After the events of this summer Tom and I were both needing some time to hit the reset button. Originally we were planning a trip somewhere in the States later in the fall but both of us were burnt out by August and one day I came home and pitched a week in Clear Lake. We hadn’t had any lake time this summer and I felt like we needed some extended downtime rather than a wild and busy vacay. I had worked at Clear Lake for two summers while in University and it’s always been a happy place for me but Tom had never been. He quickly jumped on board and there was a week coming up that my brother could come and dog sit (thanks Luke!) so we quickly put together a plan.

It was so nice to sleep in a bit and leave on our own time. We had nowhere to be and no one waiting for us, which was pretty fun. The world was our oyster! We ended up taking a roundabout way into the park and doing some sightseeing on our way in. We happened upon the Bison Enclosure and saw this guy. That photo isn’t zoomed in either; we were that close to him! He was super chill.

We stayed at Lakehouse which I had known as McTavish’s when I worked at Clear Lake. It had recently been bought, renovated and rebranded and it looked like the most charming place to stay. Spoiler: it was! The place is so warm and cozy; definitely honeymoon worthy.

I loved the pumpkins piled everywhere.

Our home for the week.

Handmade soap and lip balm in our room.

I forgot to pick up one of these adorable coffee cups and I’m still sad about it.

Lakehouse offers continental breakfast on weekday mornings in the fall so we started out each day by heading down to the lounge for a leisurely bite. Every day was something new; fruit and yogurt parfaits, warm danishes or fresh muffins. They also have a coffee shop in the hotel so we usually got one before we headed out for the day. We really liked their Caramel Macchiato and the hot chocolate.

I love how the hotel decorates with vintage Clear Lake photos and posters.

Our first few days were pretty cold but we still did quite a bit of sightseeing. We stopped by the Wishing Well for some photos (and to make a wish, of course). It’s a beautiful spot.

We loved relaxing by the fireplace in the lounge with coffee in the morning and drinks in the evening.

My favorite drink was the “Lakehouse”, naturally. It had gin, club soda, strawberries and mint. Delish, and definitely something I’ll try to recreate at home.

Every day we explored the different trails and lakes in the area. On the really cold days we’d drive around until we found something interesting and then we’d stop off and hang out for a bit. I loved that solitary yellow tree hanging out with all the green ones.

We were freezing cold and beat after rainy sightseeing one day and so we had pizza in bed. Mano’s makes an incredible pie and the owners were so friendly. We liked them (and their pizza) so much we went back for another on our last night.

This is a closer look at the ice cream shop in Lakehouse, which had a lot of unique creations.

The best thing I tried was the Raspberry Sundae (raspberry white chocolate ice cream, raspberry sauce, pecans and an oatmeal cookie). I mean, seriously.

Close second place goes to the Double Chocolate Salted Caramel ice cream sandwich.

In addition to coffee and ice cream, Lakehouse has a smoothie bar on site. My favourite was the “Green Peach”(peaches, spinach, ginger, honey and basil). It was super refreshing on one of our warmer days on the deck.

The Martese only had one cruise while we were at Clear Lake so I was really excited that we got to go. It was really relaxing and peaceful out on the water.

We had supper at T.R. McKoy’s after our cruise. We loved the atmosphere and the service was great.

I had the Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Lasagna. It was incredible and I understand why it’s a favourite there. Tom had the Chicken Parmesan, which was also lovely.

We often ended our nights in the outdoor hot tub on our deck.

For our last meal on our way out, we stopped by the White House for lunch. It’s not surprising that this is the #1 place to eat at Clear Lake (according to Trip Advisor, anyway), because our meals were perfection.

Tom had the Chicken Griller and caesar salad, which he loved. I had the Chicken Avocado Bacon Panini on their housemade focaccia and the best sweet potato fries I’ve ever had in my life. It was a great end to our trip.

We had SUCH a relaxing getaway together. I’ve only seen Clear Lake in its peak season but to be there in the fall was so peaceful and low key. It was exactly what we needed and Tom is definitely a Clear Lake fan now so I know we’ll be back soon!

P.S. I took about a million landscape and nature photos during our exploring. I thought this post already had a ton of pictures so I plan to share the rest next week! Happy Friday!