What to expect from your Billie Bear holiday
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Reservations and check-in...
- A reminder about our cancellation policy: Bookings for high season (July and August through Labour Day weekend) that are cancelled after May 1 require full payment if we cannot re-rent your space.
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Billie Bear has a “No-Pets” policy. Service animals are welcome – but please let us know in advance and appropriate paperwork is required.
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Check-in is at 4:00 p.m.; check-out is at 10:00 a.m. We enforce these times to ensure that cottages can be cleaned and ready for incoming guests. Late check-outs may incur a late fee of $175.
- Please check in at the office before proceeding to your cottage. Full payment is due upon check-out; we accept Visa, MasterCard, cash or debit, and e-transfer.
- Please note that Billie Bear reserves the right to hold guests financially responsible for any significant damage they may cause to cottages or resort property. Significant damage or refusal to cooperate with rules for the safety and comfort of others may result in a cancellation of future rentals for those responsible.
Enjoy our facilities...
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Your Billie Bear holiday package includes use of all our non-motorized watercraft (canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, and pedal boats). Life jackets and beach toys are available at Bear Cub at the beach. Guests renting motor boats MUST have a Pleasure Craft Operator’s Card. Be familiar with the shoal map! There are rocks where one least expects them. Please note that PWCs are not permitted.
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Enjoy a picnic at the Antioch Conservation Area (Second Sandy beach). Take a boat or walk the trail to the beach from Billie Bear Road – signs along the trail interpret the natural and human heritage of the property managed by the Mabel Hart Brook and Marion Hill Memorial Foundation.
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For a shorter trip, paddle to Betty’s Island – you can see it from our beach.
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Catch some sun on our deck, join a game of volleyball, relax in the shade on the beach, or play with your kids in our roped swimming area.
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Explore our hiking trails. The red trail is easy enough for little ones! Trail maps are available at the office. The trail head is just across the Billie Bear Road, marked with a map sign.
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Get your Billie Bear passports and the schedule of family activities at the office when you check in! We also have a variety of sports equipment available for the asking.
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Our store is handy for milk, bread, butter, small sundry grocery items, snacks, cold drinks, and ice cream treats. We also offer a selection of Billie Bear clothing and souvenirs.
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WiFi is available at the Rec Hall, but our bandwidth is small – we cannot stream movies or download large files without causing a breakdown in service that affects everyone.
Trapper cottage has its own High Speed WiFi provided with the rental.
- Need something to read? Look in our “take a book – leave a book” library in the Rec Hall. If you haven’t finished the story by the end of your stay, you may take the book with you. If you’ve finished a book of your own that you don’t want to keep, feel free to leave it for others to enjoy.
What to bring (besides your groceries)…
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All cottages are equipped with cookware, kitchen utensils, dishes, glasses, and cutlery; we supply toilet paper as well as dish and hand soap. We do not supply food wrap, serviettes, or tissues.
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Please bring beach towels. We supply kitchen and bath towels, sheets, and blankets (for use in the cottage).
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Bring a flashlight for evening use and emergencies. In keeping with Muskoka’s dark skies initiative, Billie Bear keeps outdoor night lighting to a minimum. Turn off porch lights and enjoy spectacular stargazing! We also provide small lanterns for use should a power failure occur.
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Gathering for cocktails or meals is a long-standing Billie Bear tradition! Please remember to return dishes, glasses, barbecues, chairs, cutlery… to the cottage from which they came.
For the safety and comfort of all...
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The comfort and pleasure of all guests is our underlying commitment. No group, whether in a cottage or at the campfire, is allowed to disturb others. After 11 p.m. noise must be kept to “conversation only.”
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For this reason, music sources are not permitted at the beach unless you are using headphones. Please keep music volume in your cottage at a reasonable level so that it doesn’t disturb others.
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Outdoor lights must be turned off by 11 p.m.
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Smoking – whether cannabis, tobacco, or vaping – is prohibited in all cottages and buildings as well as on porches. This is a fire safety rule and a courtesy to the guests who follow you! Our beach and children’s play areas are also no smoking zones. You may smoke outside in the immediate vicinity of your cottage, away from common spaces.
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Please don’t feed the chipmunks – or any other animal! Food left out can attract unwanted and destructive animals (mice, raccoons, bears), and chances are good that the problem will be passed along to the guests who follow you. Store food and your blue box inside overnight rather than on your porch.
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Garbage and recycling should be taken to the garbage shed (beside the workshop at the parking lot). Garbage bags are available for the asking at the office. We recycle CLEAN cardboard, glass, tin, plastic, Styrofoam, and paper.
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We remind guests to return cars to the parking lot after unloading or transporting anyone who requires assistance. Cars left at cottages block others and create a danger for children playing.
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Campfires are permitted ONLY in the fire pit at the beach. An adult must be in charge and be present at the site AT ALL TIMES. Campfires must be extinguished fully before you retire for the night.
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Clean fish at designated fish-cleaning table – not at the shore (it will attract snapping turtles) or in your cottage (it will attract animals). Place fish guts in a plastic bag before disposing of them in the appropriate bin in the garbage shed.
Before you leave, please...
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Wash used dishes.
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Remove all food from fridge and freezer.
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Take your garbage and recycled items to the garbage shed.