TL;DRVictoria Day weekend at Mildred's on Rice Lake u2014 quieter beaches, opening-weekend rates, and the first warm Kawartha sun before peak summer crowds.
Victoria Day weekend (May 16-19, 2026) is the unofficial start of the Ontario cottage season. For most lake towns in the Kawarthas, it’s the weekend the docks come back, the marinas reopen, and Highway 115 gets noticeably busier with cars heading north out of the GTA.
If you’ve been thinking about booking a Rice Lake cottage but felt the July-August calendar gets booked out too quickly, May long weekend is genuinely a better trip for first-time cottage renters — and here’s why we keep telling guests to start their season at Mildred’s in May rather than waiting for high summer.
1. The lake is yours
Rice Lake in mid-May is a different lake than Rice Lake in mid-July. The fishing crowd is out (walleye opener was the second weekend of May), but the recreational boat traffic — the wakeboarders, the tube-pullers, the late-afternoon party boats — hasn’t ramped up yet. From Mildred’s screened sunroom you’ll watch maybe a dozen boats trace the shoreline over a Saturday afternoon. By July the same view has triple that.
This matters most if you’re bringing kids who haven’t swum in a lake before, or if you want to take the resort’s free canoes and stand-up paddleboards out without worrying about chop from passing wake.
2. Black flies aren’t here yet — and mosquitoes are minimal
The single biggest reason people regret a June cottage trip in Ontario is bugs. Black fly season in southern Ontario typically peaks late May through mid-June, and it’s brutal in the first warm week. Victoria Day weekend lands just before that window — the days are warm enough for swimming if the lake cooperates, the evenings are cool enough that mosquitoes haven’t really started yet, and the black flies haven’t hatched.
You’ll still want bug spray (we keep some in the kitchen drawer), but the May long weekend is one of the most pleasant times of year to sit on the deck after dinner without getting eaten.
3. May rates run lower than peak season
Cottage rentals in the Kawarthas follow a predictable pricing curve: shoulder season (May, late September, October) is roughly 10-20% below peak July-August. At Mildred’s that means a 3-night Victoria Day weekend works out closer to $762 + resort fees + taxes (CAD) versus the July price for the same nights. If it’s your family’s first cottage trip, opening weekend is the cheapest way to find out whether you actually like the format before committing to a full week in August.
We’re also more flexible on check-in/check-out times in May since back-to-back bookings haven’t started yet.
4. Bellmere Winds opens for the season
The 18-hole Bellmere Winds Golf Resort course officially opens its 2026 season on Victoria Day weekend. The saltwater swimming pool is freshly serviced. The 19th Hole Patio Grill is open for breakfast and lunch. Everything that makes Bellmere Winds Golf Resort more than just a quiet cottage — the sports court, the splash pad for kids, the beach — is live and ready, but without the August crowds queueing for the pool.
If anyone in your group plays golf, this is when you’ll get the cheapest tee times of the year. If they don’t, the resort is so quiet on a May weekend that it feels like you booked the whole place.
5. The drive from Toronto is fast
Highway 115 / 35 from Toronto to Keene is a 90-minute drive when traffic cooperates. On Victoria Day weekend, GTA traffic heading to Muskoka is brutal — Highway 400 northbound can take 4 hours from downtown to Bracebridge. Our route, by contrast, is the easy one: 401 east to Highway 115 north. Most people coming from the east end of Toronto are at the cottage gate in 90 minutes flat.
This is why we recommend Rice Lake for first-time cottage renters from the GTA. You can leave Toronto Friday at 4pm and be unpacking by 5:30. You don’t sacrifice the entire first day to traffic.
What to pack for a May cottage weekend
It’s still spring. Nights drop to 5-8°C. Days range from 12°C (cooler weekend) to 22°C (warmer weekend, if a southwest wind picks up). Rule of thumb: pack like you would for early-October camping, not summer.
The cottage has a propane fireplace (working) and good central heat, so you’ll be warm indoors regardless. Outdoors, you’ll want:
- Long pants and a fleece for the deck after sunset — once the sun drops behind the treeline, the sunroom is the warmest spot on the property. The two outdoor decks need a layer.
- Water shoes for the beach — the resort’s swimming beach has a sandy entry, but the lake bottom past 20 feet has rocks and some milfoil. Water shoes make the swim more enjoyable in cooler May water.
- A waterproof shell for paddleboarding — Rice Lake can get a quick chop if a south wind builds. The resort’s free SUPs and kayaks are stable, but you’ll be glad of a windbreaker once you’re 200 feet offshore.
- Bedlinens, bath towels, and beach towels — guests bring their own. Pillows have protectors and mattresses have protectors; everything else is yours to pack. (FAQ has the full list.)
If you’re driving up early Saturday morning rather than Friday night, plan a coffee stop in Cobourg or Port Hope — both 40 minutes from the cottage, both have multiple solid spots open by 7am.
Booking tips for opening weekend
Mildred’s books up about 6-8 weeks ahead for Victoria Day. As of right now (early May 2026), there’s still availability for the May 16-19 weekend, but it tightens fast once the long-range forecast shows warm weather. If you’re considering it, the cost of waiting is real — we don’t drop prices into the long weekend.
Our minimum stay for Victoria Day weekend is 3 nights (Friday-Monday). We can sometimes accommodate 2-night requests for the second half of the weekend, but the deck price stays the same.
For families: the second bedroom has bunk beds, the third has a queen, and the main bedroom has a queen. Total sleep capacity is 6 (4 adults + 2 kids comfortably). For a 5-person family the layout works perfectly — kids in bunks, parents with the queen, guest room either for a second couple or kept open for a teen.
Check Victoria Day weekend availability and book Mildred’s →
Why May is genuinely better than July for first-timers
We’re biased, obviously — Mildred’s is open year-round and we’re happy whenever someone books. But after running this property for a season we’ve watched the pattern: families who try May/early June and then come back in August consistently say their first stay (the cooler one) was their favourite. The lake is quieter, the resort is quieter, the cottage feels more like yours without the surrounding ambient hum of a packed long weekend.
If you’ve been telling yourself “we should do a cottage trip” and you keep pushing it to summer, Victoria Day weekend is the no-pressure, lower-cost, lower-bug, fewer-people way to find out if you actually love it. Most families do. Then they book something longer in July or August.
We’d love to host you for that first weekend.
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Mildred's Lakefront Resort Cottage at Bellmere Winds — 3 bedrooms, sleeps 6, direct waterfront access, free canoes/kayaks/SUPs, 90 min from Toronto.