This large, attractive cottage is on a scenic Vermont lake, surrounded by some of Vermont's most beautiful countryside and interesting communities. In the summer, it's a lovely spot for fishing, swimming, and canoeing. The lake frontage is across a quiet country road from the cottage, and is shared with our nearby other cottage (see Fletcher Cottage # 3).

Our private lake frontage is adjacent to a small public swimming area. The water is shallow for a fairly long distance from shore, so it is a safe swimming area for young children under adult supervision. It's also a good spot for launching a small boat. We provide a canoe, rowboat, kayak, and paddleboat for use by you and by those in our neighboring cottage. If you've got a small boat of your own, feel free to bring it along.

In the winter, the cottage is a great home base for the East's best skiing, with huge savings in exchange for a driving a short distance to the slopes. The cottage is only 13 miles from Smugglers Notch, widely regarded as one of the finest ski areas anywhere, both for skiing enthusiasts and for families. This is a way to get outstanding lodging for your ski trip for a fraction of what you would pay right at the resort. Or, if you prefer, try ice fishing or skating on the lake.

Extras available at this cottage include:

At any time of the year, the cottage is an ideal place for a relaxing retreat, a peaceful spot with space to sleep as many as six-to-eight people.

Smugglers Notch, in addition to its reputation for skiing, is becoming a four-season resort area. Horseback riding is available at a nearby stable. You can tour the local winery or corn maze in nearby Cambridge. Many of Vermont's other well-known attractions, ranging from the Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury to the cultural attractions of the Burlington area are within an hour's drive. Montreal is close enough to make it a convenient day-trip.

Generally, we prefer to rent the cottage on a weekly basis — Saturday afternoon until the next Saturday morning — especially during peak summer months. However, at other times of year, including the ski season, we often make it available for shorter periods, such as three-day weekends, or for "weeks" that begin midweek.

Would you like to be notified if any specific date opens up because of a cancellation? Please e-mail us with your request.

Dates marked in red are not available at this time.

The cottage blends old and new styles, combining rustic charm with modern convenience. The "tower bedroom" on the second floor has a queen-sized bed, plenty of closet space and a sliding-glass door to an outdoor balcony. The knotty-pine paneling gives it a warm cozy feeling.

The other second-floor bedroom, in the older portion of the cottage, has a low ceiling, so it is a logical room for children but also comfortable for adults. It has two single beds with a trundle under each. Therefore, it's a fairly spacious bedroom for two, but can sleep up to four if you/they don't mind the squeeze.

The stairway is fairly typical of a cottage that was originally designed decades ago—sturdy and with a railing, but a bit steeper and narrower than one would expect in a typical modern house.

For additional sleeping space, the downstairs family room—the "Murphy Room"—has a comfortable full-size murphy bed and also a full-size fold-down futon couch. The doorway closes with a curtain, and when the curtain is open, the room becomes an extension of the living room.

The living room is a lovely space with gas fireplace and comfortable chairs. There is a television with DVD player. Reception comes via satellite — about 50 channels, but not a lot of extra premium channels. We also have on hand miscellaneous puzzles, books, games, and DVDs. A DVD rental store is in nearby Jeffersonville. We supply a small stereo set (radio with CD player).

A full bathroom, including tub with shower, is downstairs. Laundry facilities (washer and dryer) are also located in the large downstairs bathroom. A smaller half-bath, with toilet and vanity, is upstairs.

A glassed-in porch opens out onto a deck (we refer to this as the "sun porch," although that is not quite technically accurate because it is on the north side of the cottage). The porch is unheated and not built with the intention of holding heat in winter, but it does have a wood-burning fireplace, so even in winter you may enjoy an occasional gathering around a fire. During summer, it's a pleasant place to enjoy your morning coffee, or to spend an evening protected from mosquitos. Some of our guests have found it to be a comfortable place to sleep on warm nights.

An outdoor two-person hot tub sits just in back of the house. The back yard is quite large, and features a swing set, sandbox, hammock, and badminton net

For cooking, summer guests make much use of the charcoal grill outside, but you'll also appreciate the full kitchen inside—with gas range, full-size refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, coffee maker, toaster, coffee grinder, etc. It is well-designed for cooking and serving—several of uur guests have commented that it is the perfect party kitchen.

