When do you open for the season?
 

With the warm weather and talk of ice out, I'm curious - when do you open for the season? Growing up my family opened a week or two before Memorial Day. Once I started doing it, we open, whenever possible, the first weekend the ice goes out. One of my neighbors is like me and opens as soon as possible. Others do so on a fixed weekend every year (Memorial Day for one, first weekend in may for another).

How about the rest of you?

I look forward to the day! Unfortunately, retirement is years away and I will never be able to work 100% remote.

I'm on an island so it's dock and mooring, water, then move boats and furniture that was stored in the camp so it can be tidied up (no mice I hope).

Opening the Camp
 

One of my most favorite days. Temperature isn't usually my stumbling block but since I draw my water from the lake I have to wait for all the ice bergs to clear. Usually occurs when Alton Bay clears about a week before Ice Out. Since I live in Mass. I usually shoot for Patriots Day weekend (mid April) but try really hard to make it the week before so I can watch the Masters for 4 days at the camp with no one bothering me (:laugh:). Putting the water pipe into the lake and firing up the water pump in the boathouse is always fun but sometimes nerve racking. Will the system leak? Did the water line crack anywhere? Did I lose a faucet or two. Once the water runs and I can fill the toilets it is time for a beer (or two...) down at the dock and be thankful for another camp opening at the lake. Nothing better.

With our permanent home now in the lakes region, the concept of opening up no longer applies. But when ours was still a 3-season cabin and the kids were in school, our opening weekend was always Patriots Day weekend. While I had a few nail-biting nights over the years, I always found that by mid-April, the danger of our exposed water pipes being frozen was past.

While we often woke up in the AM being able to see our breaths in the bedroom, I remember those first nights at the lake each season fondly.

self vs pro?
 

There's a progression here. My wife and I used to do it ourselves. Then we had kids so I had to at least get the plumbing operational before she and the young ones would appear. As long as the marina could get the boat de-winterized, we aimed for the first weekend after ice-out. The goal was to see if there was anything that required professionals, and get them scheduled before everybody else called a bout the tree that fell on the roof and took electric wires with it.
Plumbing, furniture out clean, wash windows, clean up windblown yard debris, clean the boats, all took 3-4 weekends before we were 100% ready for the season. Now, we call the professionals to do all this and all I do is buy plants and manage the flower boxes. I take that back. My daughter calls the professionals. When I get the bill, I know it is open and operational, and professionally cleaned..

Being full time the question here is when can the dock go in. Looking like early April for sure. No boat pickup as those spring storms will toss it


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Opening
 

My Father would never open the house until April 15, give or take. As I have gotten older, I have simply accepted the wisdom that he brought (probably by learning the hard way), so Mid April it is!

Alton Water Dept
 

Since we are on town water, we can't open up until late April after Alton turns on the water beyond the back bay bridge on Route 11.

Bucket Brigade
 

Time to get the bucket brigade working from the lake to the cottage then start boiling. ;)

Dave

No thanks
 

Staying in an uninsulated cottage with no running water to boot isn't my idea of a good time. Unless April is unusually warm, May 1 is soon enough to start enjoying the season.

Maybe Memorial Day Would Be Better...
 

One season, the ice hadn't (yet) gone out, but the quiet of an early season encouraged me to finish my IRS obligations in early April. :o Water and woodstove were ready, but it didn't occur to me that "unquiet" sleds would still be out there. :rolleye1:

Downhill, and fully loaded with provisions, my vehicle plowed the snow out of the way. Even after nearly two weeks of snow-melt, "D-Day" (April 14th) happened, and Florida tires couldn't get traction to reach the top of the driveway. :eek:

Lesson learned...:rolleye2:

I now have a 4 season house. Sometimes I miss that ”Opening weekend” lot of great memories there! With the seasonal camp on moultonboro bay and water from the lake we always opened the Saturday closet to April 15. Any earlier was a gamble.

Hopefully next weekend!

Dan