A tranquil cabin in nature. You may have the entire lake to yourself. A short walk or snow shoe in might be required. After a short walk, a charming, rustic cabin in the woods awaits. This lakefront cottage is a quiet oasis in the winter, a place of peace and tranquility to unwind in nature. Just a few minutes (20 minutes) away from ski Crabbe Mountain and accessible by snowmobile. What you can expect… Do you like the comforts of home? Stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, ceramic tiles, hardwood floors, huge 4 piece bathrooms bathrooms, unlimited wifi and great cell phone reception? We do too. But if you are expecting any of the above at this cottage you would possibly be happier elsewhere. This is for the true nature lover, not for the self professed one who claims to like it because it's the cool thing to do. It’s not really a high tourist area, it’s more for hiking, four wheeling, snowmobiling, sitting by the fire, reading a book, listening to the wildlife. There is no ideal guest, but typically people who truly love nature, have an adventurous spirit, don’t mind some aspects of roughing it, would love to pry their teens off their devices (…oh wait that is me). It’s a great place to come, bond as families and friends, reconnect, sit around a fire telling stories over s’mores, lay some fresh snowshoeing tracks, I could go on. This cottage was whimsically built, renovated, renovated, renovated yet again and is now an official work in progress. It is also in the middle of nature, so you can expect to see some wildlife. Frogs, fish, leeches are all normal in the lake. It is a clean lake, so we think that is why the critters like it too. The garden snakes love to hide out near the garden and under the boats. We think they are trying to give people heart attacks (but really, they do like the warmth underneath the kayaks and canoes). The loons sometimes put on quite a show, and if you are really fortunate you may be treated to an early morning alarm via them (it is heart stopping to be suddenly awakened by the haunting call of the loon). You could see a mouse, squirrel or chipmunk, and we even had a bat (not extinct apparently) plop ungraciously onto our patio table. Oh don’t forget the spiders, we think at some point they mutated with tarantulas and that is why they are so big. We do spray for them with nature friendly spray and our son Brandon sweeps for webs every time, but they keep reappearing, I guess they like it there. Hopefully all the critters will be in hibernation from October-May, but one never knows. When you enter into the cabin, you are immediately on the ground floor. The downstairs is an open concept and includes kitchen, dining and living room area. The entire space is cozy and has a warm feel with it’s golden wide, pine floors (that have admittedly some nice scratch marks as a souvenir from some beloved family pets who are also allowed coming). The kitchen is spacious and includes a full-sized fridge, stove, microwave, coffee maker and toaster. The appliances are older and you will have to make your own ice (don’t worry, we can share our well guarded recipe). It does not include a dishwasher but has a charming old farm sink. There is no shortage of pots, pans, dishes, cutlery, etc. And there are also cutting boards, so please use them and not the butcher block counters. Repeat after me, the counters look like giant cutting boards but they are not. There is an area under the stairs and behind a green curtain that is not meant for guest use. It has our cleaning supplies, etc. And if you can’t help but look, it is just a perpetual state of disaster. The living room has a sofa that pulls out into a double bed, an electric fireplace, ceiling fan and tv with DVD player (a small selection of movies provided). If you were brave enough to share your space with all your friends, the window ledge can double as seating. There is a dining room spacious enough for six, with an overhead deer antler chandelier. An indoor wood stove to take the chill off when the weather turns cold, a supply of wood is provided. A large picture window overlooks the lake with breathtaking views. Don’t expect the cottage to be clutter free, it’s not. There are whimsical collections, relics left from former guests, closets full of linens, life jackets in many sizes, I could go on. But if you are looking for a cozy blanket to cuddle into, you’ll find it. A marshmallow roaster? We have that too. There are two heat pumps and they work great. You have to close the curtains to the scorching afternoon sun and in the bitter cold. But if there is a breeze off the lake, Mother Nature is much better at cooling than an ac. Long weekends require Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night to be booked as we value our own family time. Outside, a spacious covered deck has some Adirondack chairs, it is a perfect spot for your morning coffee. A lower deck has ample seating for everyone to enjoy, usually until November sometime. There is an outdoor barbeque under a sheltered roof for cooking. There is a firepit area and wood is supplied, but we encourage you to check for fire bans. Owners kayaks and canoe available for your use, including a supply of life jackets until the lake freezes (typically November-April) On the smaller back deck, there is an uninhabited, decorative hornets nest by the window (but you should let us know if you observe hornets themselves there or elsewhere trying to build a nest). To the left when entering, a flight of stairs leads you upstairs. An open hallway houses a small bed suitable for a younger child (about a ten year old), a double bed, and a twin bed tucked under the eaves of the roof (note: this is an open area without doors). To the left is the larger master bedroom, to the right is a smaller, but good sized bedroom. Access to the washroom is through the smaller bedroom and the open dorm style area. Our future wish list includes a heat pump to help upstairs, otherwise if it is breezy and not rainy we leave the windows and patio door open (a side note, the window in the smaller room is a vintage slider straight out of the 70’s and you have to really shove against the opposite end of the patio door to lock and unlock it, I guess things being level wasn’t important when the cottage was built) The master bedroom has a king size log bed and we hope you like it because that baby is never leaving unless it is via chainsaw. There are also some antique trunks and bureaus. Both rooms have ceiling fans. The master bedroom’s source of light is via patio door leading to a private deck overlooking the lake. The deck is complete with a porch swing and bistro set. A note on the decor; the decor itself remains the same, however since we launder all used bedding every time; quilts, comforters, duvets, etc. may not be exactly the same as pictured. (I have went through one washing machine already in three years). The bathroom has a tub with overhead shower, sink and composting toilet. The indoor washroom has limited capacity that is why although the cottage looks like it can sleep around 8-10, during the winter with only one washroom it is too many people to be comfortable. If you have never heard of a composting toilet, you should be aware that it functions much like a normal toilet except it uses a very minimal amount of water for flushing. Only human waste and toilet paper should go in the composting toilets. Everything else should go in the garbage. It is very similar to an rv toilet. So if you have ever used an rv toilet and swore to never use one again, probably not the best place for you. The shower will let a person comfortably take a 5-10 minute shower but then needs approximately one hour to recover. The second bedroom has a queen bed, a large window, an armoire for closet space. Except you will find that I steal a lot of closet space for linens, my bad. In the hallway there is a custom made bed suitable for a younger child, a double bed, and a twin bed. It is a large, loft style, open concept area. With the help of a booster, guests should be able to get cell phone reception within the camp. We have found you can send texts quite easily and make emergency phone calls. One of the owners has an older Samsung phone and needs to routinely reset on the flight mode for a few seconds to get bars. We provide drinking water via a dispenser set up in the kitchen. Extra bottles are in the double cupboard under the toaster and coffee maker. The water for washing, showering and laundering is filtered lake water. So that is it! You can expect a nice space (subject to opinion), reasonably clean (again, nature, critters, etc.). Those who love it, love it a lot and fight to come back every year. Those who don't, well it isn't for everyone. Guest access The whole cottage is available for your use. There is an area under the stairs, behind a green curtain that is for staff. Seriously don’t recommend looking there if you are OCD. If you need something, please ask. We have delivered everything from Coca Cola, to firewood, to kids Advil. It’s especially handy if you have decided to hibernate down there for a few days. Other things to note There is some cell phone service. The best service seems to be in the kitchen/dining room area. Sometimes we have found that setting our phones on flight mode for a few seconds helps detect the booster better. Sometimes it will not work and we have found that we have to drive to the top of the hill (about 2 km), but 95% of the time it works fine. The camp is in the woods, off the beaten path and on a dirt road. Being on a dirt road means certain times of year a four wheel drive is necessary. Spring is especially muddy and can be difficult with a car. During the winter guests with cars or front wheel drive vehicles need to park at the top of the hill. The hill is steep and gets icy. The road to the camps is not maintained by the government, it is usually plowed at night (as it gets dark at 5 p.m. it's impossible to do during the day), we do not recommend driving down even in a four wheel drive if there is a storm expected and you need to get out in the morning. The hunting and fishing is good in this area, the tales of such are even better. Our end of the lake is shared with about half a dozen camps and joins up to the wheeler trails and snowmobile trails and a huge network of logging roads. We are 25 minutes services such as grocery store, liquor store, gas station, restaurants etc. come prepared but ask if you need something!