When we started planning the 2019 Summer Bucket List I asked my husband, Mike, if there was anything new he’d like to tackle this summer and he suggested Glamping.
So I broke out my trusty Google and looking up Glamping near Ottawa. I found some pretty pricey high-end resorts with multiple tents on location but we love privacy and space for our pups to roam without having to worry about them. So that’s when I turned to Google and I’m pretty good at finding exactly what I’m looking for on Airbnb. The place we found really didn’t have the best pictures on the listing but I trusted my gut and it was far better than we expected.
Over the weekend, as I was sharing pictures of this place on IG, the questions started coming in asking where this place is. I joked about not wanting to share this place so it doesn’t become too popular. So I promise to share the link ONLY if you don’t go and book this place up solid and we can never find a weekend to go back… Deal? Deal.
The glamping location is near Perth, Ontario in Lanark country about an hour drive outside of Ottawa. This glamping spot comes complete with an outdoor kitchen, outdoor shower, and an outhouse. You have the privacy of an island to yourself. While the river surrounding it is pretty shallow, our dogs could explore to their heart’s content and we managed to keep them contained to the island quite easily.
We were there in the middle of a heatwave. It was around 40 C / 104 F so pretty humid for us. We stayed cool by napping in the shade, the outdoor shower or the swimming hole right beside the island.
Meals for the weekend consisted of leftovers and tried and true camping recipes.
Friday Night Dinner: Leftover Chicken Burgers, Brown Rice Pasta & a “Cream” Sauce made of Nutritional Yeast & Coconut Milk
Saturday & Sunday Breakfasts: Pancakes
Saturday Lunch: Leftover Spaghetti Squash & Liver Faux-mato Bolognese Sauce and Saturday Dinner: Buddha Bowls
We had wifi the whole weekend so I was able to work on my Autoimmune Thriving Program launching this August. Mike listened to audiobooks and I curled up to read Jen Cincero’s new book “You Are a Badass Everyday” which isn’t really a read the book in one sit down as it’s more of a daily devotional or daily spiritual gym set up instead so I’ll be adding this to the pile of reading material by my morning meditation cushion.
The sunrises and sunsets were simply divine.
And finally, our adventures wouldn’t be complete without a tidbit of information on how we used essential oils to stay comfy. Here are some staples for camping (glamping) trips. I brought TerraShield for the bugs, OnGuard Sanitizing mist to use after trips to the outhouse and Lavender for bug bites.
If you end up booking this place let us know how much you fell in love with it! Happy Glamping!
4 lakes, 3 portages, 5 moose, baby geese herds, mosquitoes, thunderstorms, sun, blue skies, and serene lakes. This is a recipe for a perfect (& not so perfect) easy 3-day canoe trip in Algonquin Park.
This will be my fourth trip with my husband in Algonquin Park and my fifth trip as an adult. I spent my summers at Tanamakoon and canoe tripping as a kid so this place is so special to me. My husband and I wanted a fairly easy trip this year. So I kept the trip to a 3 portage minimum (all were fairly short). We actually could have skipped one because the water was so high).
We started out on Saturday. I had pre-paid for our canoes, a lifejacket for me and a paddle for my husband. This allowed us to set out fairly quickly from the Portage Store around noon. After the first portage from Canoe Lake to Joe Lake, we were making good time. We were slightly rushing to ensure we got a good campsite on Burnt Island Lake. As we canoed past Arrowhon Pines Lodge on Joe Lake a canoe coming the other way let us know there was 2 male moose up ahead. We could see canoes veering off to the left and then veering off to the right so we knew where they were.
As we turned to head to the next portage, goosebumps erupted on my arm as a mom and baby came trotting out of the woods to feed. We stayed clear as to not upset mom but wow that was a first for both Mike and I. I’ve seen Moose on canoe trips before but never a mom and pup!
