Cottage country

Cottage country is a common name in Canada for areas that are popular locations for recreational properties such as cottages and summer homes. The name is often applied locally; that is, any major population centre may have its own popular "cottage country" area. For example, Toronto, Ontario residents might say "I am heading up to cottage country this weekend," which is locally understood to be referring to Muskoka or Haliburton. On the other hand, a speaker from Ottawa would use the same phrase to denote the Rideau Lakes area, a speaker from Vancouver would most likely use the phrase in reference to resort areas in the Fraser Valley, and a speaker in Manitoba would use it in reference to the Interlake Region.

In Toronto, "cottage country traffic" also refers to automobiles that travel to cottage country on Friday afternoons and back on Sunday afternoons. Cottage country traffic on is usually extremely heavy on long weekends, such as Victoria Day in May and the Civic Holiday in August, particularly on Highway 400 and Highway 11. For a typical lake in cottage country, see Paudash Lake.

Areas commonly referred to as "cottage country"

• Central Ontario, including:
• Parry Sound-Muskoka-Haliburton region in Ontario
• Georgian Triangle and Simcoe County in Ontario
• Kawartha Lakes area in Ontario
• Rideau Lakes area in eastern Ontario
• Cultus Lake, British Columbia
• rural Nova Scotia
• Emma Lake, Saskatchewan