Is it too late to find an idyllic summer cottage that’s charming, comfy, and complete with the stuff sweet summer memories are made of? Sure, the busy booking period of January, February, and March is long past, but don’t despair – prepare! There’s still some choice out there as new inventory comes on the market throughout the spring months. The key to finding your summer bliss is flexibility.

Kim Field, of Country Cottage Rentals Travel Services/Management Services Inc., advises people to focus on the really critical elements. “Dates, matching party size to size of cottage, type of waterfront needed, if you have toddlers for example. Don’t focus too much on location and the extent of amenities unless they are critical,” she says.
Online rental and property management agencies and “word of mouth” are the most expedient and trustworthy methods of finding a cottage that won’t make your heart sink as you cross the threshold. If you Google cottage rentals in Ontario, you’ll have to pick your way through hundreds of websites catering to discriminating vacationers, many of whom, with only a week or two of summer to unwind in, have no leeway for bad surprises.

Early or late in the rental season, the best online agencies make the choice easy and exciting. Relying on more than a couple of beauty shots of the property, their websites are a breeze to navigate and include detailed, up-to-date information on availability, amenities, location, beach access, nearby activities and towns, and even whether your pet is welcome. In short, by personally checking each location, they help you match your needs to their offerings.

“One year we booked in June for July,” says Amy Baskin, of Guelph. “We found a nice place very close to Algonquin Park that wasn’t well known. We did lots of hiking there, and there was lots to do in town like restaurants and bowling when the weather was bad. The rental agency made it easy; we listed our criteria and everything had been checked by them. It came with a fully equipped kitchen and barbecue. It was very, very convenient. We paid $3,000 for two families for one week.”

Prices vary from region to region, topping $5,000 and dipping to $750 for periods between June and September. Muskoka is considered the crème de la crème of cottage country. Steven Spielberg owns property there and so did Oscar Peterson. Covering 2,500 square miles of stately pine and maple forests, it thrills with thundering waterfalls, sheer pink granite cliffs, plus quaint villages and bustling towns such as Huntsville, Gravenhurst, and Bracebridge. More importantly, if you – like most people – are looking for a waterfront cottage, the area boasts an amazing 1,600 lakes, including the largest and popular Lakes Muskoka, Rousseau, Joseph and Lake of Bays, and others so small they have no name.

The Kawartha Lakes, just an hour northeast of Toronto, are a boater’s and angler’s paradise and include 250 lakes linked by the Trent-Severn waterway.

Haliburton County, which includes the southernmost part of Algonquin Park on the northeast and runs north to Oxtonque Lake, has its own faithful following, Dominic Goguen of Mississauga being one of them.“It was more off the beaten path, the roads were less developed and we could drive through deep woods. I liked that it was secluded and less busy,” he says. For a rustic cottage that felt more like a house to the 10 adults and children vacationing, they paid about $1,000 a week at the beginning of August.

Doing some homework before signing anything or sending a deposit, especially late in the season, will make the difference between a week in a crummy shack and a wonderful vacation. “I think a renter should be looking for a reputable agency with some track record and access to renter comments,” advises Kim Reid (www.cottagerental.com). “Word of mouth is still one of the most reliable methods of sourcing either an agency or a private rental, but speaking directly to someone who has seen the cottage in person and (who) can answer specific questions is probably the best approach.”

Last-minute rentals, a month before your ideal date, can turn into a buyer-beware tale or luck-of-the-draw. Rachel Wallace-Oberle’s last-minute experience added to their eight-year adoration of Muskoka. “I started looking too late, a month or two before our holidays, around May. My husband found Diamond in the Ruff Golf course on the Internet (www.diamondsedge.ca). It was on a very tiny lake – I’ve never seen a smaller lake. We rented this condo sight unseen but the photos looked good and they sent us a package before we decided. They were spectacular luxury units with washer/dryer, microwave, wall-mounted TV. It was nice for a change but I missed roughing it, and didn’t feel as close to nature. My 15-year-old son and my parents enjoyed the amenities and the golf.”
So it’s still possible to make that excellent cottage vacation a reality if you take the time to dig and ferret and stay open to new adventures – within reason.

Try the following websites for rentals and regional information:

Tyler’s Cottage Rental Directory:
www.tylers.ca or www.cottagerentals.com

Discover Muskoka:
www.discovermuskoka.ca

The Kawarthas:
www.thekawarthas.net/resortscottages.php

The Haliburton County Tourism:
www.haliburtonholidays.ca