Ontario Open Water Swimming Championships

On the freshwater shoreline of Gull Lake in Gravenhurst, Ontario, open water swimmers gather for one of the province's regattas. The Ontario Open Water Swimming Championships bring together distance athletes and club swimmers for a weekend of lake racing at Gull Lake Rotary Park. Set within the picturesque waters of this smaller basin, the race site offers a sheltered competition arena in the heart of town. Organized by Swim Ontario, the regatta presents an extensive program of distance options for every level of experience. Swimmers can compete across individual events measuring 1 km, 2 km, 3 km, and 5 km, or take part in a 4 x 500 m mixed relay.

The event unfolds in late July, drawing competitors who appreciate the friendly atmosphere of a lakeside gathering. Although Gull Lake permits motorized boat traffic, activity on the lake remains moderate because of its small size and urban setting, keeping racing conditions manageable. Demonstrating the strong ties between the competitors and the host town, participants are asked to bring non-perishable food donations to support Gravenhurst Against Poverty.

Gull Lake by the numbers: temperature, limits and crowds

A July 2024 update from Swim Ontario put the water of Gull Lake at 23 degrees for the Ontario Open Water Swimming Championships, with no wetsuits permitted. The 2024 Ontario Open Water Swimming Championships at Gull Lake set time limits of 35 minutes for 1 km, one hour for 2 km, 100 minutes for 3 km and 2.5 hours for 5 km. The 2026 Ontario Open Water Championships in Gravenhurst attracted over 800 swimmers and over 1,000 spectators to Gull Lake. For the 2026 championships the Town of Gravenhurst closed the beach at Gull Lake Rotary Park to the public on both days.

Muskoka Wharf and the historic steamship routes

The open waterways around Gravenhurst boast a storied maritime heritage dating back to the nineteenth century. Steamboat navigation across the Muskoka lakes began in the 1860s, opening access for commerce, travel, and seasonal exploration. In 1871, government authorities constructed navigation locks at Port Carling to link Lake Muskoka with Lake Rosseau, which enabled steamships to move easily between the two water systems. Lake Muskoka is fed primarily by Lake Joseph, Lake Rosseau, and the Muskoka River, which originates in the highlands of Algonquin Park and ranks as southern Ontario's third largest river by average annual discharge. The Indian River and the lock system at Port Carling maintain this continuous connection between the lakes.

About one kilometre from Gull Lake, the historic Muskoka Wharf developed into a bustling transfer point. The original wharf was built on a filled-in pier that carried a railway spur directly into the lake, linking train tracks to the logging trade and local steamships. In 2005, the town redeveloped 89 acres along Lake Muskoka on the site of former sawmills and the old town dock, creating the modern Muskoka Wharf. The area has a long heritage of master craftspeople building custom wooden boats. About eleven kilometres away at Point William on Lake Muskoka, the Muskoka Boathouse exemplifies this craft, featuring a wooden dock and stone foundations built by lowering cribs loaded with granite ballast through holes cut into winter ice.

Docked at the modern Muskoka Wharf is the RMS Segwun, the oldest operating steamship in North America and the sole survivor of the historic Muskoka passenger fleet. Visitors to the wharf can swim in Lake Muskoka or enjoy weekly summer waterski shows.

Gull Lake Rotary Park: stone steps and the floating barge

The town centre of Gravenhurst occupies a scenic position bordered by both Lake Muskoka and Gull Lake. Swimmers attending the championships have direct access to Gull Lake Rotary Park, which sits just a few streets away from the main downtown district. Over the years, the municipal shoreline of Gull Lake was transformed to provide a welcoming public beach and park for residents and visitors. The park landscape also bears visible traces of local wartime history. Prisoners of war constructed the stone steps leading down to the water at Gull Lake Park, and these steps remain in place today. The prisoners also built a shoreline lighthouse. Elsewhere in Gravenhurst during World War II, prisoners held at Camp 20 had access to a fenced-in swimming enclosure on Lake Muskoka.

Today, the race site at Gull Lake Rotary Park offers generous amenities for competitors and spectators alike. A sandy beach slopes into the freshwater, surrounded by green lawns with shaded areas under the trees. Floating docks in the water serve as convenient platforms for swimmers. On shore, visitors can take advantage of park facilities that include tennis courts, a baseball diamond, and beach volleyball courts. Out in the water, a stage installed around 1950 famously hosted Queen Elizabeth during her royal visit in 1959.

Eleanor Island and the waters of Lake Muskoka

About eight kilometres from the race course, Morrison Lake features a Wetland Conservation Reserve along its western shore, with waters dotted by islands including Mile Island, Betula Island, Belle Isle, Ida Isle, and Otiosus. Roughly seven kilometres from Gull Lake, in the southern basin of Lake Muskoka, sits Eleanor Island. The island is ringed by a rocky granite shoreline, with a steep rockface on its western flank plunging straight into the lake. In 1971, the island was designated as a Migratory Bird Sanctuary, later becoming a National Wildlife Area in 1978. To protect its delicate habitats, public landing and human access are strictly prohibited. Eleanor Island serves as a crucial stopover point for birds travelling along the Atlantic Flyway.

Double-crested cormorants, herring gulls, and great blue herons establish active nesting colonies here, maintaining several hundred nests across the rocks. Environmental care remains a prominent feature of life on Lake Muskoka, where the Muskoka Lakes Association holds an annual Seedling Day to encourage shoreline property owners to plant native species and counter shoreline erosion. The lake bottom also holds forgotten chapters of regional history: off Norway Point, an aircraft from the Royal Norwegian Air Force training program crashed during the 1940s and remains resting on the lakebed today. For open water swimmers lining up at Gull Lake Rotary Park, these surrounding waterways form a classic Ontario lake backdrop where heritage, nature, and racing meet.