New in 2009 ...

Our Resort on the shores of peaceful Purdy Lake in the Algonquin Highlands
Only 6 cottages on 20+ acres with over 1,500 ft of water frontage

• Peaceful and largely undeveloped - motor boats are allowed on the lake; but, there are not that many and we do our bit to minimize noise pollution by only supplying motor less water craft
• Island in the centre - it is small, picturesque and uninhabited by humans. Many people go over to it with one of our watercraft and do a bit of exploring - if you do so, please don't start a fire or disturb the nest of the loons which is along the shore
• Very clean water - we have lake trout (and bass and walleye) which we understand signifies that the lake is very clean
• Quite deep in places
• Good fishing - more than a few big ones plus the kids love to catch bass right off the docks
• Relatively small - about 1 km by 1 km (ignoring bays); but, plenty large enough when you are paddling, canoeing or pedaling around it

Our cottages
• Cleanliness a key priority
• Only 6 cottages - 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms
• 4 luxury cottages are open year round
• 2 superior cottages open May to Oct
• Chalet is pet friendly year round
• Maples & Sunset - pet friendly Oct to May; pet free May to Oct
• Shangri La, Island View & High Noon are pet free at all times
• WI-FI (no extra charge)
• Fireplaces, ceiling fans, air conditioners, electric heaters, furnace for your comfort
• At no extra charge: Bottled drinking water, BarBQ with propane, towels (bring your own beach towels), linens & bedding, kitchen & dining utensils, your own fire pit, laundry facilities, etc.

• On the quieter south eastern side of world famous, 7,000 sq km. Algonquin Park - we highly recommend a visit to the park when you are staying with us (best time to see moose is in May and early June)
• 50 km from the closest stoplight
• In the municipality of Hastings Highlands which has a human population of only 4,000 for its area of 1,500 sq km
• In the hamlet (blink and you will miss it) of Purdy between Bancroft (46 km away) and Barry's Bay (25 km away)
• Directly off of County Rd 62 which is kept in pretty good shape year round
• About 2.5 hrs driving time from Ottawa
• 3.0 to 3.5 hrs driving time from Toronto
• Remote; but, still close enough for a short getaway year round
• About 7 km from Combermere - a very small town; but, with a country general store (great ice cream) and several restaurants
• About 25 km from Barry's Bay where there are more extensive shopping possibilities (i.e. supermarkets, LCBO, Brewers Retail), & services - i.e. a hospital (similar stores & facilities in slightly bigger Bancroft)

For the history buffs

County Road 62 which runs beside the property actually follows the route of the Petersen colonization road which the government built in 1858 - 1863 to open up the southern region of the Precambrian Shield. The road ran for 114 miles and was built at a cost of $39,000. Settlers came to take advantage of the free land grants; but, much of the land was of poor quality (as evidenced by the number of rock fences) and thus most of the cleared fields are once again part of the forests.

At about the time of the building of the Petersen Road, Pat's Irish ancestors settled on Hickey's Hill along the Hastings Road (currently the highway between Bancroft and Maynooth (originally Doyle's Corners) - the side road is now called Hickey Road.

While about the same time, Fran's ancestors (Skebo and Peplinski) settled in the Wilno area along the Opeongo Road. Wilno (on the Ottawa side of Barrys Bay) was the first Polish settlement in Canada and in the surrounding area you can still see some of the crossroad crosses where the settlers gathered for Sunday services as in the early days the closest church was just too far away.

Polish is still spoken in the area and the still strong connection to Poland is still very evident if you take the old Barr'ys Road through Kaszuby to Barrys Bay. If you do take this drive, take a few moments to visit Crooked Slide Park which commemorates the days when lumbering was so important to the area. At that time, the rivers were used for transporting the logs and the slides were built to get the logs by the rapids.

• Polish settlers - Kashub Day - held in Wilno on the first Saturday in May
• Irish Settlers - Celtic Festival - held in Maynooth - in 2010, on May 1st
• Irish settlers - St Brigid's Eve dinner & dance - in Maynooth - in 2010, January 30th
• Loggers - Hastings Highlands Loggers Games which are part of the Maynooth Madness weekend - every labour Day weekend
• Miners - Bancroft's Rockhound Gemboree & Stone Carver's Show - in 2009, July 30 to Aug 2.