Rocknest House – Bayview Point, Lake of Bays, Dorset, Ontario
What is behind the unusual name?
Rocknest is located on Bayview Point, on the southeastern side of Lake of Bays. Bayview point is an up-faulted block of the Pre-Cambrian bed rock wedged between 2 major sub-parallel faults that give rise to the high cliffs in the area. In this area the terrain changes dramatically from the rolling rounded hummocky hills typical of most of Muskoka, to steep sided taller hills or mountains, and the generally more rugged terrain of the Algonquin Highlands. A trip up the Fire Tower in Dorset will give you a magnificent view of this wonderful land form and the unique Severn-French mixed hardwood softwood forests.
The name Rocknest was inspired by my once observing a Peregrine Falcons nest perched in a hollowed-out rock niche high in the Mackenzie Mountains of the NWT. So when I saw the undeveloped property on Bayview Point in November 1986, I envisioned a home that would nestle my family amongst the steep rugged terrain of the Algonquin Highlands. The ‘nest’ aspect of the name, like the Peregrine Falcons nest, is a place where a young family comes to grow – and in the case of us humans – come to grow as a family and bond with friends and loved ones.
Rocknest is a place where you can form closer and stronger bonds with your kids, and they can form stronger bonds with their aunts and uncles and cousins, their friends and perhaps their future partner(s). It is a place where the celebration of family can take place through the re-union of members of far flung branches, and Rocknest is also a place which has comforted us after the passage of the life of a beloved pet and a most loved partner.
Rocknest brings you closer to nature …. You cannot help it, because it is all around you and you can see it throughout the year. In the spring during the break-up of the ice on the lake, a moose (family?) makes it annual trek from the winter herding area south of Highway 117 back to its spring calving and summer grazing grounds east of highway 35 toward Algonquin park. You can see the foot prints in the sand and soil in front of the house. In the summer you will be serenaded by to lonesome romantic call of the Loons who nest not far from Rocknest. Or you may be woken by the wild Turkeys that live in the bush up on the hill behind the cottage and come down past the master bedroom window to drink at the water’s edge. Occasionally deer will herd in the side yard, and once in the winter, we heard a wolf pack following the deer or moose crossing the lake, to chase one down for a feeding kill.
You will notice that the air is cleaner, and fresher at Rocknest than in the city. When you breathe it in deep you can feel its cleansing and relaxing effect. And, depending on the time of the year, unlike the urban areas to the south, it can be very very quiet no noises, but for a gentle breeze blowing through the trees. In the spring after the ice goes out the lake water is crystal clear and you just know it is clean. And, in the fall, the maple covered hill across the channel from Rocknest is ablaze in the most glorious display of red and yellow.
I and my family have enjoyed all of these aspects of life at Rocknest, and as in the circle of life that you are surrounded with here, it is time to pass Rocknest onto another family who, hopefully, will experience the best of life that it has to offer. Good memories of life at Rocknest will be life-time treasures for us and I wish you all the best too.
Bryan Wilson-Owner
FEATURES OF ROCKNEST
South West Exposure
188 feet of frontage
Located in Bayview Point on Lake of Bays
Newly landscaped with stone steps leading to the dock
Abundance of natural light
High vaulted ceilings with skylights
New foyer and kitchen tiled flooring
New kitchen counter tops
Built in Appliances
Large living room with a walkout onto the deck
Custom built wood burning double sided fireplace (WETT)
Main floor Master bedroom
Main floor sunroom with a walk out onto the deck
3 bedrooms on the second level
Large family room with a wood burning fireplace in the lower level (WETT)
Lower level TV area with a walk out onto the deck
Operational Sauna
Fully winterized
Check out all of the details of this Cottage for sale, 1030 Delbrooke Road Muskoka, Dwight, ON