Archival
10/10 Excellent
Lucy N.
6 September 2016
Enchanting rustic retreat
This cottage rental more than lived up to its billing as a typical Massachusetts fish camp built in the 40s. The setting - at the end of a long drive - ensures tranquility. The many cottages in the camp offer simple but clean comfortable and functional lodgings. Each cottage has its unique flair. "Dick's Maggot" is a single bed cabin with minimal kitchen right on the water's edge. Very romantic. The cabin we rented, "Betty and Helen," is set back a bit from the pond. Its two bedrooms and tiny bathroom would suit a small family quite well. Since this cabin has no kitchen, it was rented to us along with another cabin, "Liliburo," that had a nice dining area, porch overlooking the pond, and full kitchen. No bathroom in "Liliburo." We lit fires two of three nights thanks to that quirky late august Massachusetts weather. Wood was provided -Thanks! As of this visit, "Betty and Helen" did not have a working fireplace but this was not an issue given the inclusion of "Liliburo"in our rental fee.
I recommend arriving before dark as the cabin nameplates are hard to read in the dark. Also, be aware: the adjacent camp "Pinewoods" offers nightly traditional dancing and singing programs which some might consider disruptive. The programs are fairly lively with stamping, fiddling, yip-ping and some limited yee-hawing. While we were there, these went on from around nine to around eleven at night. We loved it. From our vantage point ("Betty and Helen" is the closest cabin to the festivities), the off-beat (think "square dancing") accompaniment to our rural retreat was just a wonderful funky addition.
The camp is fairly close to Boston (about an hour's drive), and about an hour's drive to the middle of Cape Cod. You can tour the area from here and there is much to see. But you can also rusticate in style and comfort on the banks of long pond.