Cottages For Sale on Kamaniskeg Lake

Owning a cottage on Kamaniskeg Lake

Kamaniskeg is a Madawaska River lake with a town at each end. Barry's Bay sits at the north tip, with Highway 60, a hospital and everyday town services, while Combermere anchors the southeast end where the river carries on downstream. In between are about 13 kilometres of water, a scatter of islands and a lot of wooded shoreline.

The Ojibwe name means lake of many islands, and the islands shape how the lake feels. Mask Island is joined to Barry's Bay by a causeway, and Mayflower Island shares its name with the lake's best-known story, the 1912 sinking of the steamer Mayflower. The lake is moderately deep, about 40 metres at its deepest, and wide enough in the middle to feel open.

For a buyer, the appeal is a real cottage-country lake with town services at the end of the lake rather than an hour away. The Ottawa Valley's Irish and Polish settlement history runs deep here, and nearby Wilno, named after the Polish name for Vilnius, is a reminder of it.

• Barry's Bay
• Sand and rock beaches
• Mayflower shipwreck
• Big-water boating

History of Kamaniskeg Lake

The Algonquin people called the Barry's Bay area Kuaenash Ne-ishing and used it as a gathering place. Settlement opened up in the late 1850s with the Opeongo Line, a colonization road pushing west from Renfrew. Between 1858 and 1910, Irish and Polish families took up land, many of the Polish settlers between Wilno and Barry's Bay.

Logging drove the early economy. In the late 1800s the Madawaska carried timber out of these forests, and around 1916 the painter Tom Thomson followed a log drive on the river and painted The Drive.

On the night of November 12, 1912, the paddle steamer Mayflower sank on Kamaniskeg Lake. Its wreck lies about 7.6 metres down, north of the large island now called Mayflower Island, and a lookout near Combermere marks the story. Barry's Bay opened a post office in 1876 and incorporated in 1933. Combermere is home to Madonna House, the Catholic community founded by Catherine Doherty and Eddie Doherty.

A lake on the Madawaska River

The Madawaska River flows in on the west side of Kamaniskeg and out at the southeast end toward Combermere, and smaller creeks such as Biernacki, Carson and Purdy feed it too. That makes the lake part of a larger river system. Downstream, Ontario Power Generation runs several hydro stations on the Madawaska. Ask the seller how the lake level has varied at their dock over the seasons, since river-fed lakes can rise noticeably in spring.

Islands and the Mayflower wreck

From north to south the main islands are Mask, Mayflower and Parcher. The Mayflower wreck lies about 460 metres north of the large island at roughly 7.6 metres deep, and it is usually marked with a white floating jug. Treat it as a heritage site and keep clear of the marker when anchoring.

Island lots and points give you more privacy, but they also mean more boating to reach the mainland. Plan how you will handle shoulder seasons when ice is forming or going out.

Fishing the Madawaska system

The Madawaska is known for walleye, northern pike, muskellunge and both smallmouth and largemouth bass, and Kamaniskeg sits right on it. Rocky island shorelines and weedy bays give a range of water to fish. Check the Fisheries Management Zone regulations for seasons and limits before you go.

Barry's Bay, the beach and the launch

Barry's Bay is the service centre, with a population of about 1,100 and St. Francis Memorial Hospital, a 20-bed community hospital with an emergency department that sees more than 11,000 visits a year. The township's public boat launch and dock is at 25 Island Lane, within walking distance of downtown.

Lakeshore Park, also in Barry's Bay, has a sandy public beach, a seasonal accessible water ramp, a playground and washrooms. The Renfrew County health unit tests the water there weekly in summer.

Combermere and the east shore

Renfrew County Road 62 runs along the east side of the lake between Barry's Bay and Combermere and links to Highway 60, which is how many east-shore cottages are reached. Combermere sits on the Madawaska at the southeast end, and the Kamaniskeg Lake Water Aerodrome, a floatplane base, is on the southeast shore. In August 2006 an F1 tornado caused heavy damage to cottages and trailers around Combermere, a reminder to check tree cover near any building.