Cottage country is a common name in Ontario, New Brunswick, and other regions of Canada for areas that are popular locations for recreational properties such as cottages and summer homes. Cottage country is often socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct from other rural areas in that it is populated by a notably higher concentration of urban vacationers and residents who have an affinity for the outdoors, in contrast to more traditional rural populations, which are largely absent of "city folk", but that is less true in Western Canada. Any major population centre may have its own popular "cottage country" area.
In the Greater Toronto Area, cottage country traffic refers to traffic bound to cottage country on Friday afternoons and returning from it on Sunday afternoons. Cottage country traffic is usually extremely heavy on long weekends, such as Victoria Day in May, Canada Day on the July 1st weekend, Simcoe Day in August, and Labour Day in September, particularly on Highway 400 and Highway 11. The Ontario media has often referred to these times of the year as a "highway blitz", which also refers to the related Ontario Provincial Police efforts to step up highway enforcement on those congested roads, which often yield record numbers of fines for motor vehicle violations.
One of the most well-known areas in Ontario cottage country is Muskoka, with its most famous lakes being the "Big Three" lakes which include Lake Joseph ("Lake Joe"), Lake Muskoka and Lake Rosseau. In the summer, cottage rentals become one of the most popular trips for families and groups alike in Ontario and while Muskoka remains the most popular destination, there are many other locations to rent a cottage in Ontario, including the Kawartha Lakes and the surrounding Kawarthas area, Haliburton, Parry Sound and Lake Simcoe, which is the closest "big lake" to Toronto. The District of Muskoka, which encompasses six different municipalities within Cottage Country, sees over 3.2 million visitors annually with many of those visiting during the summer months.
Canadian English has a regional distinction for the name of a summer recreation house. In some areas, "cottage" is used, but in other areas, terms like "cabin", "camp", "country house", and "bungalow" are preferred.
Areas commonly referred to as cottage country
The term cottage country is applied locally in vernacular use. For example, Greater Toronto residents might say, "I am heading up to cottage country this weekend", which is locally understood to be referring to Muskoka, the Kawartha Lakes, or the Haliburton area. On the other hand, a speaker from Ottawa would typically use the same phrase to denote the Rideau Lakes area or parts of the Outaouais.
Areas referred to as cottage country include: Prince Edward Island Cavendish, Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia Bras d'Or Lake Annapolis Royal Lunenburg County New Brunswick St. Andrews Quebec Eastern Townships Laurentides Outaouais Central Ontario, including: Parry Sound–Muskoka–Haliburton region Kawartha Lakes Bancroft and northern Hastings County Ottawa Valley Eastern Ontario Rideau Lakes Northwestern Ontario Greenstone Kenora Northeastern Ontario North Bay Temagami Manitoba Whiteshell Provincial Park Eastern Manitoba Interlake Saskatchewan Prince Albert National Park Fishing Lakes Alberta Banff, Alberta Canmore, Alberta British Columbia Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia Lake Country, British Columbia Whistler, British Columbia
Other popular summer vacation areas
Alberta
According to the Realtors' Association of Edmonton official map (2010), the following are resort communities within 100 km of Edmonton (clockwise starting from the east): Antler Lake North Cooking Lake Hastings Lake South Cooking Lake Miquelon Lake Pigeon Lake Buck Lake Spring Lake Wabamun Lake Isle Lake Lac Ste. Anne Sandy Lake Nakamun Lake Lac la Nonne
Further afield: Sylvan Lake (Alberta)
British Columbia
British Columbia Interior, especially: the Okanagan, Shuswap Country, etc.
See also
Cottage Life magazine and media franchise, including Cottage Life (TV channel) Bobcaygeon (song), about a Toronto police officer who returns to cottage country Beach house Dacha List of summer colonies, the term summer colony is often used, particularly in the United States Resort town