By Randy Ray
Ottawa Citizen

An island retreat is within reach, according to one Web site. To me, the perfect summer getaway is a few days at the family cottage near Peterborough. Being at the end of a pretty intimidating cottage road keeps things serene, as does having large tracts of Crown land on either side.

Occasionally, however, I find myself wondering what it would be like to take my bid for solitude a step further. What would it be like to have my very own private island?

Thanks to the Web site, www.privateislandsonline.com it’s possible to dream a little, and if you have the cash, turn your dream into reality.

“Most people assume that private islands are only for the rich and famous, but this is no longer true,” says a blurb on the site. “Many islands, and especially those in Canada, are well within the financial reach of the typical middle-class family. If you can afford a modest cottage in Muskoka, you can afford a good-sized private island.”

Private Islands Online of Toronto was founded as a one-stop directory of private islands available for sale or rent, allowing potential island buyers to quickly and easily find out what’s on the market in their area. The company does not sell real estate; its mission is to connect interested buyers with island sellers, be they realtors or private individuals.

The site bills itself as the Internet’s largest online directory of islands for sale and it certainly serves up some exotic choices. You’ll find islands as close as the Brockville area and Georgian Bay, and as far away as Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Alaska, Belize, Brazil and Chile. Listings include a tropical island washed by the Caribbean and pine-covered hideaways in lakes in northern Ontario. According to the site, Canada has more private islands for sale than any other country.

Useful tools include e-mail links to real estate agents who have islands listed for sale; as many as a dozen colour photographs of the properties and, often, the buildings located on the islands; and links to other island-related Web sites or publications, including Island Properties in Canada, which provides links to real estate agents with island listings, as well as a link to an interesting article on the hunt for buried treasure on Nova Scotia’s Oak Island.

The site also features articles of interest to island enthusiasts. In mid-May, an article on the Thousand Islands was featured. The Ontario section of the site contains 14 private islands for sale, ranging in price from $15,000 to $1 million.

Each island is featured on its own Web page, complete with photos, maps, a detailed description, and links to the owner’s Web site and e-mail address.

In May, the feature island is Dark Island, in the St. Lawrence River, in New York State, 19 kilometres downstream from Brockville. The 2.83-hectare island is the site of Jordstadt Castle, built in 1904 of rose granite. It has 28 rooms, a secret passageway, a five-storey clock tower and a dungeon. It’s listed for a mere $2.5 million U.S.

If you’re still waiting to win a lottery, here are some less expensive listings:

Island south of 12 Mile Bay: This one won’t break the bank but then, you don’t get much real estate either. Listed at $15,000, it’s one of Georgian Bay’s 30,000 islands and is described as a “tiny islet” composed mainly of smooth rock with great views and deep water anchorage. The listing doesn’t say if there’s enough room to build your dream home but based on a photograph, it’s little more than a pile of rocks. By linking to the listing agent’s Web site, you learn that the island can’t be built on.

Bayfield Inlet Island: Also in Georgian Bay’s island region, this 0.2-hectare island has a small cabin and a storage shed and hydro is available on an adjacent island. A public dock and marina are five kilometres away. It’s listed at $68,000.

Morrison Lake Island: This 0.68-hectare island in Muskoka, about two hours north of Toronto, includes a winterized 1,700-square-foot cottage, a two-bedroom guest area, two floating docks and four small boats. Private parking is available on shore. The owner wants $199,000.

If buying is out of the question, the Web site also has a handful of islands for rent, although some are pretty pricey. Listings include Hattie Island in Lake Huron near Sault Ste. Marie, for $600 U.S. per week, Patrick’s Island in Florida for $700 U.S. per week, and for big spenders, Musha Cay in the Bahamas for $325,000 U.S. a week.

To stay in touch with the latest island listings, you can subscribe on the site to a free monthly newsletter that also includes articles of interest to those of us who dream of being marooned.

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