On the Muskoka lakes, you could easily spend two hours in the boat getting from point A to point B;…read moreit definitely helps to know where the marinas are located for refueling. Walkers Point -- aside from being one of the more well-established and full-service on the lakes -- is conveniently located for trips in and out of Gravenhurst. Aside from fuel, WP offers new and used boat sales in a beautiful showroom that's dangerous fun to browse, service and parts, boat supplies from bumpers to navigation lights, water sport supplies like kayaks and wake boards, cottage indulgences such as Aqua Lily Pads and water trampolines, snacks, coffee, and wifi. Yup, you could hang out in the bow of a Cobalt Facebooking friends and enjoying a cappuccino if you were so inclined. One day I just may try it and see what happens.

My dad does all our boat buying and maintenance through walkers. They always do a great job. But my…read morefavourite thing about walkers is their canada day fire works by boat every year! So much fun. Love it.

We switched to Bala Cove Marina from another a few years ago in order to store our boat for winter…read more This season we were pleasantly surprised when the boat was returned with a tear in an aft seat beautifully repaired -- no charge, just a nice thing BCM did for us for being customers. Now they recognize us when we come to refuel, ask how the boat's running, and keep an account in our name where we can charge things like gas, water toys and bumpers (sometimes they go missing from the boat, what can I say?). Awesome.

Went there for boat rentals, was treated miserably. One of the guys working there was cursing at us…read moresimply because we didnt follow his instructions and had our way of doing things (we didnt cause any damages). The guy made our trip very unpleaeant simce none of us was in a good mood after dealing with him. I can say this is the worest experience ive ever had as a customer, HOW CAN YOU EVER SWEAR TO YOUR CUSTOMERS IF YOU WANT TO STAY IN BUSINESS? Definately do not recommand this place. Stayvaway from this place if you dont want to spoil your vacation.

If I could give negative stars, I would award them to Purks. Purks Place has been in Bala for…read moreeons, but surprisingly, they don't seem to care about their reputation. Dishonest customer service. We visit Bala every summer and used to go to Purks on occasion. We always found the service brusque and surly. Not the way you want to be greeted when you walk into a shop. But the real reason we will never set foot in Purks again, didn't come until two summers ago. Our boat sank in a storm, and we found ourselves suddenly in need of a new one. Rather than purchase one hastily, we decided to rent a boat for the season while we shopped around for a replacement. Since Purks is right up the lake from us, we called for a speed boat rental. When we told our lake neighbors and fellow lifelong cottagers our plan, they advised us we were making a huge mistake: "Purkis is dishonest," they said. "We rented from them a couple summers ago, and they charged us for 'damages' to the boat that never occurred. Steer clear!" they said. We didn't listen. We paid C$1,000 for a week's boat rental. Fairly standard. We received a very well-used, run-of-the-mill, scratched and worn, smallish speed boat. We walked around the boat like a rental car with one of the employees looking for damages that were all noted before we drove away, including some loose stripping. When we returned the boat, Purkis' teenage grandson came out with us to go over the exterior of the boat. Sure enough, just as our neighbors warned, he informed us that there was some stripping on the side that had come loose and that we would be responsible for paying for it. Husband told the guy that the stripping had been loose when we rented the boat, that they had noted the damage, and that we had been particularly careful with this boat the whole time we had it. The grandson said he would have to talk to Purkis when he returned to the store the following morning, but for the time being, we would not receive our deposit back and would be charged for the stripping. I've never seen husband more livid than he was that evening over the false accusation of damaging the boat. We received a call from Bill Purkis himself the following morning. He informed us not only would we be charged C$1,000 for the week's rental, we would not receive our deposit back, and we would indeed be charged to replace the stripping. We told him we refused to pay for the stripping, as the damage had been incurred before our rental, but Purkis told us that he had our credit card and was going charge us anyway. He was rude and condescending. We called our credit card company and issued a charge-back on the grounds of a fraudulent charges from Purks, so Purkis did not receive one dime of our money. We have not set foot in the place since that summer, nor will we ever again. Lifelong cottagers know what they are talking about, and good businesses cater to this loyal crowd.

I rarely take the time out of my busy life to slag a disfunctional business but Purks Place is…read moreworthy of my time. I have refused to go there for 6 years now (and I live in Bala) but over the last few years I have had friends visiting up here that have gone to Purks for various reasons and incredulously all have returned with a variety of stories of being treated rudely by the owner. Amazing how in this day of information sharing that one can be so incredibly stupid as to think this is acceptable. I drive to Glen Orchard or Gravenhurst and give my money to people far more deserving. I implore you to not give this idiot a single nickel.

These guys are professional nd super nice! Buy a chainsaw there you'll love the experience!read more

Not happy with this company. I got a bobcat and the first day we had it, it broke down because…read morethey didn't service it properly. When I rented it I declined the 10% damage waiver because when I asked the guy what it covered he said it covered carelessness, which would not be happening on my site. The bobcat didn't work well again a few days later, so I called again, they came out to look at it and did a few things, including changing the belt. With these two issues, we were unable to use it for a few hrs. When they came to pick it up at the week, one of my guys wouldn't get off the machine, saying they could wait because the issues with the machine set us back a few hrs. They called me saying I was being charged by the hr, so of course I called my guy to tell him to get off the machine, which he did. I got the invoice and they charged me the damage waiver of $144 and one hr of waiting $100. They said if I didn't pay for the waiver they would be charging me $85/hr for the Mechanic that came out. The reason the machine wasn't working was not because of us being careless. They also charge $2.10 a liter for gas if they need to fill it when returned, which was my bad, I should have made sure it was filled. At this point I've requested a copy of the damage waiver to see if it states covering for a Mechanic to come out and fix the machine because of it breaking down due to improper servicing. Conveniently their scanner is broken and will scan it to me when its fix which gives them time to add what they need to. Will never use this company again and will continue to tell this story to my friends/family in this business.

Year two of our being on the Pearless II. This year was better as the weather cooperated. As always…read morethe staff were very professional, but also personable too, quick with a small joke, very polite, actually was interested where we were from. The meal on the sunset cruise was delicious, well prepared, hot and filling, alcoholic drinks priced reasonably. Deckhand was very knowledgeable of the area, had lots of stories to tell. Captain Potts always greeted us with a smile and very polite. The trip itself was very enjoyable, smooth running, saw everything and felt very nostalgic as you had time to reflect and relax. Seating was very comfortable, atmosphere was very laid back. Will keep doing this every year we come up.

From the owner: Sunset Cruises - Peerless II - join Captain Potts - daily sightseeing cruises. Take a cruise aboard…read morePeerless II and see what Muskoka is all about. A unique part of the "Muskoka Experience" must include a cruise on one or more of the 3 big Muskoka Lakes. Take in the sights of the stunningly rugged and beautiful Canadian Shield on lakes Rosseau, Joseph or the biggest lake, Muskoka. History and local lore is a key part of our live commentary and it will not disappoint you.

Great gas bar, and convenience store. Very clean washrooms, lots of gas pumps. Staff were friendly…read moreand helpful

HST free gas! Need I say anymore?…read more A bit north of Barrie, in cottage country stop to top off or fill up on gas. Popular spot so they are adding another row of pumps in the back. The store is pretty standard trucker stop goods plus some souvenirs like crystals, dream weavers, katanas, mocs, and some interesting recreational sort of treats. Bathrooms are clean and well maintained.