More Snow!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Two days ago, we received 20 cm of snow - our kids were VERY happy when their school bus was cancelled! Today, we are getting at least another 15 cm of snow! It started around 9:00am and hasn't stopped yet. Here are a few pictures taken from our office around 12:30 this afternoon. For those of you who visit in non-snow months, you'll recognize the steps down to our office in the first photo. In the winter, we don't even try to keep the snow shovelled there, instead guests are invited to the "family" entrance at the side door.

Here's the view from our office window looking out toward Lake of Bays. We're SO lucky! Not exactly canoe weather, however... :-)

Snowmobile Trail 77 is OPEN!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

We've been informed that snowmobile trail #77 in Dwight is now open - hurray!! The extra snow we had this week has allowed the local clubs to get the trails ready. Machines have already been running on Dwight Bay. From the reports that we have received, there are only very small sections of trail 77 that are being worked on to cover any bare spots that have appeared.

Don't forget to check out the RAP tour around Algonquin Park!

Happy Sledding!

January 14th

Saturday, January 14, 2012

A lovely, cold day! The huts are starting to appear on Dwight Bay.

Dwight Bay - Ice!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

It's finally happening! Dwight Bay is starting to freeze over. I took this photo today - beautiful sunny, VERY cold day!

Skating at Arrowhead Provincial Park

Monday, January 2, 2012

Ok - this is SO cool! Arrowhead Provincial Park has flooded a portion of their campground roadway to make it into a skating rink!! What a great idea and how much fun would this be with your family!!!! Here's what you need to know - buy a vehicle day pass for $14.00 and skate as much as you want. They also rent skates on site if you don't own your own. You could also switch it up and go cross country skiing, and when you're tired of that, exchange your skis for snowshoes and try that out at no additional cost. If that's not enough, there's a fun tubing hill that our kid's really like to bomb down! All for $14.00 per carload of people! Must be one of the best deals in this entire area!

Hello 2012!! Happy 65th Anniversary!!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Welcome to the New Year! We are very excited to announce that Logging Chain Lodge is celebrating 65 years of welcoming visitors to our resort and introducing them to our great area - Muskoka!

We are always asked about the history of our resort - which actually started around 1907 when the Newton family purchased the land and built the first brick building in the area. Quite a feat, actually, since all of the materials were brought by boat. Unfortunately, the building burnt down shortly thereafter (there was no fire department to be heard of and to this day, we still have only volunteer fire fighters servicing our area). The current brick building (where the office is located) was then built.

In a very bold move for the day, Louise Tapley purchased this property at auction from the Newton family - that was 1947, right after WW2 and at a time when women were not particularly encouraged to buy their own land or, heaven forbid (!) start a business. Mrs. Tapley turned the home into a bed and breakfast style Lodge, where guests did their own cooking in a summer kitchen (where our greeting room and office currently are located). It was a very popular business and rooms rented for $35.00 per couple for A WEEK! Imagine that! The property also featured a fabulous beach - now known as Dwight Beach. Guests enjoyed fishing off the docks, canoeing and swimming. A bitter note to this tale is that the Township expropriated the entire beach from the resort about 25 years ago - to turn it into a public beach area. The manner in which this was done was very disappointing, to say the least. We'll leave it at that... When you come to the beach now, you will enjoy the beautiful large trees that provide shade - they were planted in the 1950's by Mrs. Tapley's husband.

The only thing the business didn't have was a proper name. At the time, a lot of logging was taking place in the Algonquin and Muskoka region (that story will be told at a later date). Mrs. Tapley noticed a large tree at the lake side of our home splitting - she didn't want to lose it so she had a large logging chain secured around the trunk to hold it together. There you have it - Logging Chain Lodge. That very same chain hangs over our entrance door.

A few years passed and Mrs. Tapley's business grew, to the point where she had our first two cottages built ("A" and "B"). Then, as demand again increased, two more cottages were built to meet the demand ("C" and "D"). The cottages were very cozy, with potbelly stoves used for heating and curtains used for interior doors.

In 1959, Mrs. Tapley's son, Reilley, purchased the Lodge from his mom, running it as a seasonal summer business. The Muskoka region really started to boom! The tourist season lengthened and the demand for 4 season lodging increased. By 1964, Reilley decided it was time to move his family to Dwight to live and work here full time. Within the next 15 years, "E" cottage and the two storey Duplex cottage were added to the accommodation business.

Reilley ran Logging Chain Lodge until he retired (with great relief we believe!) in 2002, when his son Ross and his wife Annmarie took over the business. The business has become modernized with satellite TV and Wireless internet, on-line reservations and summer activity programs.

We are asked frequently about how guests have changed over the years. In the beginning, guests (who were mainly men) were here simply to enjoy nature and "time away" with perhaps a walk in Algonquin Park (when such things became organized in "trail systems") or simply coming to fish or hunt in the area. Families then began to appear - starting a tradition of "getting back to nature", again with simple pleasures like days at the beach or visiting with cottage neighbours. The past 10 years has seen an entire shift in how guests spend their time here. TV's were first introduced around 2004, as guests chose to stay elsewhere if there was a "big game" on or a TV program that they just couldn't miss. This was quite a controversial move when we put TVs in the cottages - guests who had been coming for years were VERY upset!!! They didn't want the distraction. However, it came down to a business decision - lose business, or put the TVs into the cottages and guests could choose whether or not they would watch them. TVs won - followed shortly thereafter by wireless internet. Guests now also request more acitivities as options for entertainment which led to the creation of a summer activity program which includes archery nights, campfire nights, Kid's crafts, etc. We've also added canoes and kayaks to allow guests to enjoy some quiet time on the water - the one thing we will not do is introduce motorized boats. We still value quiet!!

Logging Chain Lodge again expanded its business last winter when we started to rent heated Ice Fishing Huts after receiving so many phone calls asking if we had them! The word is getting around and we are increasing the number of our ice fishing huts this year on Dwight Bay just to meet demand.

As you can see, in 65 years, business and guest needs have changed dramatically. From the start as a summer only business to now being a full four season resort, Logging Chain Lodge has been providing visitors to Muskoka with a unique getaway option - be busy with activities or take time to unwind, the choice remains in the hands of our guests!

Thank you to all of our guests over the years!! We value your visits, and for providing us with the opportunity to provide your family with a warm and welcoming visit to Muskoka!