The Route
So from Canoe Lake to Joe Lake, to Baby Joe Lake, to Burnt Island Lake was the route. The route about 15km there and back so a decent 3.5 – 4-hour paddle. We decided not to switch lakes and just stay put for 2 nights. The first campsite we got on Burnt Island Lake was visually nice but with no cross breeze, the bugs were pretty bad.
The First Campsite
We set up camp and made lunch while swatting mosquitoes. I pulled the Honey Lime Chicken and the Mushroom Risotto bags out of the food barrel because I was starving but it was way too much food. So I sealed up the Risotto and just heated it up the next day for lunch.
We were getting a little stir crazy in the tent, so I stripped down naked to attempt skinny dipping but the water was way too cold for me so we piled back in the canoe to hang out on the water. As we watched thunderstorms roll by at a distance we eventually headed in when it looked like they were headed our way. We packed down for the night and as the rain started piled into the tent for the evening. It was around 8:30 pm when the rain and thrunder started so we just went to bed.
The Second Campsite
The next morning we packed up and found another campsite on the other side of the lake on a bit of point with a breeze running through it. A recipe for less bugs!
We set up camp mid-morning and I made us some apple cider to sip on while enjoying the breeze and fewer bugs. Mike set up our Hammocks which we struggled to relax in. Every time we climbed in, Rogue would get so upset that we were leaving her and jump up and bark so we took turns enjoying the hammock and entertaining our needy daughter lol.
We had a great 3-hour nap on Sunday and then I made us Chicken Pad Thai for dinner. Sleeping in the tent this year was pretty hilarious. Rogue likes to sleep in between us, so we brought an extra sleeping pad and a flannel blanket for her but she kept trying to sleep on our sleeping bags. We’ll probably spoil her next canoe trip and get her a dog sleeping bag. And yes they do exist.
This was the best meal by far of the whole trip. I had it for a lunch on the last trip and liked it. This time I added Chicken to the Pad Thai bag and measured out the water required for both bags and
just dumped it into the one bag. The key tip, is to actually let it sit for 20 mins after dumping in the hot water, stir, let it sit a little longer and then enjoy. It comes with a small bag of peanuts to sprinkle on top!
The sunset was absolutely perfect from our new campsite and we even got an amazing sunrise as well. While we were sad we weren’t able to snag our campsite from 2 years ago. This one definitely made up for it. And while the bugs were pretty bad, we made the most of it, including constantly swatting them off Rogue.
I had planned to make pancakes for breakfast on Monday. However, I didn’t feel like starting a fire (it’s hard to cook pancakes on the camp stoves because they are so hot). So we opted for oatmeal and really good coffee. For Christmas, I got Mike a new Espresso maker from MEC and we were able to put it to good use on the trip. Including our camp mugs from my friend’s company Crow Foot Media.
Pack In, Pack Out Rule
The rule for any camping trip is always pack out what you pack in. As we headed back to civilization on Monday we picked up any trash we could find on our campsite (that had been left by previous campers). I even grabbed garbage from a few portages threw it in our trash bag. Ontario Parks gives you a yellow trash bag so you don’t leave anything behind. We’ve definitely filled it before on other trips. This year we left with only half a bag. That felt like a nice accomplishment.
Oh, and the 5th moose (antlerless) was seen in the exact same spot we saw the other 4 (so it may have been the same mom) on the last day as we were leaving the park. But all in all, that’s the most moose I’ve ever seen in my life which made it an amazing trip. I almost forgot the geese herds. There was 3 on the last day. Babies flanked by 2 adult geese just crossing in front of our path.
And the best part of my trip… get ready for the cheese… was definitely spending quality time with our pup and my husband 😉
I started making seasonal bucket lists in 2013 after being single for the first time in 4 years. I wanted to learn how to find myself again, do things that I enjoyed and push myself out of my comfort zones. Throughout the years the lists have been amazing for doing things with friends, on my own, on dates or with my now husband!
This year I divided up into things I love and new things I’d like to try!
Former Loves
After buying a stand-up paddleboard a few years ago, I love making sure I get out on the water every summer on the board. And now that Rogue loves it we usually bring it with us for weekend adventures near water.
