Waterfront Muskoka Cottage on Trent-Severn River

Classic cottage on the Severn River at the border of Muskoka & Severn Township. Swimming, boating, fishing, snowmobiling, skiing & relaxing! Near Sparrow Lake, downriver from Trent-Severn Lock 42 & Lake Couchiching. Quiet & treed. Relax and watch the boats pass on the Trent-Severn river system from the screened porch & deck. Full use of the entire cottage & property. Lots of free parking. Full week bookings only in July & August. Minutes to snowmobile trails. 35 minutes from ski areas. The space Quiet rustic classic cottage in boating paradise only 1.5 hours from Toronto! Waterfront, on the Severn River (part of the Trent-Severn System) just minutes from Sparrow Lake at 1731 Peninsula Point Road, Severn, ON. You can take a spectacular boat trip right from the front door into Georgian bay in only a couple of hours, or boat right to Casino Rama in under an hour! Or, just relax in the screened porch in between swims from the dock. In a quiet location only minutes by car or boat to dining and activities at resorts in Port Stanton. Excellent fishing, boating, snowmobiling, alpine & XC skiing. Close to Washago, Gravenhurst (home of Norman Bethune), Orillia and Bracebridge. Two screened porches (front and rear) plus an outside deck overlooking the river and lawns. Three bedrooms, one downstairs and two upstairs. We DO NOT provide bed linens and towels. Blankets for the beds, and pillows ARE provided. There is no housekeeping service during your stay, and the cottage MUST BE CLEANED before you leave. Please pay it forward and leave the cottage clean, neat and orderly, which allows us to offer the cottage at a reasonable cost! There are six beds in total, three queen, and three single/twin. The downstairs bedroom has one queen bed. The first upstairs bedroom has one queen and two twin/single beds. The second upstairs bedroom has one queen bed and two twin/single beds. Free parking. There is Bell satellite TV and a smart TV, and a Roku. Internet is Starlink. The WiFi passphrase is updated from time to time and is provided to you just before you check in. The cottage is located in an area with very LIMITED INTERNET access (there is no cable, DSL, or fibre in the area). After experimenting with all options, we have found Starlink to be fairly reliable while providing decent speed. However, be prepared to use cell phone hot spot as backup. We cannot guarantee the speed or availability of the Internet connection! Cell service is fair to good. There are no laundry facilities at the cottage. There is a seasonal laundromat at Lauderdale Marina, just down the road from the cottage (about a kilometer away). And, there are laundromats in Washago, Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, and Orillia. The bathroom is a three-piece (shower, toilet, and basin). There is no bathtub. We supply a couple of rolls of toilet paper in case you forget for the first night, but you should bring your own for the duration of your stay. There is a full kitchen with dishwasher, range, oven, microwave. No food, or condiments, are supplied. You must bring your own. Pets are welcome, but they must be well-behaved and you must pick up after them. Excessive barking and loose pets are not acceptable. Make sure your pets don’t break the window screens. If they do, please fix them or let us know. Depending on the extent of the damage we may deduct the cost of repair from your deposit. PLEASE KEEP YOUR PETS OFF THE BEDS AND FURNITURE. We are not always able to greet our guests. The entry code will be provided before your check-in date. Check-in time is anytime after 4 p.m. on your first booked date. As long as you are coming in after 4, your arrival time is not critical. Check-out time is 11 a.m. Early check-in and late check-out are NOT available as our housekeepers need time for cleaning and maintenance. Please ensure you CHECK OUT ON TIME. There is a fire pit. Local regulations stipulate that the fire pit can be used during twilight and after dark only. Only firewood may be burned. Many stores on the way to the cottage sell firewood – even the grocery stores. We do not supply firewood. Swimming is off the dock in the river. There is deep water off the dock and it is safe and clean. The water is almost always warm enough for comfortable swimming from late June through early September. Depending on spring and fall weather, sometimes the water is even comfortable from May to October. The cottage is on a RIVER. The shoreline is clean and shallow, and you can wade in from the shore. However the bottom is fine silt, not beach sand, and there is aquatic vegetation between the shallow water and the deep. There are public beaches within short driving distance at Franklin Park on the other side of Sparrow Lake, in Washago, about 10 minutes away, at Centennial Park, in Gravenhurst at Gull Lake Park, in Orillia at Couchiching beach park and in Bracebridge at Kirby’s Beach. There is fishing right off the dock, along the river and at the mouth of the river on Sparrow Lake, about a kilometer downstream. Sparrow Lake has lots of great fishing spots. You need a fishing license in Ontario if you are 16 or older. The cottage is right in the middle of boating paradise on the Trent-Severn. It is between Lock 42 and Lock 43 (Swift Rapids – the highest lift lock on the system). The world-famous marine railway is two locks away at Lock 44. Sparrow Lake is just a little over a kilometer away along the river, within paddling distance by canoe. Lake Couchiching is just on the other side of Lock 