Picture yourself curled up on an overstuffed couch, reading one of your favorite books in front of a roaring fire, built in a classic stone fireplace. The smell of wood sap is in the air, and if you turn your head you can see out the window onto a magnificent vista of nature in its most pristine element. There are no sirens, no horns, no street lights, no traffic. The only sounds are those common to the outdoors, a squirrel chattering, birds chirping, maybe even the haunting call of a loon on a nearby lake.

If this scene appeals to you, you can probably understand the growing popularity of hunting and fishing lodges.

Hunting and fishing lodges were once the sole indulgence of rich industrialists who through their ventures or capital could afford to have a small getaway tucked into some remote corner of wilderness, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, and pursue their manly inclinations.

The coming of age of the richest generation ever and the unprecedented accessibility via logging roads and other ventures to the great outdoors has now made it possible for almost anybody to enjoy their own hunting or fishing lodge in their version of paradise. Lakeside, mountainside, by rivers or streams, lodges are being built as getaways from life's drudging routine by people in all walks of life.

The increased popularity of the lodge is no doubt driven by a renewed interest in the natural world. People can come into closer communion with the forest and yet still retain a measure of comfort within the walls of their small lodge. Everything tends to be different in this sort of environment, and owners of lodges will often find they are much better acquainted with their fellow nature lovers with lodges or farms nearby than they are with the people in their own neighborhoods back home. Something about leaving the city seems to trigger a response within the soul that causes us to lose our fears and embrace the unfamiliar.

Best of all, lodges are appealing to those who would not even consider themselves sportspersons. If you choose to try your hand at a fishing rod or at firing a gun, there is no better place to do it. But for some, the lodge will remain purely a place to sit down, relax, and finish the book that you have been trying to read for months, away from the distractions of everyday life.