For many of us, cottage season ends when the docks get pulled in and shutters replace the screens of summer. But for others, freeze-up marks the start of their favourite seasons - winter. The unearthly quiet of a crisp, cold day spent in the wilds of cottage country offers anew way to appreciate the beauty of our landscape. With fewer people around, it's an ideal time to look for wildlife as you explore the woodland and shorelines. Undiscovered corners of the countryside open up as fresh snow provides easy passage across frozen lakes and rivers begging for blades, skis and sleds.
You may not have a winterized place of your own in cottage country, but don't let that stop you from enjoying the colder season. Lodges and inns around the province will cater to all your winter whims, and offer a variety of activities, including dogsledding, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and ice skating. Accommodations vary from full-service inns with dining facilities to humble do-it-yourself housekeeping cottages. But all of them, after a long winter's day outside, can provide you and your friends with the well-deserved reward of a warm fire and a hot toddy. Before you turn in, slip outside and cuddle under a blanket in the frosty air while checking out constellations, or bundle up for a brisk walk lit by moonlight reflecting on the snow. Out here, any memory of grey city slush and icy sidewalks seems far away, and soon you may start to think of summer as the off-season!
Check out the adjacent list and start planning your cottage country getaway this winter.
AHMIC LAKE RESORT
Box 18-00 - Ahmic Harbour - ON - P0A 1A0 - (866) 857-7946
info@ahmiclakeresort.onlink.net
- www.ahmiclakeresort.onlink.net
GLENVIEW COTTAGES
2611 Great Northern Road - Sault Ste Marie ON - P6A 5K7 - (800) 668-3100
info@glenviewcottages.com
- www.glenviewcottages.com
GREENING BAY COTTAGES
RR 1 Callander ON - P0H 1H0 - (705) 752-3558
greeningbay@yahoo.com - www.greeningbay.com
WOODLAND ECHOES
Box 59, Victoria Street - Magnetawan ON - P0A 1P0 - (888) 661-3669
woodland@onlink.net - www.woodlandechoes.on.ca
LAKE HURON/GEORGIAN BAY
BELL LAKE COTTAGES
RR1 #134, Hwy 124 - Parry Sound ON - P2A 2W7 - (705) 746-7309
belllake@zeuter.com - www.belllakecottages.on.ca
DEER PARK LODGE
Box 2099 - Bayfield ON - N0M 1G0 - (800) 263-6900
deerpark@tcc.on.ca - www.deerparklodge.com
MUSKOKA
BEAUVIEW COTTAGE RESORT
RR 2, 4215 South Portage Road - Huntsville ON - P1H 2J3 - (800) 363-6047
resort@beauview.on.ca - www.beauview.on.ca
BIRCH HAVEN RESORTS
1020 Birch Glen Road - Baysville ON - P0B 1H0 - (800) 267-8841
resort@birchhaven.com - www.birchhaven.com
BONDI VILLAGE RESORT
RR1 - Dwight ON - P0A 1H0 - (705) 635-2261
info@bondi.on.ca - www.bondi-cottage-resort.com
COLONIAL BAY COTTAGES
Peninsula Lake, Huntsville ON - P1H 2J6 - (800) 916-2008
mail@colonialbay.com - www.colonialbay.com
HALIBURTON/KAWARTHAS
MARRICK'S LANDING
RR 4 - Lakefield ON - K0L 2H0 - (705) 654-3421
marrickslanding.com - www.marrickslanding.com
OGOPOGO RESORT
RR 2 - Minden ON - K0M 2K0 - (705) 286 5141
mcoles@halhinet.on.ca - www.ogopogoresort.com
PINE VISTA RESORT
RR 2 - Lakefield ON - K0L 2H0 - (800) 634-2848
info@pinevista.com - www.pinevista.com
PRINGLES COVE
Box 94 - Gooderham ON - K0M 1R0 - (705) 447-9977
info@pringlescove.com - www.pringlescove.com
RAINBOW COTTAGES RESORT
RR 1 - Bailieboro ON - K0L 1B0 - (705) 939-6995
info@rainbowcottagesresort.com
- www.rainbowcottagesresort.com
SANDY LANE RESORT
RR 2 - Minden ON - K0M 2K0
holiday@sandylaneresort.com
- www.sandylaneresort.com
EASTERN ONTARIO/ALGONQUIN
BLUE MOON RETREAT
Box 21 - Maynooth ON - K0L 2S0 - (800) 659-9448
info@bluemoonretreat.ca - www.bluemoonretreat.ca
JOSEPH'S RESORT
Box 547 - Bancroft ON - K0L 1C0 - (888) 756-2640
info@joesresort.com - www.joesresort.com
SUNNY HILL RESORT
Box 218, 531 - ON - K0J 1B0 - (613) 756-2640
informations@sunnyhillresort.com
- www.sunnyhillresort.com