Every July, Muskoka Wharf becomes a floating museum. The ACBS Vintage Boat Show, run by the Toronto chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society since 1982, is billed as the largest vintage boat show in Canada and one of the top shows in North America — and the setting explains the bragging. More than a hundred boats fill the water at Gravenhurst’s Muskoka Wharf, with dozens more displayed on land: gleaming antique mahogany launches, cedar strips, “Dippy” boats, classic fibreglass and faithful reproductions, polished to a mirror shine.
On shore, a flea market and Boats4Sale area tempt collectors, the antique outboard motor club shows and sells its treasures, and the RMS Segwun and her sister steamships stand as the ultimate backdrop — the originals watching over their wooden descendants. Admission is free, and the show draws thousands of visitors across its single-day run; the 2026 edition sails in on Saturday, July 11.
This is the heritage heart of Muskoka boating: boats built when the lakes were the highway, kept alive by owners who polish, restore and proudly potter. If you love the wooden-boat era, there is no better day on the summer calendar.