Dining and Lodging
In town
HOTELS
Carolyn Beach Motor Inn - Carolyn Beach Motor Inn has 50 rooms, all with a lake view. Guests can take in spectacular sunsets from the dining room or screened-in patio while enjoying meals that have won this establishment a place among Canada’s top 500 restaurants in ‘Where to Eat in Canada.’ Also on tap are hikes to the look-out point, swims at the private beach, kayak or canoe rentals. The hotel has a conference room and welcomes wedding receptions and bus tours. More info www.carolynbeach.ca
BED AND BREAKFASTS
Beadles Bed and Breakfast - Helen Beadle can host up to six people at her completely modernized century home, which is furnished with locally bought antiques. Right on the river, she has two rooms with queen-sized beds and one room with two twin beds. These three rooms share two bathrooms. Helen serves a full breakfast and has wireless internet service available for guests. For more information call: 705-842-2023.
Bustles and Bloomers - Linda Bellemare has fixed up this 1925 home to take you back to another era. The house is decorated with antiques and guests sleep on comfy feather-down, brass beds. Bustles and Bloomers features a ballroom with a record collection that includes albums from the 1920s, olde tyme games and a small library. Guests can even dress up in vintage costumes to have their pictures taken. Bellemare serves a full breakfast and the house is located near Main St. for easy access to Thessalon's shops and restaurants.
Prices are $75 for a single room and $95 for a double room. Includes a bottle of wine. For more information, call 705-842-3289.
North Shore Bed and Breakfast - This bed and breakfast was originally built by the town’s lumber baron at the turn of the century. Host Ruth Brenner is a former Muskoka chef. She and her husband Gerd Woelfl speak Dutch, German and English and pride themselves in offering European hospitality. Ruth is also a natural health practitioner who offers foot reflexology, aromatherapy, colon hydrotherapy and ion cleanses. The B&B also has exercise equipment, hot tub and infrared sauna on site. Pricing per night ranges from $85.00 for double occupancy and for a single is $65.00.
For more information: http://www.bbcanada.com/10782.html
HOUSE RENTALS
Chauncey Gardens - Located right on Main St., Chauncey Gardens offers a variety of rooms to rent at reasonable rates. This Victorian brick house, built in 1903 combines old fashioned charm with all of the conveniences--full kitchen, bath and laundry facilities. There is also a traditional dining room with seating for the entire family that adjoins a living room with mantle and fireplace and a sun porch in the back. The property has a full, private yard and swimming pool.
For more information: www.chaunceygardens.com
CAMPING
Thessalon has its own campground located right in town across from the beach. For more information. http://www.townthessalon.ca/lakeside.php
PineCrest Campground and Cottages - Located less than 5 km down the beach from Thessalon, PineCrest tent and trailer park has large sites and grassy areas as well as 6 housekeeping cottages. The campground, open since 1972, has been a regular stop for the Tour de Canada cycling event for 21 years. The campground has a full playground, convenience store and laundromat. There is easy access to the highway and 10 pull-through sites for trailers. The cottages are fully equipped with 2 double beds and a pull-out couch, all dishes and utensils and linens available upon request. Each has a fire ring and firewood is supplied. Pets on a leash are allowed.
Tent sites are $21/night; sites with water and electricity are $25/night; beach cottages are $430/week; cottages near beach $416/week.
For more information call Bob and Heather White at 705-842-2635.
For pictures of the park click here.
Close to town
BED AND BREAKFASTS
Goode Knight Bed and Breakfast - Hosts Keith Hoback and Paton Lodge Lindsay have a spacious 2-storey home 30 minutes up Hwy 129 from Thessalon. The B&B overlooks picturesque Jobamageeshig Lake and nearby guests can enjoy walking trails, cross-country ski trails, canoeing, snowmobile trails and horseback riding. The Goode Knight can also provide lunches and sumptuous dinners. For more information: http://users.vianet.ca/goodnite/
Mountain View Bed and Breakfast - Choose from an executive-style timber frame home, a guest house, or homey cottages overlooking Cummings Lake and Rock Candy Mountain. Mountain View is located about 35 kms from Thessalon. Enjoy a bed and breakfast or rent one of these beautiful cottages as a vacation home. Also for rent is a beach house on Big Basswood Lake, just outside of Thessalon. For more information: www.northerncottages.ca
CAMPING / COTTAGES / LODGES
Aubrey Falls Trading Post - Located an hour up Hwy 129 from Thessalon, Aubrey Falls Trading Post is a destination for those interested in hunting, fishing and snowmobiling. Housekeeping cabins are available and there is a restaurant on site. Trails start right at the trading post and gas is available for ATVs and snowmobiles. A small grocery store sells the basics along with hunting and fishing licenses.
