Cottage Life

The go-to source for cottagers, the award-winning Cottage Life offers valuable advice as well as profiles, how-to articles, recipes, essays, issues pieces, and lifestyle stories that help readers look after their cottages, entertain guests and, of course, kick back and have fun.

Masthead and contributors; Go Home Lake’s unsung hero

Let’s switch things up a bit, shall we?

Your Letters

Dock Talk

The government plans to reduce Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities to just seven. Cue the questions • The government plans to reduce Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities to just seven. Cue the questions

Reporter: Tick tricks, licence news & orange alert

What we can learn from the latest version of the Plant Hardiness Zone Map

Is this community-minded lake the ice cream capital of cottage country? • Is this community-minded lake the ice cream capital of cottage country?

These reptile-ready ramps turned a raft into a comfy turtle sunning spot

Not all tape measures are created equal. Here’s how to pick the right one

Cottage Q&A: Mystery scat; who bit the waterline?; plants for the septic; how to transfer the cottage; dock lights and algae

How one group of remote cottagers helps paramedics on the water

Big Picture: Morning mist on the lake

5 products that will make you a spring cleaning machine

A traffic jam on a Sunday commute from the lake is no one’s idea of a good time–until it is • An epic traffic jam on a Sunday commute from the lake is no one’s idea of a good time—until it is

In a moment of crisis, this family found refuge in a small cabin on Vancouver Island • In a moment of crisis, this family found refuge in a small cabin on Vancouver Island

Award-winning fashion photographer Chris Nicholls has a hidden talent: documenting the formidable Canadian Shield • When award-winning fashion photographer Chris Nicholls documents the formidable power of rock cuts, he takes more than a passing glance

‘Going sauna’ isn’t just a trend for these Finnish-Canadians. It’s a cultural practice as treasured as the cottage itself • Nowadays, “going sauna” is a hot trend, but for these Finnish-Canadians in Northern Ontario, it’s a long-time cultural practice as treasured as the cottage itself

How do you know when it's time to tear down the family cottage? • So you’ve made the tough decision to demolish the family cottage. Here are the tools you need to tackle the surprisingly difficult task

Puttering • CRACK A DRINK, PREP A SNACK, GO FIND A HAMMOCK AND TAKE IN THE VIEW: LET THE FUN FINALLY BEGIN

In Parry Sound, Ont., a forest fire lookout doubles as a hot spot for tourists • The Tower Hill lookout in Parry Sound, Ont., was the front line of forest fire prevention and a hot spot for tourists

Keyhole lifejackets weren't comfy or attractive, but they sure saved lives • Comfy? No. Attractive? Certainly not. Effective? You bet

Hit the hammock with our renovation-themed puzzles • It’s opening-up season! But who needs chores when you could hit the hammock and think about chores, with our renovation-themed puzzles?

Chef Christine Flynn's cottage cooking style embraces shortcuts • Christine Flynn knows the rules. But this chef, trained in Michelin restaurants, also knows how to flex

Early spring is one of the best times to spy on secretive salamanders • It’s early spring! Time to spy on salamanders

Did you neglect your mouse-proofing? Here are the lessons • But you forgot in the fall. Here are your lessons this spring