The Great Canadian Cottage Life Thread

[Coldrsx]

Our Port Elgin/Lake Huron cottage turned 100 this past summer.

It's been in our family since 1956 and continues to be the annual pilgrimage for most of us.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

Any other cottage, cabin or camp lovers in SSP Canada?

I love to go spend time in the woods (outside Canada but still only a ~45 minutes drive, plus I fill up on cheap gas so the trip has a negative cost overall) but I haven’t yet bothered to build a camp there. The few times I did spend the night over there, I went to sleep at my in-law’s house that’s very close.

I don’t live far enough from nature (i.e. I don’t live in a super-urban setting like Montreal let alone tree-less Stockholm) to need more than within-a-day “escaping”.

Building a camp would be very easy — basically the diametrical opposite of what CityTech described. I would even take most of the building materials for free from my land.

[megadude]

Docere had a thread about how many Canadians have cottages or something like that. I mentioned how in certain circles, you were nobody unless you had one. Like in Bay St. finance. I guessed 10% of people in Ontario or something. He found some stat saying it was 8% IIRC.

This thread just reminded me of the past few months talking to neighbours. There are about 40 houses on my street. I only talk to people in 10 or so of the houses and most is only because of the kids playing together while a couple are for whatever reason, plus 2 are my neighbours. I don't know any of them well but you pick up on these things from conversations.

I've known a handful of people of colour who bought cottages but it's obviously heavily a white people, "Canadian" especially, kind of thing. Though my inlaws are Polish and where we go there's tonnes of Polish cottagers but I've never known any other Eastern Euros that had cottages.

Anyway, on my street, of those 10 households or so, 6 are "Canadian". Meaning they are multi generation Canadians. 4 of those 6 have cottages. And "have" is used loosely because most of the time they just mean a family cottage that was/is owned by their grandparents or parents of course (like my wife's family). Regardless, in some circumstances you'd feel left out if you didn't have one. And I'm no longer on a floor with finance people, just mortgage people, but it's funny how you overhear so many people talk about what they did at the cottage last weekend to the other cottagers. Like, oh we took the pontoon over to Beausoleil Island and cooked some short ribs while watching the sun set. Or I spent half the weekend cutting firewood and power washing the deck while the wife and kids were having fun. If you were a newcomer and was always overhearing this, you'd think it was in the Canadian Charter of Rights to have a cottage.

I have the same thoughts that others have shared. Buying a cottage precludes you from travelling more frequently to other places. Of course, it's a lot easier when it's your parents that bought the cottage but even then, if money is tight, you find it hard to justify expenditures on expensive vacations when you can chill close to home for a tiny fraction of the cost. But it does get boring. Particularly when the weather isn't the best.

I've also learned that lots of people don't care for cottaging. It would seem like people would be excited to get away and do all the things they can't do at home. But 9/10 times I've ever invited someone, even when it's literally just me going, they pass. They either don't care for it or they have something to do. Even then, they don't enthusiastically say let me know for next time. I'm talking immediate family, extended family, friends and coworkers. In my 20s I was going like twice a summer. Now it's a dozen times. So I was like those people too. Didn't really care. And my best friend growing up had a big cottage too (his family and uncle's family shared it) on a private lake, complete with row boat, skidoo and two ATVs. Only went once. Now I'd gladly accept an invitation to go somewhere different.

[urbandreamer]

^Exactly. In high school we were one of the few middle class families that didn't have a cottage, and the only one with "old stock" Canadian roots. Although we lived out in the country, on a large lot with woods and a small pond. I built my own log cabin and raft as a young teenager, only camped on the property never at Provincial Parks etc.

My American relatives never had cottages either - maybe Texans have them today?

[Coldrsx]

What we are seeing around our place is threefold:

1. Generational (4th) cottages are being sold-off as families are all over the world and not using them very much or don't want the ops/maintenance costs.

2. New money (from Toronto) folks are buying, tearing down and building year-round (often required as per LUBs) places that are massive and often tacky.

3. First generation Canadians are buying into cottage-life and experiencing this most wonderful of traditions; it's great to see.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Ha, my parents place is in Algonquin highlands! My uncle even unsuccessfully ran for council there about a decade ago!

Neat! It's a beautiful place so I can see why they live there.

[harls]

• Video Link

Just for Proof Sheet.

[TownGuy]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Our Port Elgin/Lake Huron cottage turned 100 this past summer.

It's been in our family since 1956 and continues to be the annual pilgrimage for most of us.

This is interesting. I would almost call this a beach house. A traditional Ontario cottage is small lake, dock, nestled into the Canadian shield. Your setup isn't what springs to mind. You're on a large body of water with beachfront. Even the architecture is somewhat beach housy. This isn't a criticism by the way, not many people have their own private beach like that! Looks awesome.

[jonny24]

Tons of people do Great Lakes cottages rather than Shield cottages. Where I grew up Turkey Point was where a lot of the people with money had their "cottage", but it's similar all along the Erie coast. Yes, very much "beach town" vibes but everyone still always said they were going down to the cottage.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by harls

These are the first and last photos ever released of my now 15 year old son. All others will be destroyed as according to him.

haha! cute kid.

