Welcome to Fancy Free!

Located in an idyllic setting on a private island on spectacular Big Rideau Lake near Portland, Ontario, Fancy Free is a uniquely beautiful five bedroom Victorian cottage available for rental. Fancy Free Island’s rental fee includes private use of a small motorboat, three canoes, two kayaks, and a sailboat for lots of fun on the water.

Fancy Free is a classic 19th century lakeside cottage
Fancy Free is a classic 19th century lakeside cottage

Fancy Free Island is easy to find from the main highways of eastern Ontario. We provide complimentary parking for guests at our secure mainland property. We also provide a private boat launch for those wanting to bring their own boat.

UNESCO World Heritage Site
UNESCO World Heritage Site
As the oldest cottage on Big Rideau Lake, Fancy Free is a local heritage landmark. It is featured in the award-winning book, “Rideau,” written by Larry Turner with photographs by John de Visser, published by Stoddart Canada.

Big Rideau Lake is part of the historic Rideau Canal Waterway, a unique 202 kilometre long canal, lake and river system recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Fancy Free Island in spectacular Big Rideau Lake
Fancy Free Island in spectacular Big Rideau Lake
This part of Ontario, like the nearby Thousand Islands, is a geological extension of the Adirondack mountains, featuring beautiful scenery with towering pines and rocky hills interspersed with lovely clear lakes and “miles of isles.”

Fancy Free Island Map
NEW FOR 2010: two top-of-the line kayaks have been added to our fleet of boats! We now offer our guests private use of a 14 foot motorboat, three canoes, two kayaks and a Sunfish sailboat on a complimentary basis.


Fancy Free’s walls tell a story of a century of summers spent boating, fishing and swimming. Enjoy a swim off the dock, watch the kids swinging on the Tarzan swing out into the lake, take canoe rides at sunset to the call of the loon, have a corn roast, or just lie back and read a good book in the hammock. Fancy Free is a peaceful haven from the bustle of present-day life, welcoming guests from all over the world to enjoy the old-fashioned fun of Ontario cottage life.

“Thank you Pam and Tom! We have waited a whole year for our one week of peaceful bliss on this beautiful island. This year it was once again filled with wonderful times and precious family memories... we leave here with the fondest of memories and can’t wait to return next year.”
J. F., Albrightsville, PA

Fancy Free Newsletter June 2010

The phenomenal spring of 2010 will go down in Fancy Free annals as being the warmest in living memory. We opened the cottage on the Victoria Day holiday weekend of the 24th of May...Read more »

Fancy Free Newsletter December 2009

Winter is here and we send seasonal greetings to all our readers from the Gough family. The weather may be chilly now, but already we are eagerly looking forward to a new cottage season. In spring, Fancy Free Island will once again turn a lush green, buds will swell, ...Read more »