The dining table has folding leaves, so that it can accommodate six people, yet fold down out of the way for smaller groups, or to make space during other times.

The running water comes from a deep well, so it is good to drink.

When you arrive, you'll find fresh flowers. The refrigerator is stocked with miscellaneous food items, particularly appropriate for breakfasts, including eggs, sausages, frozen waffles, and real Vermont maple syrup as well as condiments and other basics, so that you can relax upon arrival, with no pressure to stock up with groceries right away. The cottage is completely furnished, including dishes, towels, linens, etc., and you'll find the beds already made when you get here. We won't intrude on your privacy to change the sheets or make the beds during your stay, but you'll find plenty of extra linens.

A telephone is provided. The phone number is unpublished, to protect guests from unwanted calls. However, if you make reservations and want the number to give to family and friends before you leave home, we will be happy to provide it.

Pets are welcome, as long as they are kept under control by their owners. Please do not bring pets that may disturb the neighbors, either with noise or physical threats. If your pet causes damage to the property, you will be expected to assume responsibility and pay for repairs. With those caveats, this is a pet-friendly cottage in a pet-friendly neighborhood.

If you smoke, we ask that you step out onto the sun porch or deck before lighting up.

If you have Windows Media Player installed on your computer, you'll see two TV screens below with "play" buttons.

Most rentals are for a full week, at a price lower than the per-day charge. In general, we expect that rentals during the summer months and some of the other peak times of year will be by full weeks or multiples thereof. Standard prices and terms are as follows:

The prices include all utilities (gas, electricity and telephone, although we request reimbursement for long-distance calls), a plentiful supply of clean sheets and towels, and a small supply of food stocked in the refrigerator and cupboards. The only additional charge is the Vermont tax, which is 9 percent.

We request that you make every effort to be sure of your travel plans before you make a reservation. Please keep in mind that the time you reserve is made unavailable to anybody else, and we may turn away many others who are inquiring about that period. Because most people plan vacations well in advance, it is often difficult to re-rent with short notice. For that reason, the deposit is nonrefundable. The balance of the rental fee for the week will be excused if you cancel at least a month ahead of the scheduled date, or if we are able to re-rent.

Payments may be made by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover) or by cash or check. Credit card reservations may be made by phone (802-482-2988 or 1-800-310-8320) or by exchanging e-mail with us at cottage (at) upperaccess.com. If you pay by credit card (as the majority of our guests do), it is usually most convenient to provide the credit-card information by telephone, or by fax at 802-304-1005..

If you prefer to pay your $100 deposit on-line by credit card, we have set up a secure order form for that purpose. Click here for the on-line payment page. This will charge your account right away while you are on-line, so before doing so, please be sure to confirm the reservation by phone or e-mail before paying on-line.

Our credit-card gateway is designed mainly to take book orders for our home business. Therefore, it'll ask about a shipping charge; but choose the option for rentals that avoids the shipping charge. If anything gets confusing, remember that you can always make your credit-card payment by phone, at 802-482-2988, by fax at 802-304-1005, or (from most locations) toll-free at 1-800-310-8320. The phone numbers are secure land lines to our home office, and we answer during extended hours weekdays, evenings, and weekends.

We also have additional rental cottages, both in Fletcher and near our home on Lake Iroquois in Hinesburg, Vermont, a short drive from Burlington. For more information on those cottages, click here.

View of cottage in summer

Photo taken by a guest on
a calm day at our lake
front (courtesy Robert Strey)

The lake frontage includes
space to relax, and use of
a rowboat or canoe.

A longer view of our
lake frontage

Winter view: it's just
a short drive to the slopes

Outdoor hot tub for two
is available year-around

The kitchen is large
and well-equipped

Dining area opens to
kitchen

The cozy living-room area
includes a gas fireplace

Queen-size bed, in room
that opens to second-floor
balcony

Attached deck offers
space to relax, dine,
and entertain

Two twin beds, but with
trundles, there's room
for four

Living-room extension
can be curtained off
as extra bedroom

The tall cabinet at
right pulls down as a
comfortable Murphy bed

On cool days, enjoy a wood
fire on the enclosed porch

Another view of enclosed
porch

Back yard includes
play area for kids

Steve or Lisa Carlson
85 Upper Access Road
Hinesburg, VT 05461

Click to Email
800-310-8320
802-482-2988
Fax 802-304-1005