For more information call: (705) 841-2575 or for winter reservations (705)-356-4224.
Big Basswood Lake Camp - Just outside of Thessalon, on the middle of Basswood Lake, this camp offers cottages, yearly trailer spots and a place to launch your boat.
Cottages are priced from $350-$475 and trailer-spots go for $1,200 per year.
Open from the last Saturday of April until the end of September.
For more information call: (705) 842-3802
Birch Lake Resort - Birch Lake Resort, located 8 kms up Hwy 129 and 4 kms in on Basswood Lake Rd., rents five cabins at $400 per week for family vacations. Boat and motor rentals are $100 per week. The cabins are right on the lake and are fully equipped. People bring their own food and towels. The lake provides great fishing and hiking. In the winter, skiing and snow-machine trails are nearby. For more information: www.birchlakeresort.net.
Black Creek Outfitters - This fishing and hunting lodge is located on the Mississagi Valley, one hour up Hwy 129 from Thessalon. Cabins are newly renovated and the lodge has a general store with groceries, licenses, live bait and tackle. While the lodge isn’t located on a lake, guests can drive, ATV, snowmobile or hike to many great fishing spots. More info www.vacationsincanada.com/blackcreekoutfitters/
Brownlee Lake Park - This unique campground with a licensed, fine dining restaurant is located only eight km east of Thessalon. You can rent one of its pine cottages or camp. For campers, Brownlee has a wheelchair accessible comfort station. In the summer, guests have access to special golf packages, canoeing, row or paddle boating, fishing and hiking. In the autumn, guests can enjoy the fall colours while taking one of several self-guided artisan tours. In winter, a two-bedroom chalet is available for snowmobilers and cross-country skiers. More info http://elaine.networkeleven.net/~brownlee/
Cedar Rail Ranch - Outdoor recreation is the name of the game at Cedar Rail Ranch with horseback riding, winter sleigh rides, trails for ATVs, hikers, snowmobilers or skiers. The ranch, located 22 kms from Thessalon up Hwy 129, has several housekeeping cottages equipped with all the utensils you need to prepare your own meals as well as towels and linens. Each cottage sleeps six people with two double beds and a pull-out couch. Two outpost camps on the beach at Tunnel Lake provide a more rustic experience. The smaller camp has a bunkhouse, sitting room, wood stove, propane lights and a generator set-up (you may bring your own). The larger camp sleeps eleven people. A separate cookhouse has a fridge, stove, utensils, dishes and a propane heater. Bathrooms are outdoors and you bring your own towels and sleeping bags. For more information: www.cedarrailranch.com
Clear Lake Camp - Clear Lake camp, located 21 kms east of Thessalon, has fully furnished housekeeping cabins and campground for tenting, trailer and RV camping. At the camp you can fish, swim, hike enjoy the playground with the kids, play horseshoes and volleyball, and access extensive trails for ATVs. Horseback riding, golfing and museums are nearby. The camp offers guided bear hunts in late summer and fall and hunters can also find deer and ruffed grouse in the extensive wilderness areas surrounding the camp. For snowmobilers, the camp has a roomy and comfortable three-bedroom cottage available with fully equipped kitchen. For more information: www.clearlakecamp.com
Grand Falls Camp - Join Paulette and Michael Carroll at this full-service camp for vacationing, hunting and fishing, located at the south end of Cummings Lake, 35 kms up Hwy 129 from Thessalon. Across the highway, the camp also has a landing on Tunnel Lake. All cottages are equipped with a 16-foot steel boat. Inside, they have a knotty pine finish and modern 2-piece bathroom and include fridge, stove, pots, pans, dishes, cutlery, bed linen and blankets. Paddle boats and canoes equipped with lifejackets, a children’s play area, a beach and raft, propane bar-b-ques, free firewood, a sauna, a natural whirlpool, boat launch areas and docks are available to guests. Fishing enthusiasts can fuel up and buy licenses and bait at the camp. There is also a fish-cleaning house and the Carrolls will photograph, wrap and freeze your catch if you wish. Hunters can hire a guide and stay either at the main camp or choose from a variety of outposts. For more information: www.grandfallscamp.com.
