We’ve stayed at several cottages in the northern lower with two families (4 adults, 5 smaller children) over the past several years and would rank this one among our favorite for a few reasons. The cottage itself isn’t new, as most aren’t, but it was exceptionally clean and well cared for, and proved to be much larger than the pictures give it credit. The large bedroom had a newer queen and was very comfortable. Enough floor space to add a pack-n-play and a small air mattress to comfortably sleep Ma/Dad a 4 year old and a 2 month old without ever feeling cramped. The 2nd bedroom was also large enough to be comfortable, and the two small beds were easily pushed together to form a sudo-queen. I’m told the beds were acceptable, though not overly enjoyable. The kids seemed perfectly content in the 3rd bedroom with the bunk and single. Living, Dining, Baths, and Kitchen were again clean and large enough to be comfortable. Well enough stocked to have everything we needed without seeming cluttered.

Outside, the beach was nice, close, and exceptionally sandy. The water was shallow and sandy for a long ways out, which allowed the boys to venture waaaay out into the lake in their paddle boat or the provided canoe without the adults ever having to worry. The dock was a nice addition, though somewhat useless given the water depth… but the mooring bouy did provide a suitable tie-up for the ski boat. We grilled on the charcoal grill every night while enjoying a fire in the fireplace and a beautiful view of the lake.

Black Lake itself was warm, clean, and much quieter throughout the weekends and week itself than most others. The location of the cottage protected us from the prevailing west winds almost every day, offering calm waters and a nice balance of sun and shade. We ventured to many of the other sand bars ranging in depth from about a foot to 5-6 feet, which provided many great places to take the kids to swim and explore. We even cruised (slowly… no wake) up Black River a ways just to take a boat ride, which was a great way to spend a few hours.

Although we did not fish much ourselves, there was a nice weed bed out front (beyond swimming depths) that other fishermen would work their way through each morning and evening. I wasn’t paying much attention, but they kept coming back, so they had to know something….

The neighboring cottages are closer than we usually aim for, but they were primarily empty and the folks that were there were either qui