The back of the Cottage with deck and lawn
On Hills Bay, in Mathews County, Virginia
Where the Piankatank meets the great Chesapeake Bay
This charming waterfront Cottage offers panoramic views of Hills Bay and the Chesapeake Bay beyond. The Cottage is comfortably furnished with 2 bedrooms (1 queen and 2 twin beds), an updated full bath, a fully equipped kitchen, and washer and dryer for guest use. The great room is surrounded by windows on two sides for expansive water views. A sliding glass door opens to the large deck. From the great room, deck, lawn or beach, guests can watch the sun set over the water.
Just a couple of steps down from the backyard is a private sand beach where guests can swim, fish, stand up paddleboard, launch a kayak, or just lounge lazily in the sun. Kayaks are available to explore Hills Bay, a shallow sandy-bottomed body of water, and to paddle out to the Chesapeake Bay. After a quick rinse in the Cottage’s outdoor shower after a day on the beach or on the water, guests can use the charcoal grill for cooking up the day’s catch or locally bought seafood. The Cottage has Dish TV and wifi.
Bird and natural life are abundant and seen frequently from the Cottage. Bald eagles nest nearby in the cooler months, leaving the nest to ospreys in the warmer months. Blue herons visit the beach and bulkhead year-round, and guests see dolphins from late Spring through the Fall. Fishing is excellent with guests catching croaker, spot, drum, and trout from the beach and water close by, and rockfish and flounder can be caught by paddling not far into Hills Bay.
Guests use the Cottage’s beach and recreational equipment in our Shed free of charge: bikes, double and single kayaks, a stand up paddleboard, rafts, noodles, beach chairs, a croquet set, a crab pot, fishing nets, and more.
A public marina for boats is located 1/4 mile from the Cottage next to Hole In the Wall, an excellent waterfront restaurant. The Island has it’s own Museum, with memorabilia and artifacts including the oldest known man-made took in the America’s, found in the waters off the Island.
Gwynn’s Island is rich in history. Legend says that a Native American princess (possibly Pocahontas) almost drowned in the waters off the Island and was saved by Hugh Gwin, the island’s namesake. Her father the chief gave the island in thanks to Gwin. The Battle of Cricket Hill, an important Revolutionary War battle, took place on the Island in 1776, where the last British governor of Virginia was driven off the Island and banished for good, ending British control of Virginia. The earthworks battery erected by Patriot General Lewis is still visible off Milford Haven. The Battle is re-enacted frequently and at the annual Gwynn’s Island Festival, Lord Dunmore can be “dunked” in a dunking booth.
The Cottage is 4 miles from “downtown” Mathews with numerous restaurants, interesting shops, historic structures, grocery stores, a library, and a farmer’s market on Saturday mornings 7 months a year. Nearby destinations include New Point Comfort Lighthouse, the 3rd oldest lighthouse on the Chesapeake designed by Thomas Jefferson, longer public beaches on the Chesapeake Bay, and the idyllic waterside towns of Deltaville, Kilmarnock, and Urbanna, and Gloucester. Yorktown Battlefield, where our nation secured its independence, and Colonial Williamsburg, home to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA, are within an hour’s drive.
Pets are permitted with prior arrangement with the manager and a small pet fee.
Smoking is not permitted anywhere on the property.