Kegos Camp - Mike Allen and Gillian Lloyd offer fishing, swimming, a canoe shuttle service and guided ATV tours for families, nature lovers and outdoor adventure enthusiasts. There is also a complimentary tea and muffin pontoon boat cruise every Sunday morning.
Located 50 kms up Hwy 129 from Thessalon, the camp has housekeeping cottages, finished in natural pine, in private, picturesque locations along the shore of Chub Lake. Cabins have indoor bathrooms with showers, propane heaters, bed linens, blankets and pillows, fridge and freezer, gas stoves, coffee-maker, cooking and eating utensils, and bar-b-ques. TV, VCR and telephone is available in the office/common room. Boat rentals are available and guests can inquire about wheelchair access for the cottages, beach and pontoon boat. For more information: www.kegos.com.
Limberlost Lodge - Ute and Larry Kissau offer eco-tours as well as cabin rentals at Limberlost Lodge, located 43 km up Hwy 129 from Thessalon. The eco-tour is a three-day, guided, hiking and canoeing experience in the Wakomata Lake Area with Limberlost’s outpost cabin serving as base camp. Back at the main lodge, guests can rent cabins, complete with pine finish and stone fireplaces. Cabins have fridge, stove, pots, pans, dishes, cutlery, bed linen and blankets. Rental includes the use of pedal boats, paddle boards, inflatable beach toys, badminton and horseshow areas, swim raft, outdoor fireplace, children’s play area and toys, and an electric sauna. For more information www.limberlost.vianet.ca
Melwel Lodge - Melwel Lodge has been a family vacation destination for over 60years. The lodge is nestled in its own private bay, 20 kms from Thessalon, on Big Basswood Lake. Eleven cottages are available for rental and a dining room that sits 50 people is available for special functions. Guests have unlimited use of the lodge’s kayaks, canoes, paddleboats and can call ahead to ask for guided fishing tours. There are also plenty of local hiking trails in the area. Family pets are also welcome. For more information: www.melwellodge.ca.
Outpost Lodge - The Outpost Lodge is a classic 1938 fishing resort, complete with a dining room renowned for its delicious breakfasts and dinners. Owners Ann and Jim Kehoe have even published their own cookbook in response to the many requests for recipes they’ve received over the years. The lodge is located 45 kms up Hwy 129 from Thessalon. Guests stay in private cottages complete with bathrooms, wood-burning fireplaces, kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms which include all linens, pillows and quilts. Extra blankets and towels are available. Great fishing, hiking trails and canoeing are all nearby. For more information: www.outpostlodge.com.
Snowshoe Camp - Snowshoe Camp is a 4-season housekeeping style resort located 48 kms up Hwy 129 from Thessalon on the scenic Wakomata Lake. Six housekeeping cabins are equipped with bathrooms, stove, refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, pots, pans, dishes, cutlery, blankets, pillows, heaters or wood burning stove. There is a separate recreation hall and shower/toilet/laundry facility. The resort is owned and run by the Shergolds (George and Georgie, Brent and Laura). Both George and Brent are experienced outdoorsmen and are happy to answer any questions about area hiking, fishing, hunting, boating, snowmobiling, or to act as guides on an adventure. Guests can use the camp’s paddleboat, canoes, swim raft and dock as well as its 8-person spa. For more information: www.snowshoecamp.com.
Wakamota Shores Resort - Wakomata Shores, owned by father and son Warren and Mike Townsend, has four cottages available for rent. For paddlers, the Townsends offer half-day and full-day guided excursions, lessons on basic kayaking skills and kayak rentals. They also offer transport for paddlers and their kayaks along set points in the Mississagi River. The resort is located about 48 kms up Hwy 129 from Thessalon and is open year-round for all manner of seasonal activities. Cottages overlook the lake and have pine interiors, 4-piece baths and fully equipped kitchens which include microwaves. Each has a small equipped with a propane barbeque and deck chairs as well as an outdoor fire pit supplied with wood. Guests can also use the resort’s fish-cleaning shack, sauna house, and spa. For more information: www.wakomata.com.