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Friendly lakefront cottage

Photo gallery for Friendly lakefront cottage

Sandy beach
Private sandy beach with pier ,paddleboat and rowboat
A lake with a dock and a person paddleboarding.
Property grounds
A beach with a wooden dock extending into the water, a green mat on the dock, and a small wooden structure on the sand.

Reviews

9.4 out of 10, Loved by Guests
Top 10% of guest reviews in this area

Highlights

  • Scenic water view
    Relax and unwind with top-rated water views, offering a scenic experience.
  • By the lake
    Guests love the beautiful lakefront location.
3 bedrooms1 bathroomSleeps 8

Popular amenities

  • Onsite parking available
  • Washing machine
  • Air-conditioning
  • Barbecue grill
  • Balcony or patio
  • Free Wi-Fi

Explore the area

View in a map
Dowagiac, MI
  • Place, Magician Lake
    ‪3 min drive‬
  • Place, Silver Beach
    ‪26 min drive‬
  • Place, University of Notre Dame
    ‪44 min drive‬
  • Airport, South Bend, IN (SBN-South Bend Intl.)
    ‪45 min drive‬

Rooms & beds

3 bedrooms (sleeps 8)

1 bathroom

Bathroom 1

Spaces

Deck or patio
Porch or lanai
Outdoor play area
Dining area

About this property

Friendly lakefront cottage

Three bedroom house
Sleeps seven
Private beach and pier
Plenty of parking
Everything supplied except food and drink
Horseshoe pits, volleyball
Wifi
Fire pit, cable tv,large patio
Row boat provided
Washer and dryer included
Near resteraunts and bars
Several golf courses nearby
20 miles from Lake Michigan, 45 minutes from Notre dame
Even an outdoor theater and a roller rink in the area

Add dates for prices

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House Rules

Check in after 1:00 PM
Check out before 10:00 AM
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Children

Children allowed: ages 0–17
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Events

No events allowed
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Pets

No pets allowed
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Smoking

Smoking is not permitted

Important information

You need to know

Property # 824513vb
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
On-site parties or group events are strictly prohibited
Host has indicated that there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property
Host has indicated that there is a smoke detector on the property
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher and a deadlock
This property has outdoor spaces, such as balconies, patios and terraces, which may not be suitable for children; if you have any concerns, we recommend contacting the property prior to your arrival to confirm that they can accommodate you in a suitable room

About the area

Dowagiac

Located in Sister Lakes, this cottage is on the waterfront. The area's natural beauty can be seen at Sarett Nature Center and Riley-Shurte Woods Nature Sanctuary, while Dowagiac Area History Museum and Beckwith Theatre are cultural highlights. Surfari Joe's Indoor Wilderness Water Park and Howard Performing Arts Center are also worth visiting. Spend some time exploring the area's activities, including golfing.
View more Cottages in DowagiacOpens in a new window
Map
Dowagiac, MI

What's nearby

  • Magician Lake - 3 min drive - 3.2 km
  • Silver Beach - 26 min drive - 34.8 km
  • Warren Dunes State Park - 31 min drive - 54.2 km
  • University of Notre Dame - 44 min drive - 55.8 km
  • Four Winds Casino South Bend - 48 min drive - 81.0 km

Getting around

  • Dowagiac Station - 18 min drive
  • South Bend, IN (SBN-South Bend Intl.) - 48 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪BT's Pub - ‬4 min drive
  • ‪Wright Place - ‬4 min drive
  • ‪Lakeview Inn - ‬3 min drive
  • ‪TJ's Sports Bar & Grill - ‬10 min drive
  • ‪Lutz's - ‬9 min drive

Frequently asked questions

Is Friendly lakefront cottage pet-friendly?

No, pets are not allowed at this property.

How much is parking at Friendly lakefront cottage ?

There is free parking nearby.

What time is check-in at Friendly lakefront cottage ?

Check-in begins at 1:00 PM.

What time is check-out at Friendly lakefront cottage ?

Checkout is at 10:00 AM.

Where is Friendly lakefront cottage located?

Situated on the waterfront, this cottage is 1.1 mi (1.7 km) from Magician Lake and 3 mi (4.8 km) from Pipestone Lake. Danneffel Lake and Brown Lake are also within 6 miles (10 km).