It gets worse. My son is nearly 17, and he can't stand to be in the same room as us. Terrible attitude.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

This summer I camped across Canada for the first time - I found the experience rather strange. Why do people bring their entire home creature comforts along & make such a big deal about camp fires? Watching the camp host hand out firewood to grown-ups like it was crack made me lol. In many campsites, I was the lone guy tenting - made me feel like a poor loser vs the 5th wheelers and RV crowd.

I've always been a tenting guy, and I also can't understand why people need these insanely gigantic 5th wheelers and RVs just to camp for a few days at a place like The Pinery. It makes a complete mockery of camping, and destroys the camping vibe for people trying to actually camp. When I lived in BC in the 90s, I would camp every weekend, going to different places across the southern half of the province: Vancouver Island, Whistler and points north, Fraser Valley and North Shore Mountains, Cascades, Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. Then, and now, I was always tenting.

[jonny24]

I always laugh at the "glampers" as well. Last time I camped we didn't even bother with a tent, just threw a mattress in the back of the pickup and slept under the stars. I do need some sort of cover so we can do that even it looks rainy.

I always assumed our love of campfires was anthropological - like, of course we love fire, it's what let us be human! But this is the second time this week hearing someone be mystified about it - my buddies mom is from Manchester and she was like "you bloody Canadians and your campfires, I don't get it".

[TownGuy]

Originally Posted by jonny24

Tons of people do Great Lakes cottages rather than Shield cottages. Where I grew up Turkey Point was where a lot of the people with money had their "cottage", but it's similar all along the Erie coast. Yes, very much "beach town" vibes but everyone still always said they were going down to the cottage.

Interesting. I guess it depends on your region of Ontario. A cottage on Lake Ontario is unheard of around here. It's just simply a house that's located on the lake. 'Cottage' is all the lakes to the north

[niwell]

It seems sacrosanct in Ontario but I truly hate camping with a passion and hopefully will never have to do it again in my life barring extraordinary circumstances. Was in Scouting programs until I was 15 or so and have been camping in all weather conditions ranging from multiple day river canoe trips to sub -20 temperatures. So I'm not one of those people who just doesn't like the idea of it. Rather all I associate it with is experiences of being wet and uncomfortable.

I don't get the appeal of RVs either, and find the concept of "drive-in" camping to be weird. We went up to Algonquin last summer as a bunch of (Red Pine, ha) friends were doing drive-in camping there - we ended up staying in a motel a 5 minute drive away as there was no way I was sleeping in a tent with a 100lb dog. Plus we don't own a tent.

The only type of camping trip I've heard of lately that seems appealing to me was a friend's canoe trip on the Mackenzie River in northern NWT. Something like that would be cool as it can't be replicated locally. But hanging around a fire for a few days and sleeping in a tent? Nope.

[lio45]

I don't get the point of camping for the sake of camping, but I love camping when part of a greater trip (kayaking down a Canadian Shield river over a few days, for example).

Maybe if I had kids, I'd see this differently - the camping itself would be an activity for them.

But at my level (), it sucks as a "main" activity.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by niwell

The only type of camping trip I've heard of lately that seems appealing to me was a friend's canoe trip on the Athabaska River in northern NWT. Something like that would be cool as it can't be replicated locally. But hanging around a fire for a few days and sleeping in a tent? Nope.

Hadn't read your post before writing mine, but yeah, that's my view too

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by TownGuy

This is interesting. I would almost call this a beach house. A traditional Ontario cottage is small lake, dock, nestled into the Canadian shield. Your setup isn't what springs to mind. You're on a large body of water with beachfront. Even the architecture is somewhat beach housy. This isn't a criticism by the way, not many people have their own private beach like that! Looks awesome.

We are actually one row up from the beach, but have a private access to this public (although more privately used) beach.

I get what you are saying, but most of the southern Great Lakes would disagree with you as this IS cottage country for most of them. I've never though of front row or our cottage as a 'beach house' like I would on the east coast of the US or in Florida, but I can see what you mean too.

This was my Aunt's place on Lake Simcoe and more of what you are thinking with the cottage hanging off the hillside/lakeshore.


Also,

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by TownGuy

Interesting. I guess it depends on your region of Ontario. A cottage on Lake Ontario is unheard of around here. It's just simply a house that's located on the lake. 'Cottage' is all the lakes to the north

Extended family of mine had a cottage on the Bay of Quinte. I always found that odd to be called a "bay" but despite being part of Lake Ontario it feels more like something in the Kawarthas.

[harls]

Good friends have a chalet (or cottage) at St. Donat, about a 3 hr drive from me. Spent many a new years and ski holiday there.

[harls]

Originally Posted by lio45

I don't get the point of camping for the sake of camping, but I love camping when part of a greater trip (kayaking down a Canadian Shield river over a few days, for example).

Maybe if I had kids, I'd see this differently - the camping itself would be an activity for them.

But at my level (), it sucks as a "main" activity.

I went camping with the family at Opémican Park a couple of years ago. Black flies build character.