During May to October, bookings must check in and out on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, except for the long weekends.
July long weekend, Thursday - Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
August long weekend Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday.
Important information
You need to know
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
Cashless transactions are available
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 first aid kit
About the area
Algonquin Highlands
Located in Algonquin Highlands, this cottage is on the waterfront. Dorset Heritage Museum and Haliburton Sculpture Forest are cultural highlights, and some of the area's activities can be experienced at Big Hawk Lake Marina and 118 - 35 Driving Range. Discover the area's water adventures with kayaking and power boating nearby, or enjoy the great outdoors with hiking and rock climbing.
Dorset Scenic Lookout Tower - 19 min drive - 25.7 km
Getting around
Muskoka, ON (YQA) - 65 min drive
Restaurants
The Chip Shop - 6 min drive
Firehouse Restaurant - 1 min walk
Irish Inn - 28 min drive
Sage Pantry - 7 min drive
ox narrows - 4 min walk
Frequently asked questions
Is KAYAKS, CANOE, PADDLE BOARDS, WIFI, pet-friendly?
No, pets are not allowed at this property.
How much is parking at KAYAKS, CANOE, PADDLE BOARDS, WIFI,?
On-site parking is available at the property.
What time is check-in at KAYAKS, CANOE, PADDLE BOARDS, WIFI,?
Check-in begins at 4:00 PM.
What time is check-out at KAYAKS, CANOE, PADDLE BOARDS, WIFI,?
Checkout is at 11:00 AM.
Where is KAYAKS, CANOE, PADDLE BOARDS, WIFI, located?
Located on the waterfront, this family-friendly cottage is within 9 mi (15 km) of Elvin Johnson Park, Hawk Lake Log Chute and Big Hawk Lake Marina. Lake of Bays and Dorset Heritage Museum are also within 12 miles (20 km).
Reviews
9.2
Wonderful
Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.Learn moreOpens in a new window
The layout of the cottage provides an awesome common area for a large group. Separate bedrooms allow for privacy... We enjoyed great weather at a great location.
Beautiful place and amazing communication with the property manager. Very flexible and friendly . I highly recommend the place for a family vacation .
Thank you
We really enjoyed our stay with our family of 17. The room were sufficient, the rec room was fabulous and the access to pool table, arcade and water toys was ideal for the age ranges of our children.
Definitely need more bowls & spoons and a broom but those are small things. We had a blast!
Kristy A.
Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2023
6/10 Okay
Diana C.
18 Aug 2023
Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication
Fun
Kids loved all the canoes. Boards. Paddle boat. Beach and hiking near by
It's right by the lake. We enjoyed different kind of boats. The big room is great too, everyone finds his activity. Just one minor issue: can't connect my laptop to the TV through HDMI. Overall, it's great.
We had a wonderful time and enjoyed all the activities on site. Our sleeping arrangement was not the best since we had large group of 23 people. Bill was very understanding and allowed us to have that amount of people without extra charges. Next time we hope to plan better around extra mattresses or something. It is close to the road and bridge since we had two toddlers. I was a bit nervous about it. .Overall, they all enjoyed it.
Could sleep 20 as advertised, but kitchen and bathrooms are not adequate for 20 people (only 1 shower and there were 10 of us).
If you are just looking to be by the lake this cottage has a private dock and has kayaks, paddle boards etc. The building itself is pretty run down and the grounds could use some major TLC (very overgrown). Great cottage for a young group going to hang by the lake, but not for young families.
This is a huge space for a get together. It’s an eclectic 5 bedroom but has a great entertaining space with plenty of seating and dining for a large family/group. The large TV was great along with the pool table. Large bbq was great for meals and lots of outdoor water kayaks standup boards, canoes and paddle boats with plenty of life jackets which we all enjoyed. Bill and his staff were very accommodating when there were a couple things missing on the first day like a few extra plates or a cookie sheet etc. Also on the first day the ice maker wasn’t working but Bill made sure it was looked after that same day. Also initially there was an Arcade game there not working which wasn’t really a problem but Bill made sure it was repaired which again kids loved. All in all we had a great time here!
The property was good, not exceptional. We had fun, enjoyed our stay and would recommend it to others. That said, there were some little things that were annoying: although the kitchen was well stocked in terms of pots and pans, there were no glasses or dish rags , limited cups and plates. When the owner was contacted, he very quickly brought platic disposable glasses and a dish rag. The paddle boats were very dirty to the point that our elderly family members did not want to touch them. The bedrooms are very small. Again, we enjoyed our stay and recommend the place but keep your expectations in check.
Couldn't have found a better spot for all of us than Firehouse cottages!!!
Our entire group was impressed at the inside of the cottage and the view the second we walked in. The space of the large cottage was perfect for our large group and it accommodated to all of our different group ages, from elders, adults , teenagers , to children. There was always something to do for all of us, fishing, canoeing , walking, paddle boats and sight seeing.
The location of the cottage it's perfectly located between two towns, Dorset and Minden, in case you need something from drinks, foods firewood, toiletries to medicine. We took advantage of also being close to Algonquin Park to go and drive to our provincial park and admire its beauty. In other words, location, location, location is one of the many perks of this beautiful cottage.
I have saved the last advantage to the end, Bill is an awesome person to deal with and always readily available to answer questions and concerns, no matter how ridiculous they were, because I know I had some ridiculous ones from the get go. He answer questions for me and helped me through the process of renting through vrbo as this is my first time using this site. Once I was there at the property he made us all feel at home and my entire family is grateful for that.
We will be coming back for sure as we found what we were looking for, a place away from our everyday places that has the same feeling, a warm home feeling.
I visited the cottage with 5 other friends for our week off, and we had a wonderful experience at this cottage. It was right off the highway which was easy to find, with a large area for parking,. There was more than enough space for us all, and there was always something to do both inside and outside. We loved having all the boats and games, and had no internet issues. Everything was tidy and clean, and I had easy communication with the owner to make sure that everything was okay. Everyone in our group would be happy to return!
Amazing property inside & outside activities & great location + Amazing host supporting and easy to connect anytime. I visited the place with total 15 people and It was a wonderful experience there.
The place was even nicer than expected and the host was extremely attentive when we needed the coffee machine to be fixed! Overall great and will definitely be back again