the entrance. Visitors are welcome to wander the trails that wind through meadows, past woods and ponds, to get up close to “or even walk through” his artwork. Screaming Heads Midlothian Castle & Gallery is located on Midlothian Road, approximately 5 km from Hwy 520, Burk’s Falls.

If you are looking to get away from it all, why not take a leisurely canoe trip along the winding Magnetawan River, or take a boat out on one of our many lakes and try to catch that record fish, you've been dreaming about.

If staying on dry land is more your style, there is hiking along the Heritage River Walk or a tour of our scenic country roads. Maybe you prefer to stay in a more urban setting, then your time will be well spent browsing the many stores throughout the downtown area.

A number of businesses offer exquisite arts and crafts from around the world, or hand-made by Burks Falls’ residents. Wander through the Art Gallery and enjoy the work of many excellent local artists. Or you may want to visit the public library, where you will find not only a good range of reading material, but also computers for public use.

A fine way to enjoy the local 'atmosphere' would be to have a picnic at the Stan Darling Village Park, overlooking the Magnetawan river and dam.

There are many golf courses within an hour from Rockwynn Cottages

Magnetawan: Ahmic Lake Golf Club - The 9-hole Ahmic Lake Golf Club in Magnetawan, ON is a public golf course that opened in 1965. Ahmic Lake Golf Club measures 2484 yards from the longest tees. The course features 2 sets of tees for different skill levels. The greens are bent grass and the fairways are bermuda grass 

Parry Sound and area: 40 minutes to an hour west

Parry Sound Golf and Country Club  - This Thomas McBroom design - completed in 1982 - replaced the original 9-hole facility established in 1929. Don't be fooled by the yardage from the back tees - just under 6,000 yards. With a premium on accuracy, this course will test every club in your bag. A conservative strategy is most effective as large numbers lurk on every hole. Enjoy!

The Ridge at Manitou Golf Club -  The Ridge at Manitou is a place of natural beauty where holes meander through the landscape. Designer Tom McBroom’s “out and in” layout delivers an unforgettable experience. 

Seguin Valley Golf and Country Club —  Featuring some of the most stunning holes in Canada, Seguin Valley’s dramatic routing cuts through a one time sugar maple bush—now also rich with pine, beech and oak trees — crossing lakes, streams and lush wetlands, and skirting granite cliffs and rock. 

Huntsville and area: 40 minutes south east

Deerhurst Highlands -  Deerhurst Highlands Golf Course is what separates the resort from others in the golfing world. In 1990, Robert Cupp and Thomas McBroom co-designed this par 72 championship golf course, and immediately it established the benchmark for golf courses in the region, spark Muskoka’s emergence as a major, must-play Canadian golf destination.  

Deerhurst Lakeside Golf Course -  Charming 9-hole course that’s more challenging than you’d expect from its picturesque layout. 

Huntsville Downs Golf Course  Huntsville Downs boasts 18 superb holes set in the magnificent scenery of Muskoka.   With 3 sets of tees, this par 72, 6566 yard course is playable by the inexperienced and challenging for the most discerning golfer. 

North Granite Ridge Golf Club (in Port Sydney south of Huntsville)

Set among 320 acres of quiet forest and stunning natural terrain in the heart of Muskoka, you’ll discover North Granite Ridge Golf Course. Our 18 hole championship course offers privacy, tranquility and incredible long-range vistas that only unique topography of Muskoka can provide. Wildlife abounds. It would be a rarity to play a round of golf without spotting a family of deer.  

Downtown Huntsville 

About 40 min by car, great town to walk around, shop, dine, theatres, festivals and more. 

Come and experience the endless possibilities of dining, shopping & entertainment that downtown Huntsville has to offer. Enjoy dining out with the family, warm up with a latte with friends in a cafe´, or discover local artisan crafts and art .