Reviews

9.4

Exceptional

Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.
Learn moreOpens in a new window
Rating 10 - Excellent. 59 out of 82 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 16 out of 82 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 6 out of 82 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 1 out of 82 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 82 reviews

9.4/10

Cleanliness

10/10

Check-in

9.6/10

Communication

9.8/10

Location

9.4/10

Listing accuracy

Reviews

Verified

10/10 Excellent

Mary K.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great stay!

We always have a great stay at this cottage, come every year!
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2025
Response from VrboOwner on 3 Aug, 2025
Thank you for taking such good care of the cottage and thanks for staying with us
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Monika R.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Relaxing Getaway

We love relaxing with the amazing view and swimming in the warm water.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Kathleen F.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
We always enjoy our stay at Duey and Joyce's cozy cottage! Always well stocked, comfy and very clean! Great breezes to enjoy your coffee and/or cocktails with a beautiful view of the lake--always look forward to our stay at their home in Sister's Lakes!
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Michal S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Can’t imagine staying anywhere else

Joyce and Dewey are the best
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Deb S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
This is a great place to stay!!! It has everything you need and the view of the lake is spectacular, either from inside or relaxing on the patio! The beach area is clean and sandy. The host was terrific! My friend and I didn't want to leave and God willing, we will be back next year!
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Joanne C.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Vaca

Very clean cozy. Beautiful view of the lake. Very nice stay. I will definitely go back next year
Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Chantelle B.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
The property was spotless and well-maintained. The owner was incredibly friendly and accommodating, making us feel right at home. The kitchen was fully stocked with all the essentials, which made meal prep easy and convenient. Check-in was smooth and hassle-free, and the check-in/out times were perfect — they gave us extra time to relax and enjoy more of the lake. Overall, a great stay!
Stayed 6 nights in Jul 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Robert K.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great Cottage

Wonderful host. Easy check in/check out and property was exactly as described.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2024
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Rob M.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Nice cottage

Nice sandy beach. Cozy summer cottage
Stayed 6 nights in Jul 2024
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Todd F.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Me

Great stay, great location
Stayed 8 nights in Jun 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Olivia B.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Welcoming and quiet

Cozy cottage with a great view of the lake. Adequate shade for those hot sunny days. We enjoyed our stay.
Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Monika R.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great time at cozy cottage

We had a great time on the lake with our family. The house has a great location with a beach and a dock for our boat. We've been coming here for over 20 years and always look forward to this getaway.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Paulette R.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Just Perfect

Cozy. Great location for Sister Lakes. Perfect for our family reunion.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Monika R.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great Lake house

We stay here every year and are always happy with our experience. The host is easy going and the house is always ready for new guests. Can’t wait for next year.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2024
Verified

8/10 Good

Kimberly F.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, location
Disliked: Communication

Cottage

Great lake!
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2023
Verified

8/10 Good

Raul Z.

Liked: Check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Beautiful lake

Such a beautiful lake! Clean water and clean beach. Nice Lilly pad for my girls to play on. House could use updates but was fine for us for our short stay.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2022
Response from VrboOwner on 15 Aug, 2022
This rental is a cottage It’s all about the beach and the water The house itself is a place to sleep when not enjoying the outdoors Ideally there would be no TV,internet,or telephones
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Linda M.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Super

The cottage was super. Great to be right on the lake. From the cottage, the view of the lake was so beautiful. Cottage was clean and perfect for our needs. The lake was clean and easy to access. Duey and Joyce are great hosts! Would stay there again!
Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2024
Response from VrboOwner on 8 Jul, 2024
Thanks for the review and leaving cottage in pristine condition
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Bogdan W.

