Island View Retreat
A Lakefront Venue Built for Scrapbooking & Craft Retreats
Every crafter knows the real requirement for a scrapbooking or quilting retreat: table space. Island View Retreat has seating for 28 across four separate areas — kitchen table, screened porch, deck bar, and picnic table — which means every scrapbooker gets a permanent station for the whole weekend. Set up Friday, spread out, and don't touch a thing until you pack up Sunday. Sixteen real beds, a full kitchen, and a lake view when you look up from the cutting mat.
Who It's For
Scrapbooking circles, quilting guilds, card makers, knitters, and mixed craft groups of 8–16 who've outgrown church basements and hotel meeting rooms. Also perfect for the retreat organizer who fills spots and splits the cost — at shoulder-season rates the whole property can cost less per person than a single hotel night.
Why Big Gull Lake
A Permanent Station for Every Crafter
Four dining areas seating 28 mean 8–16 crafters can each claim a workspace on day one and leave it set up all weekend — no daily teardown, no shared-table shuffle.
The Screened Porch Is the Star
Craft in natural light with a lake view and zero bugs. The screened porch seats 8 and is where every retreat group ends up gravitating.
Everyone Sleeps in a Real Bed
16 spots across 5 bedrooms and a waterfront bunkie — 2 queens, 5 doubles, 2 singles. Retreat weekends are long; real sleep matters.
Breaks Worth Taking
When eyes need a rest: a private sandy beach, included paddleboards and kayaks, a dock to read on, and a fire pit for the evening wind-down.
Easy on the Group Budget
Shoulder-season stays start at $600/night for the entire property (3-night minimum) — split 12 ways, a full crafting weekend runs well under typical retreat-centre pricing.
What You Can Do Here
Crop 'Til You Drop
Set up stations across the kitchen table, porch, and deck areas. WiFi covers the Cricut downloads and tutorial videos.
Show & Tell Dinners
A full kitchen with dishwasher and a Weber BBQ make group meals easy — and the day's pages get passed around the table.
Stretch Breaks by the Lake
Walk the beach, paddle a calm bay on an included kayak or paddleboard, or just take your coffee to the dock between albums.
Fire Pit Evenings
The waterfront fire pit under dark skies is the retreat's second workspace — the one where the stories behind the photos come out.
Rainy Days Don't Matter
A craft retreat is the one trip where rain improves productivity. The porch keeps the lake view; the great room keeps everyone dry.
Partner-Friendly
Some groups bring a few non-crafting partners — walleye, bass, pike, and perch off the dock keep them happily occupied all day.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much table space is there really?
Dining capacity for 28 across four areas: the kitchen table seats 8, the screened porch seats 8, the deck bar seats 4, and the deck picnic table seats 8. A group of 8–12 crafters can each keep a dedicated station set up all weekend and still have room to eat.
Can we leave our supplies set up overnight?
Yes — the entire property is yours for the duration, so stations stay exactly as you left them. No packing carts back to a hotel room, no clearing tables for another group's booking.
Is there WiFi for digital scrapbooking and Cricut machines?
Yes, the cottage has WiFi (10 Mbps) plus plenty of outlets, A/C for the summer, and Smart TVs if the group wants to follow along with a tutorial together.
What does a crafting weekend cost per person?
Shoulder-season rates start at $600/night with a 3-night minimum — a Friday-to-Monday retreat split between 12 crafters is roughly $150 each for the entire lakefront property. Summer peak is $6,850/week.
How many people should we invite?
The cottage sleeps 16 in real beds (5 bedrooms plus a waterfront bunkie). Craft groups of 8–12 hit the sweet spot of workspace per person; 16 works with tighter stations or crafters who rotate to the beach.
Where do attendees drive in from?
The cottage is about 3 hours from Toronto, 2 hours from Ottawa, and 1.5 hours from Kingston — central for guild members spread across eastern Ontario, with free parking on the property.