245 Taggart Lane, Rideau Lakes

Forty-five scenic minutes from downtown Kingston, this smart, steel-roofed and re-sided four-season, four-bedroom cottage/home is perched nicely above the very pretty western end of Benson Lake. Part of the Rideau system, you're connected to Indian Lake and Clear, Mosquito and Newboro, and that's before you ever get to a lock. The boat launch is part of the property too, and if you pick a kayak you'll be gone a week. The kitchen - all subway tile and farmer's sink, stainless appliances - was completely re-worked five years ago, and the windows, flooring and furnace were replaced 10-12 years back. It feels properly updated, maintenance-free, then, the sort of place you'll visit (or stay at) in the winter, skates and snowshoes piled in the trunk. It's a proper two-storey (with an unfinished basement) so you can make a bit of noise, tell each other some jokes, while the kids are asleep. The Rideau Trail is a ten-minute walk back down the road so it's not all about the water, and several of your excellent neighbours are here twelve months. Westport is a scant fifteen minutes away, and the good Xplornet service (now Xplore!) means you can work up here too (if you really have to), or settle in around the woodstove for a movie.