Cottages For Sale on the Lake of Bays

Owning a cottage on 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. That shape means a lot of owners look across a narrow bay at a wooded hillside rather than across open water, and most of the lake feels more tucked in than its size suggests. It sits about 90 m higher than the Big Three, on the edge of Algonquin country.

This is a deep, cold, low-nutrient lake, and the provincial fact sheet rates its water quality as excellent. Lake trout here are wild and self-sustaining, and the lake has a long reputation for big ones. The township's four hamlets, Baysville, Dorset, Dwight and Hillside, are small, and Huntsville is the main service town. Below the warm surface layer the water drops to around 7 °C, which is why lake trout, whitefish and cisco all do well here.

For a cottage buyer, Lake of Bays offers a quieter alternative to the Muskoka Lakes without giving up size. There are resorts, marinas and golf clubs, but the cottage pace is slower. Most of the lake is in the Township of Lake of Bays, which licenses short-term rentals closely, while the southwest arm is in Huntsville. Highway 35 runs north and east of the lake, and Highway 60 passes through Dwight at the north end.

• Deep clear water
• Bigwin Island
• Lake trout
• Long bays

History of Lake of Bays

The lake has worn several names. Indigenous peoples called it by a name meaning Lake of Forks, and early maps also show Baptiste Lake, Forked Lake and Lake of Two Bays. Surveyor David Thompson mapped it as Forked Lake in 1837 and noted catching lake trout on September 5 of that year. A Hudson's Bay Company agent, Thomas Moffatt, called it Trading Lake and reported a trading outpost on Bigwin Island. Alexander Murray of the Geological Survey of Canada gave it its current name in 1853.

A dam at Baysville went in around 1873 and was replaced in 1918, raising the lake about 5 feet. In 1895 George Marsh merged his steamers with a rival's to form the Huntsville and Lake of Bays Transportation Company. Its narrow-gauge Portage Railway, opened in 1905, covered about 1.8 km between Peninsula Lake and South Portage on Lake of Bays, climbing about 53 m, and ran until 1959.

Charles Shaw, who bought the company in 1905, opened the 280-room Bigwin Inn on Bigwin Island in 1920. The SS Bigwin, a 1910 steam yacht moved overland from Lake Muskoka in 1925, ferried guests to the inn for decades. Volunteers restored her after she partly sank at her slip, and she is now based at a marine museum in Dorset.

A lake of long arms and sheltered bays

The shape of Lake of Bays shapes life on it. Bays like Trading, Ten Mile, Dwight and Haystack run deep into the shore, so even on a windy day there is usually calm water somewhere. The flip side is that crossing the lake by boat takes longer than the map suggests, and a property at the end of a long arm can be a fair run from the nearest marina.

Public launches are at Old Highway 117, South Portage Road, Rabbit Bay and Dwight, and there are several private marinas. The provincial fact sheet rates shoreline development as high, with resorts and commercial properties mixed in among cottages.

Wild lake trout and trophy fish

Lake of Bays is a self-sustaining lake trout lake. The province stopped stocking lake trout after 1993 to protect the native strain, and past surveys found average weights of about 2.2 to 4.4 kg, which is trophy territory. A 2004 winter creel survey estimated about 3,800 lake trout caught that season. Eggs from these fish were later used to help restore trout in nearby Mary Lake.

Brook trout still hold on in reduced numbers and depend on the streams that feed the lake. Northern pike showed up in the 1990s, probably through an unauthorized introduction, and smallmouth bass, cisco, whitefish and burbot are also common. Winter fishing focuses on lake trout, whitefish, smelt and burbot.

The Baysville dam and winter drawdown

Water levels are set by an MNRF-owned dam at Baysville, where the lake drains into the South Branch of the Muskoka River, under the Muskoka River Water Management Plan. Peak spring levels at Baysville ranged from about 315.3 m to 315.6 m between 2003 and 2019, a narrower band than on Lake Muskoka.

The lake is drawn down over winter, which matters for both docks and fish. A 1988 study estimated that winter drawdown cost lake trout about 10 to 21 percent of their eggs. Owners should design docks and shoreline work for a lower winter level.

Short-term rental rules in Lake of Bays

The Township of Lake of Bays licenses short-term rentals under By-law 2024-065, and the property must also be zoned to allow them. Applying requires a site plan, floor plan, septic details, proof of insurance and an inspection, and operating or advertising before the licence is issued is not allowed. Three demerit points or confirmed violations in a year can lead to suspension.

The southwest arm of the lake is in Huntsville, which licenses rentals of 30 days or less, caps the total number of licences, and requires one full year of ownership before you can apply.

Dorset, Dwight and Baysville

Dwight, at the north end along Highway 60, has the township office, Dwight Beach, marinas and shops. Dorset sits on Trading Bay and is known for its scenic lookout tower and the SS Bigwin museum. Baysville, at the south end, is home to the dam and hosts annual festivals. The Dorset Health Hub offers primary care, with limited same-day care for seasonal visitors, and the nearest hospital is Huntsville District Memorial Hospital.