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.

S’more stuff • Cottage Life has you covered with everything you need to know—on TV, online, and in person

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Cottage Life

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It’s finally spring. • (Hard phew.) Time to hit the water in your ride of choice.

Why these cottagers swapped cottages during COVID

Cottage quiz: What human-powered craft is right for you • Looking to try a new water activity this season? Take our quiz to find out which human-powered craft is right for you: a whitewater kayak, an SUP, a canoe, or an old-timey rowboat

Five books by Indigenous writers

Could a ban on short-term rentals be coming to cottage country?

Short-term rental ban, booze bust, Banff aims to be carbon neutral

Grouse mating calls

6 boat maintenance tasks you can do to save money • Boat washed? Check. Safety gear stowed? Check. Spring boat maintenance is usually straightforward, but here are a half-dozen tasks that handy DIYers can do now to prevent ka-ching! later.

The birth of the Evinrude outboard

Real estate: From shack to simple abode

How to save and how to spend on a new cottage build

Saving your from stuck screws, electric shock, and warped lumber since 1988

How to pick a wheelbarrow for every type of job • From yard work to light construction, how to pick the right hauler for every type of job

No more wobbly blades with a high-tension hacksaw

How to inflate a tubeless tire

Two-stroke/Four-stroke explained

What you need to know about flooded electrical

How to remove a stuck screw

The expert’s guide to buying the best lumber

DIY crate storage project

How long can we leave our boat?

In search of unspoiled wilderness • We wanted a quiet escape in the woods. Can we find a corner of unspoiled wilderness—and not spoil it?

Lighting solutions to reduce outdoor cottage hazards • Decks, docks, pathways—nighttime hazards abound at the cottage. Here’s how to brighten your property without lighting the rest of the lake

A cottage life convert’s renovation journey • Enticed by a spectacular view, we finally bought a cabin. Renovating it was nothing like we expected, having it was everything we hoped for

A beginner’s guide to birding • The best lesson from the pandemic? All you need to be a birder is patience, curiosity, and an appreciation for nature. (Floppy hat and khaki vest optional)

Game of Thrones: alternative toilets for the cottage • For kings and queens of the north doing our business in remote locations, alternative toilets can be an economical, water-efficient, and convenient way to get that royal flush

How to start (and keep) your cottage salad garden • Your own low-work, deer-proof, cottage garden—and these 4 spectacular recipes—will keep greens on your plate all summer (and beyond!)

Skunk cabbage is true to its name • Smelly, furnace-like skunk cabbage blooms even in the freezing temperatures of early spring

A century-old guest book