Orion · shared between both domes
The grounds
The common area is called Orion: a sand beach, a dock, mini golf, a putting green, a trampoline and a boat-sized playset, all on the strip of land between the two domes. None of it is booked separately and none of it is shared with anyone else on the lake.
The peninsula
Water on three sides, one road in.
Thirty-three private acres, and the land narrows to a point, so the lake wraps around almost the whole property. You turn in off Starry Night Lane through a gate, pass a hay field a local farmer still cuts, and come round the corner to the whole of Lake Monticello with both domes sitting above it.
Past the gate it is grass, trees and shoreline, and the only people on it are the ones staying in the domes. That geography does most of the work: wherever the children are, they are still on your land and within earshot.
Mini golf and play area
The putting course goes all the way around.
Rather than putting a green in one corner, the holes were laid out in a ring around the playset, so the course circles the whole area and the kids playing in the middle are always in view from wherever you’re standing.
- Mini golf, laid out in a loop
- Wooden playset with slide
- In-ground trampoline
- Giant checkerboard
- Giant tic-tac-toe
- Cornhole boards
- Hopscotch
- Shade sail over the seating
The dock
Built for sitting on as much as swimming off.
Timber, with benches built into the rails and a ladder at the end. It faces open water, so this is where the sunrise happens and where most people end up with coffee before anyone else is awake.
Fishing off the dock is fine and the lake holds largemouth, smallmouth, crappie and catfish. You’ll need a South Carolina fishing license, which you can buy online in about five minutes.
The beach
Sand, shade and a shallow entry.
A real sand beach rather than a mud bank, with trees behind it for shade and a picnic table under them. The bottom shelves off gently, which matters if you’re bringing small children or launching the kayaks.
There’s no lifeguard here, or anywhere on Lake Monticello. The lake level can also shift by a foot or two during the day when the pumps run, so the waterline moves.
Around the grounds
Everything between the domes.
Twelve more photographs of the beach, the dock and the play area.
Playset and hopscotch
Shade over the seating
Disc golf basket
The dock from the bank
Seating on the dock
The beach
Shallow entry
Shoreline by the dock
Play area, from the side
Looking down to the water
The whole peninsula
Where Polaris is going
Book the whole thing
Take both domes and the peninsula is yours.
| Big Dipper | Sleeps 10 — three bedrooms, a loft, two bathrooms |
| Little Dipper | Sleeps 6 — one bedroom, a loft, one and a half bathrooms |
| Both together | Sleeps 16, with Orion in between |
It’s how most family reunions and small retreats end up booking. Ask us and we’ll hold both.
That sixteen is a ceiling rather than a starting point, and it means sixteen people sleeping here. The peninsula isn’t an event venue, so parties and day guests need prior approval — ask us and we will tell you honestly whether it works.