BEAUTIFUL LAKE

Very nice , quiet location . I enjoyed my stay at this cottage. Very good fishing. Good communication with the owner. I will come back. Thank you very much.
Stayed 10 nights in Sep 2018
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Linda M.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Nice Cottage on the Lake

The experience was fantastic! The owners were great to work with. The cottage was spacious and had everything we needed. The cottage had a sandy beach at the lake. The lake was nice and very active with boats which made it fun to watch. Will go back again! Great find!!
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Kathleen F.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great Getaway at Big Crooked Lake

We had a great time at this property and the owners (Duey and Joyce) always got back to us whenever we had questions... Very cozy and comfortable, their lake cabin cottage was perfect for our family of young adults; it was very well stocked with everything you could possibly need! Their location (near Driftwood) and lake view was fabulous! We enjoyed our morning coffee and summer breezes on their shaded deck. Having direct lake access to dock our pontoon was awesome! See you again next year!
Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2023
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Brianna M.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Perfect cottage getaway

My family and I had a great stay at the cottage for a long weekend. The cottage was just what we needed for my family of 4 and our dad. The cottage had everything you could need aside from food and everything was easy to find. The beach area was perfect for my young kids… sandy, clear and great for swimming. There was plenty of room to dock our boat as well and plenty of parking for our cars and trailer. The host lives nearby and came right over when I sent him a message with a question. Most rentals in the summer are week long minimum and it was so nice to find a place we could book for a long weekend We would definitely come back!
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2024
Verified

6/10 Okay

robert d.

Rustic lakefront location

Lakefront location as seen in pic. But the house is in need of work. Sleeps 7 not 8. 3 double beds and a couch. A.C. in 2 bedrooms. Constantly dripping bath faucet. But you get what you pay for as this was cheapest rental available in sister lakes.
Stayed 6 nights in Jul 2018
Response from VrboOwner on 2 Apr, 2020
If a dripping faucet is the only repair needed the cottage must be in goog shape
Verified

8/10 Good

June C.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Family fun

We had a very nice time at the cottage. The only thing that I would say bad about it is the back stairs to get into the house. Couple times I stumbled going down them, forgetting that they were a very deep steer . also, the railing is going down to the beach. They need to be a little more stable. Specially, if there’s little kids there’s really nothing for them to hold onto.! But overall we did have a good time!
Stayed 7 nights in Aug 2023
Verified

6/10 Okay

KBT K.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication

Double check before your stay!

Overall, it was a decent place. However, for me and my group, having a paddleboat was a huge issue. It's in the pictures of the listing...but NO PADDLEBOAT. Went to use the rowboat...no oars! Texted with the owner, and eventually got some oars, but we missed a whole day of being on the water. The outdoor furniture was filthy - Memorial Day weekend - it should be clean and ready to go for the season. Some of the furniture inside is beat up and really should be replaced. And - the inside of the fridge was dirty. Owner depends on each renter to clean it after each stay. I don't know realistic that is. Also, this lake is very crowded and not very peaceful. Neighbors are extremely close - I could hear their conversations while I was inside, in bed. Overall, this place sufficed, but I wouldn't stay here again.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2025
Verified

10/10 Excellent

Marcy S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Charming lake front cottage for a fun family vacation

We we delighted to be welcomed in person by the owner, Duey. Really the cottage was lovely, the beach was perfect for our 4and six year old, and the stairs and railing were stable although a little steep. The patio was so lovely to sit out and enjoy the lake. We also loved using the tow boat-so grateful it was there. Plenty of floaties for all and beach toys for the smaller kiddos. Kitchen had everything we needed. Our cottage was charming and the AC kept the cottage cool enough for us during our stay despite the 100 degree weather, especially in two bedrooms when we slept. The bedroom to the left when you walk in was coolest place to sleep. If there were more folks then our 4 it might have been a little warm to start the night in the non-air conditioned bedroom, but would’ve been fine later in the night. We also had trouble connecting to WiFi but that could have been our error. I do wish I would’ve saved our host’s phone number though before arriving to troubleshoot the WiFi since my T-Mobile phone couldn’t connect to the internet to access our hosts number. Our hosts did reply immediately when I went to town trying to help us with WiFi and provided their phone number, but to be honest we were just enjoying the lake so much we chose to not try to troubleshoot and just enjoyed being there. We would absolutely love to return!
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2025
Response from VrboOwner on 1 Jul, 2025
The whole purpose of this cottage is to help forget about everyday irritations like the internet and just relax. If I had my way there would be no internet,WiFi,tv,or phones

About the host

Hosted by Duey and Joyce Mitchell

Host profile image
Lifelong residents of this area
Live five minutes away

Why they chose this property

Quiet during the week
Busy weekends

What makes this property unique

Not a fancy new house but a cozy cottage

Premier Host

They consistently provide great experiences for their guests
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