Lakeside Cottage , historic 1890s era, west side of Cayuga Lake. Boat house, dock, stone swimming beach, covered porches. Two bedrooms, living room, full kitchen, wood stove, grill, three refrigerators. Gravel driveway to cottage level. Fabulous lake views, sunrise, sunset over the lake, privacy, hemlock and mixed hardwood forest, great fishing and birding. Search Rice Heritage for web site. Cottage of naturalist Anna Botsford Comstock. Walk to Taughannock State Park where you might see nesting Peregrine Falcons in season!
The space
We are on the Finger Lakes Wine Trail, 1/2 mile from Taughannock State Park, 20 minutes to Ithaca, 4 miles to adorable Trumansburg.
Cottage is rustic, no television, but robust fiber internet connection. Lots of games and puzzles. Covered porches provide outdoor seating and dining. Heat is wood stove, or portable electric heaters supported by newly upgraded electric service. We provide wood. Bathroom has stall shower, bathroom is NOT handicapped accessible. This is a family summer cottage, furnished simply, with lots of history. Setting is magnificent and access to lake is immediate, view is spectacular, atmosphere is rustic, private, and you will feel close to the undeveloped natural lakeside habitat. Great Blue Herons, Ospreys, Mergansers, Loons during migration, and keep an eye out for Bald Eagles.
Guest access
Boat house with changing rooms and hammock. See our website: RiceHeritageCottage for interior pictures. Parking for 8 cars at cottage level, some parking available above cottage as well. Gravel driveway leads cars to cottage level; not as steep as many lakefront cottages! Stairs or path lead to lake level and boathouse. Stone beach is expansive, with plenty of room for picnic tables, stone campfire circle, boathouse, large concrete dock, (good for fishing or sunbathing)
Other things to note
We love animals BUT NOT at the cottage, sorry, absolutely no pets. NO Smoking . This is a seasonal cottage. The heat source is the wood stove in the kitchen, and electric heaters, one per room. We will be happy to show you how to manage the wood stove to take the chill off in fall or early spring. Please consider the weather when you book and make a reservation; it may be cold and you will have to rely on the wood stove and electric heaters to heat the cottage. The cottage is an older uninsulated summer cottage which can be used in the fall and spring with the addition of wood stove heat, which can make the cottage quite warm and cozy, but will need to be started and tended. Electric heaters can warm rooms more quickly. Water in the cottage is from a beach well, which tests clean but we bring in drinking water anyway. The nearest grocery store is the Shursave in Trumansburg, about 10 min drive. They package their own tasty breakfast sausage! Trumansburg Farmers Market is on Wednesday evening, 4-7 pm for great local food (and music) including the famous Wide Awake Bread.
The cottage was built to be comfortable in summer before air conditioning existed. There is an ice house from back when ice boats delivered a slab of ice to each cottage. We have refrigerators, but the ice house is still a cool place to keep beverages. We have elected not to install air conditioning because there is a cool evening breeze that comes down the hill each night and refreshes warmth that accumulated during the day. We get by with screens in the windows and fans and hope you will also find that comfortable and more sustainable.