Cottages For Sale on Kashagawigamog Lake

Owning a cottage on 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 along its shore than any other lake in the county. The lake is long and thin, made of two basins joined by a narrow channel, with the southwest basin a bit larger and wider. Owning here means being part of a social, well-travelled lake where you can run your boat right into Haliburton and tie up at the town docks.

The shoreline is gentler than on many Shield lakes farther north. Granite sits under a thin layer of topsoil, there are few big rock faces, and a number of natural sand beaches dot the shore. Mixed hardwood and conifer forest screens most of the cottages, so even a developed lake feels green from the water. Kash sits in the Land Between, the transition zone where the Canadian Shield meets the farmland of the St. Lawrence Lowlands, which explains the mix of rock, sand and weedy bays.

One detail matters more here than on most lakes: Kash is split between two municipalities. The east end near Haliburton falls in Dysart et al and the west end near Minden falls in Minden Hills. Shoreline, septic and short-term rental rules differ between them, so the same cottage can come with different paperwork depending on which side of the line it sits.

• Five-lake chain
• Boating to Haliburton village
• Resorts
• Year-round homes

History of Kashagawigamog Lake

Kashagawigamog is an Anishinaabe name usually translated as lake of long and winding waters. First Nations travelled it on the way to traditional hunting grounds. European settlers arrived in the late 1800s, and loggers used the lake to move timber south. Together with Canning Lake, Kash was the first water link between Minden and Haliburton, carrying people and goods before the main roads were finished in 1868.

Cottaging here goes back to the 1890s, giving Kash the oldest cottage history in Haliburton County. Once the railway reached Haliburton in 1878, the chain became a summer tourist hub. At its peak there were 33 lodges on the five lakes. Only two still operate, the Bonnie View Inn and Kashaga Lodge, and the former Chateau Woodland cabins on the northeast shore were turned into shared-ownership cottages in the 1990s.

Boating the five-lake chain into Haliburton

Kash connects to Grass and Head lakes to the east, Soyers Lake to the north and Canning Lake to the west, so a day on the water can cover a lot of ground. Boats can travel all the way into the village of Haliburton, where the town docks on Head Lake put you a short walk from shops and restaurants. The lake has two marinas and two public boat launches, and Harpers Marine on County Road 21 is a long-standing local stop for service and fuel.

The flip side of a connected, popular lake is traffic. When the lake association surveyed owners, boating practices and personal watercraft ranked among their top worries, and wake boats run by a summer hockey camp have become a point of debate. Expect a livelier lake than the quiet trout lakes to the north.

Fishing for walleye, trout and bass

Kash supports both warm and cold water fish, which is unusual for such a busy lake. Anglers target walleye, lake trout and bass most often, with muskellunge, yellow perch and white sucker also present; Cottage Life counts 14 fish species in all. Weed beds and rocky structure give bass plenty of cover, and ice fishing is popular once the lake locks up in December. The lake falls under Fisheries Management Zone 15 rules.

Water clarity, weeds and invasive species

The Lake Kashagawigamog Organization tests the water regularly. Its Secchi readings from 2016 to 2018 ranged from about 4.1 to 5.7 m, which is reasonable clarity for a lake this developed, and no blue-green algae blooms have been documented. A 2015 Watersheds Canada shoreline survey found submerged water plants in front of about three quarters of properties, and recorded Eurasian water milfoil and purple loosestrife. The invasive banded mystery snail is also being managed.

The association's lake plan, built from public sessions in 2012, lists 102 actions. It names shoreline alteration, boat wakes, septic effluent, road runoff and water level drawdowns as the main pressures. Buyers who leave a natural buffer along the water are doing what the plan asks.

Two municipalities, two rulebooks

Dysart et al covers the Haliburton end and Minden Hills covers the Minden end. The lake association has noted that the two have different shoreline and septic rules, which makes lake-wide planning harder. Both townships now license short-term rentals of under 28 nights, but fees, occupancy limits and inspection steps are not identical. Check the assessment roll for the property before you plan renovations or rentals.

Village services and emergency care

Haliburton village has schools, groceries, pharmacies and restaurants within an easy drive of the east basin, and the Ingoldsby area on the west side has Kate's Burger Counter as a summer landmark. Sir Sam's ski hill and several golf courses are close by. For emergencies, note that the Minden emergency department closed on June 1, 2023, and services were consolidated at the Haliburton hospital site.