Dreamy Georgian Bay Getaway | Cottage in Barrow Bay

Welcome to Little Lake Escarpment Retreat!
Arrive to a jaw-dropping tri-level beach house, featuring some of the most spectacular waterfront views from all living spaces. Enjoy AC on all levels, a stunning living and sleeping spaces, hot tub, and multiple verandas.
Daytrip The Bruce easily with short drives to Lion's Head, The Bruce Trail, Tobermory, The Grotto/National Park, Black Creek Beach and more.
You deserve this vacation!
Little Lake Escarpment Retreat is responsibly managed by the good folks at Grey Bruce Cottages Inc. They are dedicated to ensuing you have an incredible stay. Our cottage is one of the few licensed in the Barrow Bay community.
Here's just a few key items you need to know.
1. The property is designed to be enjoyed by adults, with no children permitted ages 5 and under.
2. The hot tub resides on the upper third floor and is accessible from the upper floor master guest suites.
3. Enjoy easily accessible AC in the upper floor bedrooms and lower floor entertainment area.
4. Eat well: cooking and dinning in the main floor kitchen area with direct access to the upper balcony with stunning views.
5. Have fun in the immediate water access via the lower level staircase - kayaks and paddle boards provided.
6. Get entertained in the lower level cinema room with propane fireplace for those cool nights and cozy vibes.
7. Rest and relax in one of 5 comfy-cozy bedrooms and refresh in one of 3 bathrooms.
8. Dock your boat at the dock, or launch on road allowance Northwest shore. Alternatively, use the Barrow Bay membership launch for a small fee.
9. Little Lake is the only inland lake with direct access to Georgian Bay.
Little Lake Escarpment Retreat is licensed by the Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula.
STA license number NBP-2023-84.
24/7 Guest Concierge
Contactless check-in
Onsite On-Call for Emergencies
Barrow Bay, Ontario; a picturesque Georgian Bay community, owes its origin to the once-thriving Bruce Peninsula lumbering industry. Today it is a quiet summer get-away, especially at Little Lake Escarpment Retreat. Little Lake is the only Ontario inland lake that has Georgian Bay access. You can also access the trailheads of the Bruce Trail nearby!
A Sunday drive in the Grey and Bruce region can take you to many interesting and beautiful destinations off the beaten path. Along the way one can see many unique land forms of the escarpment. One of our favourite trips is to travel North of Wiarton, and turn east and follow the north shore of Colpoy’s Bay until we reach the road heading to Lion’s Head. A fantastic view to behold!
After passing Hope Bay you will reach a small community, which although its nickname is “Little Scotland”, its official name is taken from that of an English baron. Barrow Bay is named after Sir John Barrow, who not only served as England’s Secretary of the Admiralty but was also the founder of the Royal Geographical Society.
The site of the community is also geographically unique. Barrow Bay is situated between Cape Dundas and Gun Point which protrude into Georgian Bay. This is not unique in geographical terms, but what is unusual is that another body of water is located almost immediately adjacent to Georgian Bay. Little Lake was created by a narrow rocky spit of land separating it from Georgian Bay.
Judge’s Creek flows from the hinterland of the peninsula into Little Lake and on into Georgian Bay. This creek is named after Patrick Judge, one of the first settlers in the area. Judge acquired the lands surrounding the lake and the creek in the 1870s. In 1874 he built one of the first commercial enterprises in Eastnor Township, a sawmill. Later the Barrow Bay Lumber Company erected another sawmill on the rocky spit which separates Little Lake from Georgian Bay. The company used Little Lake as a storehouse for the logs which had been floated down Judge’s Creek, until they could be used or shipped elsewhere. Forest products were shipped to many Great Lakes destinations such as Detroit and Chicago.
The Barrow Bay Lumber Company contributed substantially to the development of the community. In 1877 a grist mill was erected above the falls on the creek. In the 1930s Clark Sensabaugh, the owner of the grist mill built a dam below the falls and installed an electoral system which provided the power for the nearby community of Lion’s Head. A hotel and a general store were also opened. To provide housing for its employees, the company built houses along Bruce County Road #9 through Barrow Bay. They were painted red and were known in the area as the “Red Houses”. A boarding house was also erected.
