Cottages For Sale on Chandos Lake

Owning a cottage on 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. There are no locks and no dam. The lake drains quietly out its north end through Flat Creek toward the Crowe River, so its level rises and falls with the weather rather than a Parks Canada schedule. At about 48 m deep with a long, convoluted shoreline, it holds a natural lake trout population, which shapes everything from fishing seasons to how many new lots can be created.

It is also a big, social cottage lake. Roughly 1,200 cottages line about 56 km of shore, with three marinas and a public beach. The Chandos Lake Property Owners Association, active since 1947, runs a regatta, fireworks, a sailing club, kids' fishing derby and plenty more, and it numbers every waterfront lot on its maps and docks. Most properties are seasonal. The 2009 capacity study counted 103 principal residences among 935 developed waterfront homes on the main lake.

Apsley, home to the North Kawartha township office and community centre, is the nearest village. County Roads 620 and 504 loop around the lake, which makes road access common, though it is still worth confirming year-round maintenance for any private lane. Chandos is also the largest lake in the Crowe River watershed, so it drains toward the Trent River without passing through the Kawartha lock system. For owners, that means a quieter lake with no through traffic from Trent-Severn cruisers.

• Deep clear water
• About 1,200 cottages
• Three marinas
• Road access

History of Chandos Lake

Chandos sits in the treaty and traditional territory of the Mississauga Anishinaabeg, who called it Mongosogan. Most of the lake falls within Treaty 20, the Rice Lake Purchase of November 1818, with part of the east side under the Rideau Purchase of 1819. Settlers knew it as Loon Lake until 1937, when it was renamed, apparently after the township it sat in.

Logging came first. The Rathbun Company of Deseronto began buying land around the Crowe River in 1874 and in 1876 picked up more acreage including Saw Mill Bay at the north end, where the lake drains out. A 1910 photo shows crews winching a log boom down the lake toward that outlet. Local farmers worked the winter camps for extra income. The Rathbuns kept operating until the First World War began, then gradually sold their land and timber rights.

Tourism followed. Some of the earliest summer hotels were on West Bay, and from 1926 to 1936 Byles Lodge at Scott's Landing ran as a fishing camp for 20 to 30 weekend guests. Old-timers remembered as many as six small planes in the bay on busy weekends, carrying city anglers in for a few days.

Lake trout, sanctuary rules and the capacity question

Chandos is designated a natural lake trout lake, one of a small share of Ontario lakes that can support the species. Lake trout need cold, well-oxygenated deep water, and a 2008 to 2009 capacity study found the main lake's deep water averaged 7.9 mg/L of dissolved oxygen, above the province's 7.0 mg/L benchmark. Gilmour Bay averaged only 3.7 mg/L and cannot hold trout in summer.

That study concluded Gilmour Bay was at capacity and recommended no further shoreline development there. It found the main lake was also at capacity, and said any new development should go ahead only with strict phosphorus controls, such as no net increase in phosphorus and 60 m minimum lot frontage. Buyers hoping to sever a lot should talk to the township early.

A lake without a dam

Because no dam controls it, Chandos behaves differently from Trent-Severn lakes. The level depends on silt in the outlet culverts, any blockages along Flat Creek, groundwater and, in spring, the Crowe River itself, which can run high enough to push water back up the creek into the lake. Local monitoring has recorded spring highs in 1994, 2011 and 2012, summer levels about two feet higher than they were 20 years ago, and a notable drop in the summer of 2025. Docks and boathouses need to cope with both.

Water quality and invasive species

The lake is oligotrophic, meaning low in nutrients, with annual Secchi readings above 4 m in the capacity study and about 5 to 6 m in more recent testing. Phosphorus has crept up from an estimated natural level near 8 µg/L to about 10 to 11 µg/L, a trend that makes septic care and natural shorelines important here.

Eurasian watermilfoil is the main invader. Since 2018 the association has worked with Trent University on control trials using biodegradable bottom mats and native milfoil weevils. Zebra mussels had not been reported as of 2023. Calcium in the lake is about 21 mg/L, close to the level where they can survive, so boat cleaning matters.

Fishing seasons on a sanctuary lake

Chandos is a fish sanctuary in Fisheries Management Zone 15. According to the association's summary of the provincial rules, all fishing is closed from January 1 to the Friday before the third Saturday in May and again for all of December, which rules out ice fishing. Bass open later, on the Friday before the fourth Saturday in June, and lake trout between 40 and 55 cm must be released. Always check the current Ontario regulations before heading out.

Rentals and rules in North Kawartha

North Kawartha does not yet have a short-term rental by-law. A township advisory committee delivered final recommendations in February 2026, held a public open house in May 2026, and a follow-up staff report to council is planned for late 2026. Buyers counting on rental income should watch that process closely, since registration or licensing rules could follow.