It’s maple syrup season, and there’s no better place to experience the joys of this uniquely Canadian season than Muskoka, thanks to the Muskoka Maple Trail, and no better place from which to embark upon your sweet adventures than JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort and Spa, where luxury and hospitality unite.
Perched above Lake Rosseau, the resort enjoys one of the most enviable locations in Muskoka. Amenities and service match the spectacular setting.
The resort fully embraces all things maple. Kids will enjoy making sticky maple crème cookie s’mores around the campfire (April 1, 8, 15 and 22), while adults will enjoy the full range of luxuriant offerings at Hydrospa Muskoka, including a maple sugar body polish and Muskoka maple parfait pedicure.
The highlight of the resort’s maple offerings are its specially crafted menu items inspired by the bounty of Muskoka’s woods.
“We created an exciting culinary and beverage experience that will take you from morning to night,” said chef Shaun Crymble, director of food and beverage at The Rosseau.
The day begins with pancakes or French toast drizzled with maple syrup. Order a maple cinnamon latte and head out to enjoy the same warming sun that has the sap running. Relax in a Muskoka chair and gaze out onto Lake Rosseau, where the ice breaks up seemingly before your eyes, or venture out for a walk where you hear birds singing their happy tunes and the sky above is impossibly blue.
For dinner, start with butternut maple soup.
“There’s the earthiness of the butternut squash, the sweetness of maple, and a hint of spices from the nutmeg cream and cinnamon,” explained Crymble.
Everyone loves chicken wings, but The Rosseau took that enjoyment up a notch, to infatuation, with its maple barbecue wings. The wings are tossed in a house-made barbecue sauce and maple syrup (“That perfect balance of hot and sweet,” according to Crymble) so delicious as to be sinful. The vibrant colours of accompanying celery and carrot sticks bring the dish to life.
For dessert, the maple cheesecake will work its way into your heart (and stomach). A sweet potato cheesecake infused with maple syrup and garnished with berries, it is a decadent and utterly delightful dessert. Do yourself a favour and don’t dream of sharing.
In between savouring maple-inspired delights, find the will to pull yourself away from the resort’s many appeals and experience some of the surprising and entertaining ways Muskoka is celebrating the season.
Sugar bush tour
Pull on your rubber boots and head out to Sugarbush Hill Maple Farm, where The Rosseau sources its maple syrup. Explore a maple bush to learn historic and modern methods of tapping trees, and then drop into the sugar house to discover how water-clear sap becomes the tasty syrup we drizzle on pancakes and waffles.
“We’re carrying on a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, beginning with First Nations people,” owner Tom Stehr explained, standing amidst the collection of historic maple syrup artifacts lining the walls of his sugar house. “It doesn’t get more Canadian than this.”
Sweet shopping
Take a detour into Bracebridge for some shopping. Stop at Maple Orchard Farms, where one can buy maple syrup, of course, but also maple butter, maple popcorn, maple roasted peanuts, maple peanut brittle, maple cookies, and delightful gift baskets.
While in Bracebridge, drop in on Rich Hill Candles, which contributes to the season with buttered maple and maple apple butter scented candles.
Drink to the season
Maple has become so synonymous with Muskoka, it should come as no surprise local craft breweries should come up with maple-inspired beer. Clear Lake Brewing Company, in Torrance, serves up a maple espresso IPA, and Huntsville’s Brewing Co. has a maple bourbon stout.
Or head over to Muskoka Lakes Farm and Winery to enjoy red maple dessert wine, made with the farm’s signature cranberries and maple syrup. Purchase by the bottle or enjoy it while sitting around an outdoor fire pit.
Muskoka Maple Festival
Finally, Muskoka even has an entire festival based around the sweetest of Ontario’s seasons. Every year since 2016, thousands of people have flocked to the streets of downtown Huntsville to celebrate an iconic Canadian product. This year’s festival (April 29) promises to be the biggest and best yet, with a pancake breakfast, maple marketplace, vendors, family activities, live entertainment, and plenty of maple-inspired cuisine.
Your day of adventure ends where it began, back at The Rosseau, enjoying a maple sour in the atmospheric Lakes Lounge.
An April getaway doesn’t get any sweeter.
A complete list of participants in the Muskoka Maple Trail can be found here.
