The Lake
Wollaston Lake is a quiet, clear lake tucked into the Kawarthas.
It's not a busy lake, no wall-to-wall docks, no wake coming at you from every direction. The water is clean, the traffic is light, and it feels like you've actually gone somewhere, even though Toronto is under 2.5 hours away.
The Point
Most waterfront properties sit on a single edge of the lake. Meer Cottage sits on a point, water on three sides instead of one. The 170 feet of shoreline faces northwest, right into the evening sun. On a clear night, the sunset from the dock is the kind of thing you take a hundred photos of and still somehow don't get.
Getting Here
Meer Cottage is roughly 2.5 hours from Toronto and about 3 hours from Ottawa. Far enough to feel like you've actually left, close enough that a weekend doesn't feel like an expedition.
Nearest town: Coe Hill, about 15 minutes away. Home to The Monarch and The Milkweed and The Barn Chefs, but no real grocery store, just a small gas station and convenience stop. For an actual grocery run, Apsley is worth the extra few minutes: a proper grocery store with good prices and fresh produce, though it closes around 6pm. Best bet is to bring up what you need and treat Coe Hill as the backup if you forget something. Bancroft is another 20 minutes past Coe Hill and has the LCBO, a brewery, a golf course, and more.
Getting around: You'll want a car. Once you're at the cottage, you won't need to go anywhere.
Whats Nearby
In Coe Hill Stop at The Barn Chefs on the way in, an Italian deli run by a chef couple with handmade charcuterie, fresh pasta, and buffalo milk cheese. Wood-oven pizza on Saturdays (call ahead). The Monarch and The Milkweed is the café in town for breakfast and a coffee before a day on the water.
Day trips The Gut Conservation Area is about a 20-minute drive, a gorge with a waterfall and 30-metre cliffs and a good hiking trail through the forest beside the Crowe River. Silent Lake Provincial Park is around 35 km away for a longer day of hiking or canoeing.
Egan Chutes Provincial Park, near Bancroft, is another good waterfall hike, forested trails along the York River with a few lookout points worth stopping for. High Falls via the Eels Creek Trail, closer to Apsley, is one of the more popular hikes around: Canadian Shield rock, river views, and a proper waterfall at the end of it.
Eagles Nest Lookout is worth the short drive for the view.
We've mapped our favourites, this and a few more, link above.