Lake Muskoka
Lake Muskoka is the largest of Muskoka's Big Three and the busiest.
- Area121 km²
- Max depth73 m
- From Toronto~2 h 30 min
- For sale116
Lake by lake
Ontario Cottage Lake Guides
In-depth, sourced guides to 42 Ontario cottage lakes: size, depth, fish, water quality, boating, history, rental rules and what to check before you buy.
Region
Explore MuskokaMuskoka lake guides
Lake Rosseau
Lake Rosseau is the middle of the three big Muskoka lakes, and everything passes through it.
- Area6,390 ha
- Max depth89 m
- From Toronto~2 h 30 min
- For sale24
Lake Joseph
Lake Joseph is the deepest and clearest of Muskoka's Big Three.
- Area5,460 ha
- Max depth93 m
- From Toronto~2 h 30 min
- For sale25
Lake of Bays
Lake of Bays earns its name. Instead of one big basin, it is a tangle of long arms and deep bays, with about 167 km of shoreline wrapped around a lake of roughly 6,780 hectares.
- Area6,780 ha
- Max depth70 m
- From Toronto~2 h
- For sale67
Skeleton Lake
Skeleton Lake is known for one thing above all: its water.
- Area2,075 ha
- Max depth65 m
- For sale6
Lake Vernon
Lake Vernon is Huntsville's lake. The town grew up on the short stretch of the Muskoka River that runs from Vernon's east end to Fairy Lake, so owners here are minutes from a hospital and th…
- Area1,566 ha
- Max depth38 m
- For sale10
Fairy Lake
Fairy Lake is the lake Huntsville grew up around.
- Area699 ha
- Max depth69 m
- For sale6
Peninsula Lake
Peninsula Lake, known locally as Pen Lake, is Muskoka's resort lake.
- Area869 ha
- Max depth34 m
- For sale36
Mary Lake
Mary Lake is the southern anchor of the Huntsville lakes, a big, deep, island-dotted lake with the village of Port Sydney and its sand beach at the bottom end.
- Area1,061 ha
- Max depth56 m
- For sale8
Sparrow Lake
Sparrow Lake is about an hour and a half from the GTA and sits right on the Trent-Severn Waterway.
- Max depth12 m
- From Toronto~1 h 30 min
- For sale7
Kahshe Lake
Kahshe Lake is a lake of islands, rocks and bays, shared by roughly 600 cottages.
- Area830 ha
- For sale12
Three Mile Lake
Three Mile Lake is a quieter, inland Muskoka lake in the Township of Muskoka Lakes, northeast of Port Carling and west of Port Sydney.
- For sale14
Region
Explore Haliburton HighlandsHaliburton Highlands lake guides
Kashagawigamog Lake
Locals just call it Kash. It is the middle and busiest link in the five-lake chain that runs from the village of Haliburton southwest toward Minden, and it has more cottages and resorts alon…
- Area817 ha
- From Toronto~2 h 30 min
- For sale8
Kennisis Lake
Kennisis is big, deep and cold. Together with Little Kennisis it forms the second-largest lake in the Haliburton Highlands, at over 16 square kilometres, and the main lake drops to about 95…
- Area1,420 ha
- Max depth95 m
- For sale13
Redstone Lake
Redstone is classic deep Shield trout water.
- Max depth82 m
- For sale4
Haliburton Lake
Haliburton Lake is a 1950s cottage community that grew up around an old logging depot.
- Area1,031 ha
- From Toronto~3 h
- For sale6
Drag Lake
Drag Lake has been a working reservoir for more than a century, and that history shapes everything from the dock to the drive.
- Area1,003 ha
- Max depth55 m
- For sale5
Gull Lake
This is the Gull Lake just south of Minden, not the one in Gravenhurst.
- Area995 ha
- Max depth49 m
- For sale14
Region
Explore Kawartha LakesKawartha Lakes lake guides
Balsam Lake
Balsam Lake sits at the very top of the Trent-Severn Waterway.
- Area4,800 ha
- Max depth15 m
- From Toronto~2 h
- For sale25
Cameron Lake
Cameron Lake is small by Kawartha standards, but it is deep, and the water moves through it fast.
- Area1,500 ha
- Max depth18 m
- From Toronto~2 h
- For sale17
Sturgeon Lake
Sturgeon Lake is shaped like a Y, with a town at the tip of each arm.
- Area4,700 ha
- Max depth10.6 m
- From Toronto~1 h 45 min
- For sale24
Pigeon Lake
Pigeon Lake is long and fairly narrow, running about 27 km from Bobcaygeon in the north toward Omemee in the south.
