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.

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Cottage Life

Editor’s Note: Winter is a season well worth the effort

Your Letters: Heard the latest buzz?

Waterfront • Y’all ready for this? (We mean winter.) Bring on the chill!

Animals use a combination of strategies to get through winter

Buy the Way: This couple chose a ski chalet as their investment property

Schematic for the Ultimate Cottager Toque • Winter hats are good (see p. 70). But we think they could be more cottage functional. Thus, we present our schematic for the Ultimate Cottager Toque. Don’t steal our ideas. We’ll sue.

Why this cottager group was placing bets on a beaver

In Town: Get out and explore Georgian Bay

What does Lucy Maud Montgomery have to do with cottage country?

Big number: The Great Lakes get a big boost

Here’s why robots are mapping the Great Lakes

Reporter: Snack is back, avain increase & gettin’ buzzed

Gift ideas for birders • Got an avian enthusiast on your holiday list? Here are five gifts that will set their birdy hearts aflutter

Workshop • Because winters at the cottage bring seasonal joys and fix-it conundrums

Gifts to buy the putterer in your life • If you like giving inexpensive gifts, it’s easy to shop for a DIYer. Even though cheap and cheerful may not be exciting and glamorous, these gifts are always useful and very affordable.

We revamped an old woodstove, and it works like new again

4 solutions to prevent frozen pipes

Stuff We Like: An automatic water shutoff device

How to make projects with outdoor posts last longer • Planning outdoor projects with log posts? Attention to details will help them last longer.

An in-floor heating system that saves on electricity

Cottage Q&A: Clothing colour and chilly temps; cottage trade query; solar power conk-out; the smell of cold; porkies vs. siding

Can you help wild spaces thrive and protect your property from wildfires? • As forest fires become more common, how can you help wild spaces at the lake thrive and protect your cottage? It’s an environmental conundrum

Cottage-country municipalities are cracking down on short-term rentals. But is the patchwork system of bylaws working? • Cottage country municipalities are cracking down on short-term rentals. But is the patchwork system of bylaws working? And is it fair?

Quonsets are the new mighty-strong, energy-efficient rural residences of the future • Quonset huts are the new mighty-strong, energy-efficient, last-you-a-lifetime rural residences

Writer Sasha Chapman is shifting her expectations of winter cottaging in a warming climate. But there’s still much to embrace • Writer Sasha Chapman is shifting her expectations of winter cottaging in these times of climate crisis. For one thing, there’s less ice and more canoeing

Think you’re the ultimate Canuck cottager? If you’re a true winter warrior, you’ll have mastered these skills • Think you’re the ultimate Canuck cottager? If you’re a true winter warrior, you have the skills to take on whatever our coolest season brings—all while wearing a toque

Presenting the winners of our 35th annual photo contest • Presenting the seven stunning winners of our 35th annual photo contest

The photos that made us laugh the most

Make the best soup of your life with this recipe from Matty Matheson’s latest cookbook •...