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Pond hockey weekend on frozen Lake Muskoka
Watch teams battle on outdoor rinks at Muskoka Wharf for the North American Cup, a bucket-list winter tournament in Gravenhurst.
Event details
Hockey returns to its frozen-lake origins February 20-22, 2026, when On The Pond Canada celebrates two decades of outdoor hockey by transforming Muskoka Wharf in Gravenhurst into a 25-rink tournament on the ice of Lake Muskoka. What started in 2007 with a handful of rinks and 18 teams has grown into 100+ teams from across North America—Calgary, Vancouver, Boston, Michigan, and throughout Ontario—competing in 4-on-4 round-robin play that prioritizes the game’s essence over arena polish.
Five divisions ensure competitive balance: Men’s Recreation, Women’s, Men’s 35+, Men’s 50+, and Men’s Competitive. Teams consist of 6-8 players battling across Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for the chance to hoist the wooden North American Cup at Saturday night’s awards banquet at Muskoka Bay Resort. The opening ceremony Saturday at 8 AM officially starts weekend play, though Friday games begin the tournament proper. Organizer Rob Carleton, president of On The Pond Canada, and his ice crew work around the clock maintaining the rinks—recent tournaments saw ice thickness around 9 inches, thick enough to support simultaneous games across all 25 surfaces.
Even as a spectator, the scene delivers: players bundled against February cold, parents and friends cheering from rinkside, the unmistakable sound of sticks on ice echoing across the frozen bay. The Muskoka Wharf boardwalk provides viewing access, while Boston Pizza hosts a massive indoor beer tent all weekend with live entertainment. A pub crawl bus shuttles participants between downtown Gravenhurst establishments.
For accommodation, the Residence Inn Gravenhurst Muskoka Wharf sits steps from the tournament site, while Taboo Muskoka Resort (1209 Muskoka Beach Road) offers upscale lakefront lodging 10 minutes away. Pre-tournament dinner at The Oar Restaurant fuels competitors with steaks and locally-caught fish, while Shelby’s Chipwagon (established 1998, named after owner Sherry’s daughter) has been serving tournament crowds poutine and burgers for most of the event’s 20-year history.
The tournament embodies pure Canadian hockey culture: outdoor, community-focused, and rooted in the simple pleasure of skating on a frozen lake under open sky—exactly as the game began before moving indoors. This 20th anniversary edition promises to be the biggest yet.
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