- Area5,700 ha
- From Toronto~2 h 15 min
- For sale44
Four Mile Lake
Four Mile Lake is a closed lake. There is no lock, no river channel and no navigable link to the Trent-Severn, so the only boats on it belong to people who live there or launch at the public…
- Area786 ha
- Max depth19 m
- From Toronto~2 h 20 min
- For sale3
Shadow Lake
Shadow Lake is really a wide spot on the Gull River.
- Area357 ha
- Max depth22 m
- From Toronto~2 h
- For sale7
Region
Explore Peterborough & the KawarthasPeterborough & the Kawarthas lake guides
Stony Lake
Stoney Lake sits right on the seam between the Canadian Shield and the farm country to the south.
- Area2,765 ha
- Max depth32 m
- From Toronto~2 h
- For sale22
Clear Lake
Clear Lake is the open, breezy end of the Stony Lake system.
- From Toronto~2 h
- For sale6
Buckhorn Lake
Buckhorn Lake is the crossroads of the central Kawarthas.
- For sale26
Chemong Lake
Chemong is the Kawartha lake closest to Peterborough, starting only about 8 km northwest of the city.
- For sale24
Chandos Lake
Chandos is a deep, clear Shield lake on the edge of the Kawarthas, and it plays by different rules from its Trent-Severn neighbours.
- Area1,390 ha
- Max depth48 m
- For sale10
Rice Lake
Rice Lake is long, shallow and warm, a very different animal from the rocky Shield lakes to the north.
- Max depth8 m
- For sale59
Region
Explore Georgian Bay & Simcoe CountyGeorgian Bay & Simcoe County lake guides
Georgian Bay
Owning on Georgian Bay is a different decision from buying on an inland lake.
- Area15,000 km²
- For sale351
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe is the big, open lake just north of the city, and owning on it feels different from owning in the Shield lakes farther north.
- Area722 km²
- Max depth41 m
- For sale242
Lake Couchiching
Couchiching is the smaller, narrower lake that hangs off the north end of Lake Simcoe, and that size is a big part of its appeal.
- Area3,375 ha
- Max depth12 m
- For sale43
Region
Explore Parry Sound & AlmaguinParry Sound & Almaguin lake guides
Lake Manitouwabing
Manitouwabing is a long, many-armed lake northeast of Parry Sound, with the village of McKellar sitting at its north end.
- Area1,178 ha
- Max depth33.6 m
- For sale19
Horseshoe Lake
Horseshoe Lake sits in Seguin Township, the first municipality you reach in Northern Ontario as you drive up the Highway 400 and 69 corridor toward Parry Sound.
- For sale5
Lake Bernard
Lake Bernard is the big, deep, open lake at the edge of Sundridge in the Almaguin Highlands, and its claim to fame is simple: there is not a single island on it.
- Area2,090 ha
- Max depth45.7 m
- For sale9
Region
Explore Blue Mountains & Grey CountyBlue Mountains & Grey County lake guides
Lake Eugenia
Lake Eugenia is a working reservoir that became a cottage lake.
- For sale9
Region
Explore Land O' Lakes & FrontenacLand O' Lakes & Frontenac lake guides
Sharbot Lake
Sharbot Lake is a lake with a real village on it.
- For sale13
Mazinaw Lake
Mazinaw is the lake with the cliff. Mazinaw Rock rises about 100 metres straight out of the water near the narrows, and the lake below it drops to around 145 metres, among the deepest inland…
- Max depth145 m
- For sale10
Region
Explore Rideau Lakes & Thousand IslandsRideau Lakes & Thousand Islands lake guides
Big Rideau Lake
Big Rideau is the largest lake on the Rideau Canal, a long, deep trough of water running roughly 32 kilometres from the Narrows to Rideau Ferry.
- Max depth110 m
- From Toronto~3 h
- For sale10
Charleston Lake
Charleston Lake feels farther north than it is.
- Area2,620 ha
- Max depth91 m
- For sale6
Region
Explore Ottawa Valley & MadawaskaOttawa Valley & Madawaska lake guides
Kamaniskeg Lake
Kamaniskeg is a Madawaska River lake with a town at each end.
- Max depth40 m
- For sale11
Common questions
Where does the information in these lake guides come from?
Each guide is researched from public sources: Ontario lake fact sheets and fisheries data, Parks Canada for the Trent-Severn Waterway and Rideau Canal, township and county bylaws, conservation authorities and lake associations. Every guide lists its sources at the bottom, and we leave a number out rather than guess.
Are the prices on the lake guides up to date?
Yes. Listing counts and median asking prices come straight from the MLS® and refresh through the day. Sold prices by year come from the PropTx sold history and are shown to free members.
What if my lake does not have a guide yet?
Every lake page already shows live listings, market numbers and sold history by year. We are adding full guides lake by lake, starting with the lakes buyers ask about most. Ask us about any lake and a cottage specialist will answer.
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