Muskoka has attracted famous faces for years, with some of the biggest names in entertainment and business – and life in general – owning vacation homes in the pristine part of Ontario throughout the years.
This means everyone from Martin Short to Cindy Crawford, and Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. Russell and his son Wyatt, who he shares with Hawn, recently bonded with Dax Shepard over their love for Muskoka on an appearance of Shepard’s popular podcast, Armchair Expert. The father-son duo was on the show to promote their new Apple TV show, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
Beloved Hollywood couple Hawn and Russell began dating when they connected on the set of 1983’s Swing Shift. An anomaly in Hollywood, the pair have been together ever since, famously never officially getting married. Anyway, back to Muskoka. Hawn and Russell first purchased their Lake Rosseau cottage in 1996, when Wyatt was ten.
They enjoyed many summers enveloped in the magic of Muskoka, with the family (including Hawn’s daughter from a previous marriage, Kate Hudson) mixing and mingling with local cottagers. Meanwhile, a young Wyatt spent time at Lake Rosseau’s Muskoka Woods Sports Resort for Kids, a “summer camp” filled with top-of-the-line sporting facilities and many of Toronto’s well-to-do kids.
Anyone who’s spent time in Muskoka understands the distinct type of enchantment it houses – especially for a child – and Wyatt is no exception. In his chat with Shepard, Wyatt – who spent a good portion of his youth playing competitive hockey in Canada – said that Muskoka “shaped every great experience” that he ever had.
On the podcast, Wyatt recalls a Muskoka seemingly from another era; one with minimal cell phone use, extremely limited internet access, no TV, and no social media. “You completely left everything behind,” he says. “You had 14 days, or whatever it was, to actually be with the people that you loved. Take two or three days of doing that, and everything shifts.”
Wyatt also acknowledges Muskoka’s massive transformation in the years since, one that has seen pretty much every square foot of prime waterfront occupied by ultra-modern and connected lake houses filled with all the tech-forward trappings of futuristic lakeside living. “If you knew about it, you knew,” reflects Wyatt of Muskoka in decades past. “Since then, it’s blown up; it’s become a whole different place.”
Shepard is familiar with Muskoka himself, having dated Hudson for a few months back in 2007. He said he first met her family at what he called their “Canada house” in Muskoka. “You can go swimming in that water; it’s magical,” recalled Shepard. “Every morning I jumped in and fucking swam across that little bay.” Shepard recalls going out in the family’s “old, ‘60s wooden boat.”
Russell also reflects fondly of his Muskoka days. “When water’s glass, it’s just amazing,” gushes the actor.
In 2015, Hawn and Russell sold their beloved cottage – known as 'Rivers of Rosseau' – to International entrepreneur and philanthropist Miles Nadal, Founder & Executive Chairman of Peerage Capital Group.
Miles Nadal bought 'Rivers of Rosseau' from Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn in 2015.
Naturally, the property has remained an impressive one throughout the years.
Located on a quaint bay, the “cottage” dates back in some form to 1877 and was once a post office. It’s essentially two properties adjoined. Surrounded by thick pines, the traditional lake house-looking retreat features a large water-facing porch. Charming turrets are found on both the main property and on the lakeside boathouse/bunkie.
Nadal and his family remain the owners to this day, and spent a great deal of time during the pandemic at the sprawling retreat.
“I’ve always had a great appreciation for the beauty of Muskoka, but then COVID hit, and we were quarantined there. I saw seasons I’d never seen before,” Nadal tells STOREYS. “There are many beautiful places in the world to visit – many – but there is no more beautiful place to vacation than Muskoka. No matter where I go in the world, there is nowhere that I sleep better and that I’m more relaxed in than Muskoka. As I’ve gotten older, I try my best not to leave."
He's not alone in his sentiment, as Muskoka's real estate remains as coveted as ever.
"You know who has the best cottage in Muskoka? The person you ask," says Nadal.
