Our cottages and cabins are available for rent by the week, to one group or family at a time, from June 15 through September 15.
There are a few rules on our private island (such as, no smoking), but we will depend on your own good judgement to keep the island whole for the rest of us, for those to come, and for their children's children.
The sand bottom slopes off from our beach so gradually that the smallest child would be safe toddling about there as you build sand castles or play volley ball in the shallows..
Rates and Facilities
Main camp: sleeps family of 5 in upstairs dorm. Large living room with fireplace, kitchen, dining area and full front screened porch overlooking lake where some like to bed down. Composting toilet on north porch. Flush toilet and bath house are outside: $1,500
Smaller camp: has screened sleeping-porch, bed/sitting room, bathroom with tile shower, and kitchen with dining area. Sleeps three: Two in double bed, the third on a cot, out on the porch overlooking beach: $1,000
Both cottages and one sleeping cabin (one of your hosts may be in the other) : $3,000 for the week.
Payment of 1/2 of rental fee is required to make a reservation, with no refund after June 1. Final payment due 2 weeks before rental date.
Ordinarily you will be sharing the island with one or more of us pet friendly family members, and a people friendly dog or two, who will reside in the other cottage and will be happy to give you some guidance and assistance. Otherwise, there will be no one else here but you and yours. This is a family place, rather than a party spot. We do not have parking for large groups. Ten of you is more than enough, even if two of you are only small dogs.
You can drive to within fifty yards of our beach and walk across it to the island. We have swimming and sunning rafts, plus a dock for small boats in the sheltered bay behind our beach. We are not well adapted to large power boats, and not particularly friendly to jet boats, but you can bring your own small water craft, or we can usually let you use a canoe or row boat. We have a small boat dock you can use but you can't use our boat house, because the beavers have built a lodge in it and we have given it over to them. You will see them in the mornings and evenings.
Bonaparte is a clear, sweet-water lake undamaged by the acid rain (which falls mainly on the other side of the Adirondack Mountains) and there are plenty of fish here. Trout and Salmon are deep during warm weather, but in Summer you will see Large Mouth and Small Mouth Bass, Northern Pike, Rock Bass, Bull Head, Pumpkin Seed and Blue Gill Sun Fish, Crappie, Yellow Perch, and Bull Heads, all of whom strongly prefer single barbless hooks, as do most doctors.
We know the lake bottom from the long ago jig-line soundings of Grandfather Failing and Doc Howe, so we have some idea where the fish are.
Although David's loyalty is primarily to the fish, he could theoretically direct our guests to certian Bonaparte (and Oswegathie) fish haunts..... in case you want to join the fishes.
No smoking here except in the fireplace, no fireworks at all.. No air conditioning: don't need it.
Big breeze, broad view through tall trees. Eagle, Osprey, Vulture, Grouse, and Loon: all birds stop here.
Rentals by the week are:
Main camp: sleeps family of 5 in upstairs dorm. Large living room with fireplace, kitchen, dining area and full front screened porch overlooking lake where some like to bed down. Composting toilet on north porch. Flush toilet and bath house are outside: $1,500
Smaller camp: has screened sleeping-porch, bed/sitting room, bathroom with tile shower, and kitchen with dining area. Sleeps three: Two in double bed, the third on a cot, out on the porch overlooking beach: $1,000
Both cottages and one sleeping cabin (one of your hosts may be in the other) : $2,000 for the week.
Payment of 1/2 of rental fee is required to make a reservation ,with no refund after June 1. Final payment due 2 weeks before rental date.
There is an availavility calendar for Loon Island at the bottom of our page on CyberRentals / HomeAway website : http://www.cyberrentals.com/rental/p126263
There is ordinarily nothing much for you to do here on Loon Island.
We have sand, water, rocks and trees, birds and beasts , books and maps, plus a lot of world war II era National Geographics... but if you really want something to do, you should probably bring it with you or go somewhere else.
Dogs do not find this to be a problem, and we welcome their kind.
Way to the Island
The paths that lead to and wander the island are scenic but rough and rocky, as is any woods path in the Adirondacks, so we are not wheel-chair acessable and the way is not safe for unassisted infirm people, or for any dark-of -night guest arrivals. In Saturday before seven p.m. and after three , except by arrangement; out Sunday before seven p.m. When you have reserved some time on the island, we will send you detailed instructions for finding your way to us.