Cottages For Sale on Clear Lake

Owning a cottage on Clear Lake

Clear Lake is the open, breezy end of the Stony Lake system. Where Stoney breaks into islands and channels, Clear Lake is mostly one broad basin, which is why sailors and windsurfers have long favoured it. The Canadian Shield begins only a couple of kilometres north of Young's Point, so this end of the system has gentler land than the granite country to the east. For many buyers that means easier building lots, more road access and a shorter drive to town.

It is also the front door to Stoney. Every boat heading up from Lakefield passes through Lock 27 at Young's Point and crosses Clear Lake on the way to Stony, Burleigh Falls and the upper Kawarthas. Owners get an active summer lake, with the yacht club racing on weekends and through traffic on the Trent-Severn route. Peterborough is about 25 km south, close enough that a winterized place here can work as a year-round home.

Officially there is no separate Clear Lake. The province adopted Stony Lake as the name for the whole chain in 1953, and Clear Lake is the local name for its southwestern basin. Listings, maps and associations still use Clear Lake, and the basin has its own character, its own bays and its own water quality numbers. Its shoreline is shared by Selwyn and Douro-Dummer townships, and the lockstation, village shops and restaurants at Young's Point give it a small service hub right at the water.

• Open boating water
• Road-access cottages
• Close to Lakefield

History of Clear Lake

Young's Point takes its name from Francis Young, an Irish civil engineer who settled here with his family in 1825 and built a dam and grist mill at the outlet. Later generations ran a store and steamboats carrying freight and passengers up to Stony Lake. The Stoney Lake Navigation Company had its office near the original homestead, where a cairn now stands by Lock 27. The building that became the Old Bridge Inn opened in 1887 as a general store.

Ontario built the first lock here in the 1870s as a wooden crib structure. Ottawa took it over in 1906 and replaced it with a concrete lock and dam in the 1920s. At the foot of the lake, the South Beach Hotel stood for about a century and burned twice. The South Beach Yacht Club grew out of a group of sailors who raced on Sundays, and Clear Lake hosted the Canadian Windsurfing Championships in 1977 and again in 1987.

Wind, sailing and open water

Clear Lake's open basin catches the wind in a way the island-sheltered parts of Stoney do not. That is great for sailing and windsurfing, and it is why the lake drew national windsurfing championships twice. For an owner, it also means waves. Exposed frontage needs a dock built for chop, and boats should not be left tied up loosely on a windy afternoon. If calm water for swimming and small kids matters most, look at lots tucked into the bays rather than on open points.

Lock 27 and the run to Lakefield

Lock 27 at Young's Point has an average lift of about 2.1 metres and drops boats into Katchewanooka Lake toward Lakefield and Peterborough. The lockstation has overnight mooring for up to two nights, a paddle dock, washrooms, drinking water and a picnic area. Because Clear Lake is the link between the lock and Stony Lake, the stretch near Young's Point sees steady boat traffic all summer. Cottages close to the lock trade some quiet for easy access to the village.

Water quality and weeds

Lake Partner Program volunteers sample three spots on Clear Lake. In 2020 total phosphorus ran from about 12 to 20 µg/L in Mackenzie Bay and about 15 to 16 µg/L in the main basin and Fiddlers Bay. Water clarity sat around 3.5 to 4 metres. The Kawartha Lake Stewards Association describes the phosphorus here as moderate, helped by low-nutrient water flowing down from Upper Stoney.

The bigger worry is starry stonewort, an invasive algae that forms dense mats on the bottom. The Association of Stoney Lake Cottagers lists McKenzie Bay among the bays where it has taken hold. Clean, drain and dry boats between lakes, and ask about weed growth in front of any property you are considering.

Close to town: Young's Point, Lakefield and Peterborough

Young's Point has marinas, restaurants, bed and breakfasts and a golf course, plus the Lockside Trading Company in one of the old Young family buildings. Highway 28 runs past the south end of the lake, linking the area to Lakefield and Peterborough, about 25 km to the south. Peterborough is the place for a hospital, big grocery runs and building supplies. That short, paved drive is a big part of why Clear Lake suits buyers who want to use the property in every season.

Two townships, two approaches to rentals

Clear Lake's shoreline is split between Selwyn and Douro-Dummer. Selwyn does not license short-term rentals but says operators can be held responsible for their guests, and its noise, burning and parking by-laws apply to everyone. Douro-Dummer formed a short-term rental advisory committee in 2022, and no rental licensing by-law appears on its by-law list. Rules in Peterborough County townships have been changing, so confirm the current position with the township before you buy for rental income.