Twelve rooms fill the main lodge. Beside it stands a three-bedroom cabin that sleeps six, with a full kitchen, a living room and a fire pit in a backyard of its own, and the barbecue and propane are supplied. Anyone comparing Northern Ontario lakefront cabins tends to find that the kitchen matters more than expected, since a week of restaurant meals adds up faster than most families can budget for. Six serviced waterfront lots take trailers. Four unserviced sites sit higher up on the hill. One fifth-wheel trailer is rented out to couples, and bedding and cooking utensils are included.

"Families usually cook one night and eat with us the next," a spokesperson for the lodge said. "The cabin has what anyone needs to put supper together, and the dining room is a short walk away on the evenings when nobody feels like starting. Having both sitting on the one property is what brings groups back to us year after year."

Snowmobilers and ATV riders reach the groomed network straight off the property, roughly 95 miles of it, running through a country that holds more than a thousand lakes. Cots can be added to the cabin when a group runs larger. The bar keeps pool tables and big-screen televisions. Campsites share a bathroom and shower block. Firewood is sold on site for a small charge.

Only one cabin sits on this property, so summer weeks fill up early. Travellers set on a particular date tend to plan it months in advance rather than weeks. Autumn and winter leave far more room, and the trails around the lake are at their best once the snow has properly set in.

About Dunlop Lake Lodge

Dunlop Lake Lodge is an all-season property on Dunlop Lake near Elliot Lake, Ontario. It has twelve lodge rooms, a three-bedroom cabin, serviced and unserviced trailer sites, ice-fishing cabins, and it rents boats, kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards. As a Northern Ontario wilderness retreat, it also runs a restaurant and bar and hosts weddings, reunions and group events. For more information, visit https://www.dunloplakelodge.net.