Cottages at the Water's Edge

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Vermilion, OH
Cottages at the Water's Edge

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Step back in time and enjoy a cottage by the lake at Cottages at the Water’s Edge
(219)

10/27/2026

Fall at the Beach House: flowers, sunshine, and great views.

10/23/2026

Happy Friday!

10/16/2026

Fall at the cottages.

These giant hydrangeas from near the basketball court started green and white earlier this year and with fall have changed to a lovely mauve pink.

Walking around the cottages closing up for the season this week. We had to remove two trees that were growing roots into our drainage. Cottages are cleaned up and items stored. Yellow chairs have been painted and put away.

Cottage 6 is our special project. The floor has come out, support beams will be replaced. Concrete will be poured and the floor will be jacked back up. It’s had a slanting floor and now we know why. The old kitchenette was just one heavy problem, the floor had about 4 different heavy layers adding to the weight on these pieced together beams. The beams were resting on the dirt and rotting from underneath due to a small leak in a water line.

10/12/2026

What joy to come home to!

After a little time away, one of our favorite ways to reconnect with the cottages is to take a flower walk and see what’s blooming. And oh, what a lovely welcome back!

From the pink and white flowers greeting visitors at the sign to the hydrangeas, colorful garden beds, and little pops of color tucked around the cottages, there’s so much beauty to discover in the everyday details.

It’s the little things that make this place special. From the familiar paths, the flowers blooming year after year, to the memories made here with the people we love. For generations, families have made Cottages at the Water’s Edge part of their summer traditions, and we’re so grateful to be part of those stories.

We hope you’ll join us, bring your favorite people, and make a few Lake Erie memories of your own.

For us this is a time to wind down from the hustle of summer, plan for the future, and welcome a few more guests to our Beach House and Guest House.

10/08/2026

On a little cottage hiatus, soaking up flower garden views.

09/25/2026

Helen & Frank Simon | 1963–1985

In 1963, Helen and Frank Simon became the next chapter in the story of our cottages, purchasing Cottages 1–9 and 200 feet of Lake Erie shoreline.

They took on the big job of remodeling the property; adding indoor plumbing, replacing windows, and making improvements that helped turn the cottages into the vacation destination families would come to know and love.

Frank was a carpenter and could tackle just about any project, while Helen knew how to run the business. Together, they called it Sy Sans Beach—“Sy” for Simon and “Sans” for the sandy beach.

They also worked hard to protect the shoreline from erosion, an ongoing challenge for anyone living along Lake Erie. Their three children (Craig, Ken, and Nancy) pitched in, too, helping with cleaning and all the many projects that came with running the cottages.

In the 1st photo: Helen’s handmade office sign, created to let guests know which cottage she was in and where they could find her. A simple little sign that says so much about the hands-on nature of running the business in those days.

In the 2nd photo: Helen and Frank pose beside the original Sy Sans Beach Motel sign. A wonderful glimpse into the property during their years.

From 1963 to 1985, Helen and Frank poured their time, talent and hard work into this place.

Their hands helped shape the cottages we love today.

09/25/2026

Happy Friday from all of us at the Cottages!

It officially became fall this week and the air is so refreshing. The grass is still super green and leaves haven’t turned yet. Looking forward to watching fall arrive but enjoying the blooms in the meantime. 🍁

09/20/2026

The Cottages at the Water’s Edge, located in Vermilion, OH, has a history that goes back to the late 1800s. The office building was originally a barn and later a stop on the Lake Erie Interurban rail line.

In the 1930s, during the Depression, the family that lived here rented camping spaces and started building several cottages.

In 1953, Ida and Louie Miller purchased the property and named it Miller’s Sandy Beach. A decade later, in 1963, Frank and Helen Simon took over, remodeled the cottages, and operated it as Sy Sans Beach until 1985. Dave and Therese Hoffman, the current owners, took over in 1985 and renamed it Cottages at the Water’s Edge in the 1990s. They expanded the property, and in 2019, their son Paul and his wife Amy joined the business, with Amy managing the cottages and preserving its history.

That’s 96 years of cottage history and 73 years in the family.

In the 1st picture: Matilda (far right) was being admired by her future husband, George (leaning on the car), that they would marry, that their daughter would own that cottage business one day, and that Matilda passed away a half century later, living with her daughter, 100ft from that very spot. A place that holds significant meaning.

In the 2nd picture: Stop 141, the office of Miller’s Sandy Beach, and current office, seen in 1963 during a big snow storm.

In the 3rd picture: Ida & Louie Miller in front of the house at Stop 141. The main front door used to be on the road side, now a row of bushes are in front of this former entry way and the door is on the side of the house.

09/19/2026

Monarch season and some other caterpillars we’ve seen around the gardens.

09/18/2026

Nothing goes together quite as well as Fridays and fresh cottage flowers.

Pink snowberries and coral sedum from Tyler Brown Sunflowers from the.bakersacres
Great Lakes Flower Guild

Address

6419 W. Lake Road
Vermilion, OH
44089

Website

http://www.watersedgeonline.com/

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