Burdett, New York · Seneca Lake
Closer To The Lake Than You Thought Possible.
Your Private Waterfront Cottage On Seneca Lake. The dock runs to the front door.
- Sleeps 4
- 1 Bedroom · 1 Bath
- Private Dock
- Dog Friendly
- Sunset Over The Water
“This was our third 6 night stay at Smooth Sailing. It is now our go to place to relax and unwind. The cottage is right on the water and is so serene. The surrounding area has so much to see and do that you couldn’t ask for anything more. The cottage is very clean and Sarah has thought of everything to make your stay feel like home! We have never had any questions or concerns during our stay but felt confident Sarah would respond quickly if we did. She is a definite super host!!!! Our favorite places to eat are Elf in the Oak for breakfast sandwiches and Hector’s Hideaway for dinner! We are already looking forward to coming back next year!!!!”
The Water
Wake Up At The Water’s Edge.
There is a particular sound Seneca makes at six in the morning, before the boats, when the only thing moving is water against the dock posts. From most houses on this lake you have to walk down to hear it. From here it comes through the window.
The cottage stands at the waterline — not above it, not near it. The dock begins at the porch and runs out over water clear enough to count the shale on the bottom. Two chairs at the far end, a ladder for anyone who wants it, and an arrangement that asks nothing of you except that you go outside.
Every seat faces water.
The Cottage
Everything You Need. Nothing You Don’t.
657 square feet is not much, and the cottage spends every one of them well. A bedroom with a queen. A kitchen that will manage dinner for four without pretending it wants to. Windows on three sides, and a picture window over the water that makes the lake the only decoration the room requires.
It sleeps two in comfort and four at a push, and it does not pretend the difference away. Nothing here is grand. Everything here is deliberate, which is the harder thing to build and the better thing to spend a weekend inside.
Dogs
Yes. Bring The Dog.
Plenty of places on this lake will let a dog through the front door and then quietly fence it away from the water, which has always struck us as inviting someone to dinner and serving them in the hallway.
Here the shoreline is theirs, the dock is theirs, and the lake is theirs, which for most dogs is the entire reason for coming. Up to 2, with a word beforehand, kept to the cottage side of the grounds because the big house next door is pet-free. That is the whole rule, and we have never needed another.
Booking Direct
No Surprises At The Bottom.
Choose your nights and the whole figure appears — the rate, the cleaning, the taxes, the pet fee if a dog is coming. Nothing is added later and nothing is called a service. What you read is what you pay.
Payment is handled on our reservation system’s secure page. We never see your card details.
The east shore means the sun sets over the water.
Finger Lakes
Wine Country Starts At The Top Of The Hill.
Route 414 runs the length of the eastern shore with the vineyards strung along the ridge above it, close enough together that the drive between two tastings is shorter than either tasting. Watkins Glen and its gorge sit a few minutes south, and the rest of the Finger Lakes opens out from there in every direction.
Guests arrive with a list. Most get through half of it. The dock tends to win, and we have stopped being surprised by it.
The Lake Goes Quiet Before It Goes Dark.
An hour from anywhere that matters, and a long way from all of it.