Sandy Beach Lodge & Resort

The draw here is a row of log cabins on Okanagan Lake, each with two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living area and a big deck. Not every cabin sits directly on the water, but they all look at it, and the kitchens come stocked with just enough gear to cook a meal without owning the place. There are also lodge guestrooms for anyone who loses the cabin lottery.

The grounds run to a private sandy beach, tennis, canoes and lake swimming, which is to say you can spend a whole day without your car and never feel underemployed. The place is tidy to the point of suspicion, ranks first among Naramata's specialty lodgings, and holds a steady four out of five across dozens of reviews from people who clearly did not want to leave.

One warning, delivered plainly: the cabins are close to impossible to get in peak summer, when they vanish faster than a canoe left untied. Lodge rooms open up more readily, and the shoulder seasons are the quiet, cheaper, arguably smarter way to have the lakeshore mostly to yourself.