Around the turn of the century, a butter and cheese factory was built in the community, however its life span was short and very few records of its activities have survived.
Unfortunately, for the logging company, and the community, there was a limited number of trees that could be logged in the area. By the early twentieth century the lumbering era was but a memory. Another malady which inflicted itself upon so many early communities also took its toll on Barrow Bay. Fire destroyed many of the houses and the sawmill. The hotel met a similar fate in the early 1900s.
Early in the 1900s, the community was still dependent upon the vessels which plied the coastal waters of Georgian Bay serving the outposts of the peninsula. Road travel on the Bruce Peninsula was difficult at best. Consequently, the citizens of Barrow Bay depended upon the arrival and departure of sailing vessels as their connection to the rest of the world.
Today, Barrow Bay is a quiet hamlet on the Bruce Peninsula. Its picturesque beauty has attracted tourists to come and built cottages on the spit that once housed a humming saw mill. Little Lake, once the storehouse for timber cut in the hinterlands of the Peninsula, now plays host to swimmers and pleasure craft.
The information used in this article came from many sources. However, Benchmarks: A History of Eastnor Township and Lion’s Head, edited by Glenn Hepburn, was of primary importance.
A version of this article first appeared in the Owen Sound Sun Times Local History column.
From Wiarton:
a. Head North on Hwy 6 North toward William Street 26.2 km
b. Turn right onto Barrow Bay Rd
c. Continue 4.1 km
d. Turn left onto Bruce County Rd 9
e. Turn right onto McCague Drive
f. Turn left onto North Shore Road at the fork in the road
g. Cottage is on your right hand side
24/7 contactless check-in
Little Lake Escarpment Retreat features a deceivingly large layout of stunning living spaces. The cottage is built with absolutely gorgeous stonework landscaping and multi-tier patios along with durable stone cladding, with a modern design. The marvellous eaves lights give the cottage a fantastic glow at night.
Make your way inside the cottage and you feel as if you have stepped back in time to very elegant European beach house. Laid out in a tri-level phase, the main floor boasts a fabulous shiplap ceiling, along with a large open concept kitchen dining area with access to a patio and the most unreal view of Little Lake/Georgian Bay you have seen, including the striking glowing dolomite limestone escarpment cliffs in the background.
The 5 bedrooms are practical and spacious with plenty of storage, and luxurious, comfortable beds and bedding/linens. Enjoy 3 full bathrooms, an upper floor hot tub and balcony, main floor balcony, and lower floor walkout with massive stainless steel BBQ.
The lower-level lounge features incredibly comfy leather loungers a cinema and gaming area, and a lovely propane fireplace to enjoy during those cool nights.
You deserve this vacation!
A vehicle is recommended to access Little Lake Escarpment Retreat
Please bring bikes for cycling.
Boats are permitted to dock at the property's dock, and use the public access on west shore of the members' only dock with a fee for usage.
Airport shuttle is available from Wiarton International Airport and Tobermory Airport on request and availability only.
Captains can dock at the dock at Little Lake Retreat - waiver to follow at check in.

Dreamy Georgian Bay Getaway is located in Lion's Head. Dreamy Georgian Bay Getaway provides accommodation, featuring Bedding/Linens, Kitchen, Air Conditioner, among other amenities. This Cottage features Bedding/Linens, Kitchen, Air Conditioner, to make your stay a comfortable one.

Dreamy Georgian Bay Getaway has 5 Bedrooms , 3 Bathrooms, and max occupancy of 10 people. The minimum rental for this property is 1 nights, but this can change depending on the season you plan on staying. Previous guests have given good rated it, and VRBO labeled it a top-rated Cottage because of the excellent services rendered by the owner or manager of this Cottage, and has consistently provided great experiences for their guests. Most families or guests that use it recommend it to their friends and some of them are repeat guests. Cottage has a friendly neighborhood, and the Lion's Head has interesting places to visit. If you want to learn more about the Cottage in Lion's Head, such as places to visit and things to do nearby, you can check below to learn more.