Loralea Country Inn Resort in Haliburton Offers Relaxation

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Sunset on Hall's Lake, Ontario
Sunset on Hall's Lake

By Lori Bosworth

Getting away for a cottage vacation has become an essential on my to-do list each summer. The Haliburton area offers a stunning drive north on Hwy 35, as well as pine-swept shores, tranquil surroundings and warm lakes. I recently spent a week at Loralea Country Inn Resort at Cottage 7 on Halls Lake.

Cottage 7 at Loralea Country Inn Resort
Cottage 7 at Loralea Country Inn Resort

Loralea Country Inn Resort is right off of Hwy 35 and features two cottages and five cabins for weekly or weekend rentals. Cottage 7, which is $1,050 per week plus tax during the summer season, is located so close to the lake that you can throw a stone from the kitchen window and it would land in the water.

View of Halls Lake from Cottage 7 at Loralea Country Inn Resort
View of Halls Lake from Cottage 7

The cottage has two bedrooms, a kitchen, a four-piece bathroom, barbeque, enclosed picnic table and firepit. Free Wi-Fi is available, as well as a flat screen TV (local channel only) with VCR and DVD. You can pick up free DVDs for those thunder storm evenings from the Loralea Country Inn Resort office.

Interior of Cottage 7 at Loralea Country Inn Resort in Haliburton
Interior of Cottage 7 at Loralea Country Inn Resort

Cottage 7 also has its own private dock for enjoying your morning coffee, sunbathing, fishing, yoga poses, contemplating life or watching the water skiers, tubers, loons and ducks splash by.

Private dock for Cottage 7 at Loralea Country Inn Resort
Private dock for Cottage 7 at Loralea Country Inn Resort

If you’re a bird watcher, you’ll see many bird species at Halls Lake. This crane landed on our dock twice while we were there. We also saw woodpeckers pecking at a huge oak tree, hummingbirds stopping by the hostas beside the cottage, as well as blue jays and loons.

Blue Heron on the dock at Loralea Country Inn Resort
Blue Heron on the dock at Loralea Country Inn Resort

The sand beach is 50 feet left of Cottage 7: so close that it felt like our own private beach. The bottom of the lake is sandy and the water drops off gradually so it’s quite suitable for young children. There are free canoe and pedal boats that you can take out on Halls Lake.

Sand beach at Lorealea Country Inn Resort
Sand beach at Lorealea Country Inn Resort

Or you can just relax on the grounds with a good book.

Grounds at Loralea Country Inn Resort
Grounds at Loralea Country Inn Resort

The sun blasts through the windows in the morning at Cottage 7 and you also get a lot of sun in the early afternoon on the southern side of the cottage. Halls Lake is a good-sized, sandy bottom lake, with no weeds and deep sections for fishing for lake trout and small mouth bass. The other cottages and cabins at Loralea Country Inn Resort are located much further back from Cottage 7. Cabin 6 is the next closest to the lake while the other cottages and cabins are further up the hill.

Carnarvon is about 10 minutes south where you can pick up food basics while the larger Town of Minden is 20 minutes south for full grocery shopping, dining and other errands. Bonus: There is a chip shop right beside Loralea Country Inn Resort where you can purchase Kawartha Dairy Ice Cream.

Sunset on Hall's Lake, Ontario
Sunset on Hall’s Lake

With such close access to the lake and unobtrusive hosting by the owners, Bill and Heather, Loralea Country Inn Resort is a cottage resort I would definitely return to for a tranquil Ontario summer vacation.

Loralea Country Inn Resort, Halls Lake 17560, Hwy 35, Algonquin Highlands, 1-800-461-6557