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Jun 20, 2025

The Canadian Canoe Museum

Modern building with angled rust-colored metal facade, large glass windows, and surrounding landscaping with rocks and young trees—home to the inspiring Canadian Canoe Museum.Modern building with angled rust-colored metal facade, large glass windows, and surrounding landscaping with rocks and young trees—home to the inspiring Canadian Canoe Museum.
A curved wooden bench sits in a circular paved area surrounded by trees near the Canadian Canoe Museum, with a person riding a bicycle on a path in the background.A curved wooden bench sits in a circular paved area surrounded by trees near the Canadian Canoe Museum, with a person riding a bicycle on a path in the background.
A bicycle is parked at a bike rack on a sunny day near the Canadian Canoe Museum, next to a wooden building surrounded by trees and green grass.A bicycle is parked at a bike rack on a sunny day near the Canadian Canoe Museum, next to a wooden building surrounded by trees and green grass.
A circular outdoor seating area with curved concrete benches, surrounded by trees, shrubs, and a road in the background—perfect for visitors to relax near the Canadian Canoe Museum.A circular outdoor seating area with curved concrete benches, surrounded by trees, shrubs, and a road in the background—perfect for visitors to relax near the Canadian Canoe Museum.
Three empty black benches line a curved concrete pathway surrounded by greenery and trees in a park setting near the renowned Canadian Canoe Museum.Three empty black benches line a curved concrete pathway surrounded by greenery and trees in a park setting near the renowned Canadian Canoe Museum.
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Where Land, Water, and History Converge

Opened to the public in spring 2024, the new Canadian Canoe Museum stands on the shores of Little Lake in Peterborough, Ontario. The building is a triumph of form from architects Unity Design Studio, with lakefront campus landscape architecture by Peterborough firm Basterfield & Associates. The facility houses the world’s largest collection of canoes, kayaks, and paddled watercraft — “together they span the country from coast to coast to coast and represent many of the major watercraft traditions of Canada.”

Outside the Museum’s main entrance, the Gathering Circle is a space for orientation, ceremony, and quiet contemplation. Inspired by Canadian canoe routes, it features a water infiltration garden, white pines, and Maglin custom curved Ogden Collection benches.

Mounted on tiered precast concrete, the wall-mount wood benches form a small amphitheater and are underlit by LED ribbon lighting for glowing nighttime gatherings. Paired with granite boulders and native plantings, they reinforce the site’s organic integration.

Across the campus, Maglin also supplied benches, waste and recycling containers, and SC Bike Racks to support the site’s designation as a certified bicycle-friendly destination. Durable, modern, and cohesive, these furnishings reflect the site’s emphasis on clarity, craft, and connection.

With additional recognition from TIME as one of the World’s Greatest Places and inclusion in The New York Times’ “52 Places to Go in 2024,” the Canadian Canoe Museum stands as a world-class destination.

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