New owners re-energize Muskoka's Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ontario

HUNTSVILLE, Ontario -- Deerhurst Resort, a four-season playground located two hours and two turns north of Toronto dating to 1896, has grown into one of the best golf resorts in Canada.

It has been re-energized in recent years, first serving as the host of the G8 Economic Summit in 2010. Skyline Hotels & Resorts purchased the property in 2011 and already has reinvested by upgrading the rooms and suites of the Summitt Lodges.

Skyline was recently approved to build a five-story, 173-unit development on Peninsula Lake with a swimming pool, barbecue area, gazebos and other amenities to replace the older lakeside lodge, home to the resort's iconic music shows where Shania Twain was discovered in the 1990s. The addition will help Deerhurst attract even more conventions in the shoulder seasons and guests in the busy summers.

Deerhurst draws golfers to its scenic Deerhurst Highlands Course, designed by Robert Cupp and Thomas McBroom in 1990. McBroom also redesigned the par-64 Deerhurst Lakeside Course, which is popular for families, juniors, seniors and outings looking for faster rounds.

Treetop trekking -- made up of swinging, zip-lining, climbing and more -- is the resort's latest outdoor excursion, along with mountain biking, horseback riding, paintball and driving a Hummer, a race car or an off-road rock buggy. The Shizen Spa provides stress relief indoors from all that outdoor overexertion.

The menus of the fine-dining Eclipse in the main building and Steamers in the Highlands clubhouse will satisfy all tastes, just like any vacation to the beautiful Muskoka region.