We had an amazing 3-day canoe trip to Algonquin Park 2 years ago. I re-booked a campsite on Burnt Island Lake this year. I want to try and snag the last campsite we were on.
We usually only go up to Mike’s family’s cottage for the May long weekend and for Thanksgiving. I think we’ll head up for another long weekend this summer to hopefully get amazing weather.
Of course, I want to fit in some golf and more road biking…
After upgrading our backyard patio and getting this firepit, we plan on spending as many nice evenings out in the back as we can!
And while we’ve enjoyed outdoor drive-in movie’s before I found a cool Ottawa event called Capital Pop Up Cinema so we’ll try this out this year.
Trying Something New
And for new things, this year… Mike actually asked if we could go glamping. So we’ve booked a tent I found on AirBnB. If it’s amazing I’ll do a recap post later in July.
Other than that, we want to go visit the Bonnechere Caves a short drive from Ottawa.
I really wanted a slow shutter sparkler photo at our wedding but now I can set up a photoshoot just to get a picture of sparklers spelling out my name 🙂
I’m going to need to stay up late to catch a firefly, go night swimming and I’ve booked a girl’s weekend to swim under the covered bridge in Wakefield.
Last but not least, Mike and I want to do some outdoor rock climbing. Thankfully, he has all the equipment and I’m comfortable top rope climbing so we’ll scout out a few places early on a weekend morning.
I am absolutely in love with our winter bucket list and equally in love with our amazing, relaxing weekend in the woods.
I somehow came across the Raven House Getaway Cabin on Instagram and after messing them to see if they would accept 2 dogs, it was a go and I booked a weekend in March.
We drove up after work on Friday and arrived just as the sun was going down. We heated up some leftover meals from the week, started a fire in the wood stove and settled in. I had brought a few books and Mike had an audiobook playing and the pups paced trying to figure out their new surroundings.
Tired from the week, we turned in early, knowing we’d be up with the sun (due to all the windows in the loft bedroom). We woke up to pure bliss, perfect morning light and after re-starting the fire in the stove, letting the dogs out to relieve themselves, I made coffee and started the day.
We went to Natural Food Pantry on our way out of town after running out of coffee last week. The only bag of coffee that was ground was a bag of expensive Bulletproof Coffee but without knowing if there was a grinder there we grabbed it. Ps. There is totally a grinder and we could’ve gotten any bag. LOL. I sipped on my coffee, while watching the squirrels taunt our pups.
We finally let the dogs out on the porch so they could try and catch the squirrels, and read some more. I did some business planning & dreaming in the loft bed.
We got a bit of cabin fever so we went for a walk to get firewood which was piled up near where we had parked the truck and let the dogs wander.
Please notice the fur missile flying past us!
Also, not sponsored but if you need a winter toque, I’m wearing Anupaya. A locally owned company that believes we are responsible for protecting and preserving our wild spaces. A company and mission I can get behind.
Also not sponsored but I legit lived in my Roots onesie all weekend and loved it. I definitely need more do nothing weekends booked into our schedule. Stat.
For those asking about renting the cabin, it was easy to do over airbnb. If you’ve never roughed it before be forewarned that there is no running water, you’ll use a compost toilet (with cedar chips, which makes it smell amazing), there is no electricity or fridge (you’ll use an ice box) and spotty cell service although we both had full bars.
For us this is simply divine and glam compared to winter camping but I thought I’d mention it for those who are used to more cottage comforts.
We already have plans in January or March (depending on how the winter is – we need a frozen lake) to go up to our friends cottage. We’re going to knock off ice fishing, snowmobiling and build a quincie in that weekend so that’ll give us a great start. I’m sure we’ll manage a few others but I love having a plan set up even before I posted the list to the blog.
I’ve been searching for unique AirBnBs in the Ottawa area or within a 1 – 2 drive of the city to find a really unique cabin for Mike and I and then we’ll also get in Winter Camping as well cause that’s been our thing since the begining.
