We just spent a fantastic week at Mindemoya Court Cottages. It was our first trip to Manitoulin, and had no idea where to stay. I picked them from the website, and from the fact that Mindemoya seemed really central. Turned out to be a great pick!

We drove up the Bruce Peninsula and took the ferry over. The Resort is about a 40(?) minute drive from South Baymouth, not bad at all. The resort has a row of cottages that back onto the woods and front onto a huge field that has a small playground, a sandbox, a baseball diamond, as well as a bonfire area and a BBQ patio. This would be a great place to stay if a couple of families with kids came up, as the parents can all hang out together in front of the cottages and watch the kids tear around.

We picked one of the 2 waterfront units, which are more secluded. They're right on Mindemoya lake, and face West, so we got fantastic sunsets every night! Ours had a screened in porch, and a main room with a sitting area, a table & chairs, and a fully-stocked kitchen with a fridge, stove, sink, coffee maker, plates, cups, cutlery, etc. We did have to scoot out and get a wine opener, though. The cabin had 2 bedrooms (with bedding) and a bathroom with a shower. The decor is simple. Dated furnishings, older linoleum, but heck, you're at a cottage. It was perfect for what we were looking for. The main thing was that it was all CLEAN. Spotless.

The owners had told us to bring:
-towels, including tea towels and hand towels, wash cloths
-non-stick pans if we didn't want to use theirs (theirs are cast iron)
-toilet paper
-a personal BBQ to cook outside the cabins
We also brought paper towels, dishcloths, dish sponge, garbage bags

We also brought up a whackload of food, which wasn't necessary as there's a big chain grocery store (including a drugstore and a liquor store) not 5 minutes away. The prices weren't more expensive than at home, either.

The owners are very sweet, and organize little social events so the guests can get to know one another. There's a potluck BBQ, a softball game, and a bonfire night. Great things for the kids to attend for sure! Everyone we met was a repeat customer (one guy had been coming since he was a little boy in the 60's).

They also have bikes you can borrow, which my 8yo loved. He and a pack of young kids tore around for hours on the bikes. There are also boats that people were taking out, but as we aren't fishers we didn't bother. I don't know if there was a fee associated with taking the boats out.

Bugs: my first trip to Northern Ontario, and I was ready for bugs. Miraculously, there were none! No black flies, and maybe one or two mosquitos at the bonfire night. I don't know if it was a fluke or because of the location, but we were pleasantly surprised. OH...except we happened to be there for the one night when the the shadflies/fish flies/junebugs/whatever you want to call them came out to mate. But they don't bite, and it was kind of cool to see.

Weather: Bring sweatshirts and jeans, as it does cool down at night there.
On rainy days (boo, we had a couple) there's a small pioneer museum down the road, and we discovered that the Shell station rents dvd's, which we put on the portable dvd player for the kids.
The sunny days are amazing! Make sure to go to the beach at Providence Bay, the waterfall at Kagawong, and definitely go horsebackriding at the Kicking Mule Ranch.

Rates: competitive with the Manitoulin area, and cheap cheap cheap compared to other parts of Ontario! For 7 nights, including tax, it costs just over 700$.

All in all, we had a great stay, and will definitely go back. Next time we'll bring some other families, too.