42, about 5 kilometers up river. We have often done trips into Georgian Bay and back in the same day in our 17-foot outboard. There is an aluminum boat, a canoe, and three kayaks, at the cottage. None are motorized. Motorized boats are available to rent at many locations. Small fishing boats are available for rent at Sumach Hill, and Lauderdale Marina. Each of these is about two kilometers from the cottage. There are also many boat rentals available in Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, and Orillia. For liability reasons we cannot supply life jackets, (PFDs) and other boating safety devices. Please bring your own. If you are bringing your boat, the finger dock extends about thirty feet into the river. The dock has easily accommodated several 24 foot boats berthed parallel to the dock (perpendicular to the river). Bigger boats may have to extend beyond the end of the dock or be berthed perpendicular to the dock, along the end. There are boat launches within a 2-minute drive at the Forest Glen Store and Lauderdale marina. There is a fee for the launch, but it is reasonable. By boat, Forest Glen is about 5 minutes upstream from the cottage, and Lauderdale Marina is about 5 minutes downstream at the mouth of the river at Sparrow Lake. There is a full size barbeque. The propane supply must be switched on by activating the timer valve, located in a stainless steel box next to the barbeque. Turn is past 20 minutes to light the burners. Please make sure you clean the barbeque. The cottage is heated and air conditioned with heating and AC units in the bedrooms and living room. There is also a propane fireplace. There are seasonal general stores near the blue swing bridge, just down the road. There is a small grocery store, a Home Hardware, and an LCBO (liquor store) in Washago, about 10 minutes away. Gravenhurst and Orillia, which are both about 25 minutes away, have most of the big grocery store chains, as well as Canadian Tire, the LCBO, the Beer Store, and Home Hardware. For fishing gear, Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, and Trombley’s Tackle Box (in Orillia) are well stocked. Bracebridge and Orillia have Walmarts. There is a Costco in Orillia. The water at the cottage is from a well and is drinkable. The water supply is tested regularly. In the spring, there are times when tests indicate slight contamination, and the water is temporarily NOT drinkable. We will advise you if testing indicates this so you can arrange to bring your own drinking water. We will not refund any or all of your rental amount due to changes in the water potability. WHEN YOU LEAVE, PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE FOOD IN THE FRIDGE. Garbage MUST BE BAGGED and placed in the metal animal-proof container at the end of the driveway. Any cleaning and repair costs will be deducted from your deposit. There is lots of excellent golf in the immediate area. Lake St. George Golf and Country Club is just up the road, about 10 minutes away. There is an executive course, Evergreen, also about 10 minutes away. Muskoka Bay, Taboo, and the Sands courses are all in Gravenhurst, about 20 minutes away. Hawk Ridge, in Orillia, is also about 20 minutes away. Horseshoe, Mount St. Louis Moonstone, and Hardwood Ski & Bike are 35 minutes away. Snomobile trails are minutes away by car, and often can be accessed by sled directly from the cottage. There is indoor recreation at the YMCA in Gravenhurst and sports complexes in Bracebridge and Orillia. There are two locations with public tennis courts in Gravenhurst, (Gull Lake Park and Muskoka Bay Park) two locations in Bracebridge (Kelvin Grove and Kerr Park), Orillia has tennis courts at three locations. All three communities have extensive recreational facilities, including year-round ice rinks, hiking, biking, and rollerblading trails and more. There are excellent mountain biking facilities at Hardwood Hills (south of Orillia) Check the Town of Gravenhurst, City of Orillia, Town of Bracebridge, District of Muskoka, County of Simcoe, Severn Township, and Village of Washago web sites for information. Guest access The entire cottage and property are there for our guests. You can dock a boat, swim off the dock or use the canoe or rowboats provided. We don't shovel the outdoor deck overlooking the river, so it's not accessible in the winter. Other things to note We do not provide linens. This is a rural rustic cottage which is good - it means it's not like staying or living in the city! But, that also means that you need to be prepared for interesting and fun things like small wild animals that like to visit (mostly squirrels and raccoons) and mosquitoes and other insects outside. Bring your DEET bug spray! The cottage is heated and cooled by heat-pumps, electric baseboards, and a propane fireplace. Portable heaters are also provided for extra-cold days. The cottage is in an area that is wonderful for winter activities. The trade-off is we can get a lot of snow and harsh winter weather, so you should have winter tires and proper winter boots and clothing for your trip. Brief electricity outages are possible during storms, but are infrequent and normally brief. Water levels on the Trent-Severn vary, especially in April and May when runoff is high. At these times, the lower part of the riverside lawn can be underwater and access to the floating dock may be difficult. The cottage, the road and the parking area are all many meters above high water and are always accessible. We do not offer refunds due to river water levels or power outages.