No, Sterling Point is not a real place, but the lakes, forests, and cottages surrounding Annie’s new summer home very much are. Prime Video’s Sterling Point was filmed in Ontario, Canada, with production taking place in Toronto and the Muskoka Lakes region, including locations around Lake Rosseau and Lake Joseph.
And if Muskoka looks like the kind of place where very wealthy people spend their summers, that’s because it is. The region is known for its waterfront estates and celebrity homeowners, which makes the world Annie discovers in Sterling Point feel considerably less fictional than its name suggests.
Is Sterling Point a Real Place?
Sterling Point itself is fictional. You won’t find a Canadian town or island by that name waiting at the end of a Google Maps search.
The series places the fictional community in Ontario’s cottage country, however, and uses real locations in and around Muskoka to create it.
In the show, Annie Jacobson leaves New York after learning that her estranged grandfather Gordon has died and left her an island in Canada. Getting there involves boats, and even a seaplane, and much of her new life revolves around the water.
Those parts of the setting fit naturally into Muskoka, where lakes, islands, marinas and waterfront cottages are a major part of the landscape.
There’s also an interesting connection between the name Sterling Point and creator Megan Park’s previous movie, My Old Ass. That film was shot in the same general area, and a Muskoka rental property used during the production is called Sterling Point. There has been no confirmation that this is where Park got the name for the series, so for now it remains an interesting coincidence.
Where Was Sterling Point Filmed?
The Sterling Point filming locations are split between Toronto and the Muskoka Lakes region of Ontario, roughly two hours north of the city.
Toronto was used for portions of the production, while the lakeside locations that give Sterling Point its distinctive summer setting came from Muskoka.
Creator Megan Park has a personal connection to the area. She grew up spending summers there and has explained that she wanted the series to capture Canadian cottage culture rather than use Canada as a stand-in for somewhere else.
That decision is a big part of why the setting works. The characters are constantly moving across the water, meeting at cottages and marinas, or disappearing into stretches of forest. Those aren’t backgrounds created solely for Sterling Point. They belong to the part of Ontario where the series was actually shot.
The Muskoka Lakes Are the Real Sterling Point
Muskoka is home to three major lakes: Lake Muskoka, Lake Rosseau and Lake Joseph, along with dozens of smaller bodies of water.
Production went on location around Lake Rosseau and Lake Joseph, helping create the waterfront world that Annie enters when she arrives at Sterling Point.
The area is famous well beyond Ontario. Muskoka has long attracted wealthy summer residents, and celebrities including Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, David and Victoria Beckham, and Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford have been associated with multimillion-dollar properties in the region.
That little bit of real-world context also makes the show’s Kaia Gerber reference particularly fitting. Gerber is the daughter of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, whose family has spent time in Muskoka.
The wealth seen around the lakes isn’t something invented entirely for television, either. Waterfront estates worth millions are part of Muskoka’s real estate landscape.
Actor Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie described being struck by exactly that when he arrived in the area, particularly the scale of the homes along the water. He also called Muskoka a major part of the show’s identity, pointing to the lakes, trees and intensely green summer landscape.
Mortimer’s Marina Is a Real Sterling Point Location
Some of the places seen in Sterling Point can be narrowed down beyond simply saying Muskoka.
Mortimer’s Marina is a real marina in the region and was used as one of the show’s locations. The family-run business has operated for decades and provides services for people spending time on the lake, including boat fuel.
A working marina is a particularly natural fit for Sterling Point. Boats aren’t just decoration in the series. They’re how characters get around, and the community’s relationship with the lake is built into everyday life.
Instead of constructing an entirely fictional waterfront world, the production was able to use places that already function as part of Muskoka’s cottage culture.
Sparrow Lake Camp Was Used for the Summer Camp
Another identifiable filming location is Sparrow Lake Camp, near Severn Bridge, Ontario.
The real camp became part of Sterling Point’s summer community on screen. Its history as an actual Canadian summer camp also fits the setting particularly well, with generations of children visiting for outdoor activities, sports and time on the water.
Together with the marinas, cottages and lakes, the camp helps explain why Sterling Point can feel like a fully established summer town even though no such town actually exists.
Sterling Point Shares a Filming Connection With My Old Ass
Sterling Point isn’t Megan Park’s first project to make use of Muskoka.
Her 2024 film My Old Ass, starring Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza, was also filmed in the region. Park has spoken about wanting to show Muskoka as itself, and Sterling Point allowed her to return to that part of Canada on a much larger scale.
There’s even another recent series connection. Muskoka has appeared in Heated Rivalry, with the area used for Shane’s cottage.
So while Sterling Point isn’t somewhere viewers can actually visit, its surroundings certainly are. Muskoka isn’t pretending to be an anonymous fictional lake region. It is the landscape underneath the fictional town.
Can You Visit the Sterling Point Filming Locations?
Yes, although you can’t visit a town called Sterling Point.
The Muskoka Lakes region is real and accessible, and visitors can travel to the area where much of the outdoor filming took place. Lake Muskoka, Lake Rosseau and Lake Joseph are all part of the region, while locations such as Mortimer’s Marina and Sparrow Lake Camp also exist outside the series.
What you shouldn’t expect is to arrive and find Annie’s fictional community laid out exactly as it appears on Prime Video. Sterling Point combines several real Ontario locations to create one fictional place.
For anyone who watched the series mainly wondering whether those lakes and cottage-lined shores were real, though, the answer is much simpler: they are.
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FAQ
Is Sterling Point a real place in Canada?
No. Sterling Point is a fictional Canadian community created for the Prime Video series. Its setting is based around real locations in Ontario’s Muskoka region.
Where was Sterling Point filmed?
Sterling Point was filmed in Ontario, with production taking place in Toronto and the Muskoka Lakes region. Locations used for the series include areas around the lakes as well as Mortimer’s Marina and Sparrow Lake Camp.
Where are the lakes in Sterling Point?
The series filmed in Ontario’s Muskoka Lakes region. The area’s three major lakes are Lake Muskoka, Lake Rosseau and Lake Joseph, with production also going on location around Lake Rosseau and Lake Joseph.