Hello and welcome to the Loon Bay Retreat cottage!
The cottage is accessed via a single lane private road maintained by the Loon Bay Road Association and which has two fairly steep but navigable hills. The cottage's lake frontage is 155 ft wide, providing ample separation from neighbours, and sits across from undeveloped Crown Land. Loon Bay is at the western end of Haliburton’s Kawagama Lake, the largest lake in all of Haliburton. This quiet peaceful bay affords the opportunity to relax and enjoy the quiet and peace of natural surroundings whether from the large 16’x20’ double dock with sunshade at water’s edge or from the expansive 12’x50’ deck that fronts the cottage. Water depth off the end of the dock is 12 ft (4m) and the shoreline is steep, slippery granite so children and non-swimmers will need to be diligently supervised. A short paddle through the channel opens up to the vast expanse of Kawagama Lake with its many bays to explore by canoe or kayak, which are provided for your use, or bring your boat. The Mountain Trout House and Old Mill marinas provide launch facilities as well as powerboat and PWC rentals and are located within 10 minutes of the cottage.
The cottage is best suited for those seeking the rugged beauty and natural surroundings found in the Algonquin Highlands.
Your well behaved, non-barker dog is welcome but must be kept off the furniture and beds and under control to avoid annoying the neighbours. Dog odour is impossible to remove from soft furnishings and other guests maybe have allergies.
Kawagama Lake is just downstream of the Algonquin Park watershed and has been carefully managed to avoid overpopulation with cottages and as a result affords naturally clean water for swimming, fishing and canoeing or kayaking.
The 1300 sq ft. cottage sits on a sloped property that affords wonderful views from the large cottage windows and expansive cottage deck. The deck is a considerable height above grade (25ft / 7m) and as such small children must be diligently supervised. Access to the cottage from the parking area is down via 53 granite steps. An additional 17 granite and 50 wooden steps down will take you to the dock. Parking facilities can accommodate 3 cars.
The cottage features soaring vaulted ceilings with skylights to bring in natural light, even on overcast days, and has an open plan kitchen, dining and family rooms on the lower level and 3 bedrooms and a bathroom on the upper level.
The cottage can comfortably sleep 6 with each bedroom offering a queen sized bed, storage, blackout shades and a ceiling fan for summer nighttime cooling.
The fully equipped cook’s kitchen has lots of counter space and a large island. There is a 20 cu ft refrigerator, gas stove, microwave, toaster, a drip coffee maker as well as a French press, a drinks fridge and a water cooler. The kitchen is also stocked with all the essential pots and pans and utensils so preparing meals and snacks is a breeze. Essentials such as salt, pepper, common spices, sugar, and oil are also provided. On the deck, a Weber barbecue is provided.
The dining area provides a farmhouse style table and chairs with seating for up to 8 people with cutlery and tableware to match. The living area is equipped with two comfortable, 3 seater sofas, a coffee table an entertainment centre with a 49” Sony flat screen TV, Apple TV, a DVD player with numerous family friendly DVD’s and many board games. Quiet listening of music streamed from your device via bluetooth is available. Please take note that sound carries in the quiet of cottage country and loud music or parties are absolutely not permitted.
The cottage is conveniently located within easy access to amenities and local attractions. A 10 minute drive will bring you to the village of Dorset which provides all the necessities for a relaxing cottage vacation. Robinson’s General Store is at the heart of the village and sells groceries, hardware, giftware and clothing. The village also boasts an LCBO, restaurants, a wood fired oven pizza shop, an ice cream shop, a pharmacy, a garage, and various gift & souvenir shops. Nearby attractions are best researched by searching Dorset Ontario Directory of Tourism Attractions. The most popular local attractions are the Dorset Fire Tower, providing commanding views of Dorset and Lake of Bays, and nearby Algonquin Park which is approximately a 30min drive from Dorset.
Algonquin provides hiking, fishing and Educational & Interpretive Centres suitable for the whole family. Algonquin Park, Canada’s first provincial park established in 1893 and named a National Historic site in 1992, covers 7700 sq km and contains over 2400 lakes. The Visitor’s Centre and Logging Museum are of interest to the whole family and are a great rainy day excursion.
A 15min drive south on Hwy 35 will take you to the Frost Centre where hiking and canoeing are abundant. If you are a cyclist, Hwy 35 and Hwy 117 provide fantastic opportunities for road cycling with generous shoulders throughout much of the route. Mountain bikers can find excellent facilities both in Algonquin Park and the nearby Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve, which also provides tree top trekking.
