Cottages For Sale on Lake Rosseau

Owning a cottage on Lake Rosseau

Lake Rosseau is the middle of the three big Muskoka lakes, and everything passes through it. Boats lock up from Lake Muskoka at Port Carling, cross the lake, and slip through the narrows at Port Sandfield into Lake Joseph. That makes Rosseau the hub of the system. It is also very deep, reaching about 89 m, so its deep water stays cold through summer, which is what lake trout need.

The south end around Port Carling, Windermere and Minett is the most built up, with resorts, marinas and long-established family cottages on rocky points. Head north and the lake narrows toward Rosseau village, the shoreline gets quieter, and the north end falls under Seguin Township rather than Muskoka Lakes. There is no Crown land on the lake, so almost all of the shore is private.

For a buyer, Rosseau sits between its neighbours in many ways. It is less sprawling than Lake Muskoka and a little more lived-in than Lake Joseph. Tobin Island and more than 60 smaller islands add about 80 km of island shoreline, so boat-access properties are common, but there is plenty of road-access frontage on both shores too. Public launches at Port Carling, Rosseau village and Ullswater make it easy to get a boat in.

• Boathouses
• Port Carling locks
• Island cottages

History of Lake Rosseau

Lake Rosseau and Lake Joseph were named by William Robinson, a member of the Upper Canada assembly who later became Commissioner of Public Works, after his friend Joseph Rousseau, the father of a local fur trader. Long before that, the Ojibwe settlement of Obajewanung stood at Port Carling, on the river between Rosseau and Lake Muskoka.

Lake Rosseau was where Muskoka resort life began. Rosseau House opened at the head of the lake in 1870 and is remembered as one of Ontario's first summer resorts; the hotel is long gone. Windermere grew up around a post office opened in 1868 and was incorporated in 1924, once ranking as the smallest village in Ontario. Port Carling took its name from public works minister John Carling, who was instrumental in building its locks, and those locks let steamers carry guests up from Gravenhurst; and the Eaton department store family were among the prominent families who built summer places here.

Port Carling: locks, a dam and a headwater lake

Rosseau's level is set by an MNRF-owned dam at Port Carling, and the locks there lift boats about two feet from Lake Muskoka. Because Rosseau and Joseph sit near the top of the system, the Muskoka Watershed Council notes they can peak within a couple of days of heavy rain. Spring levels can move quickly, so docks and boathouses need to be built with that in mind.

The locks are the main link to Lake Muskoka and the rest of the chain. On busy summer weekends, plan for slow-speed traffic through Port Carling.

Getting on the water

Public launches serve Rosseau village, Port Carling (Birch Avenue) and Ullswater on Highway 141, along with numerous private marinas. Township docks at Windermere, Maple Leaf Bay and Brackenrig give short-term tie-ups, and fees apply at the managed wharves. The lake is about 8.5 km at its widest, so the open middle can get rough in a strong wind while the bays and island lee sides stay calmer.

Fishing a deep, cold lake

Lake trout here reproduce naturally and have not been stocked since 1990. Whitefish, cisco, walleye, smallmouth and largemouth bass and northern pike round out the main catch, and muskellunge and black crappie are introduced species. A 2016 provincial survey recorded emerald shiner and logperch on the lake for the first time, both thought to be native. The lake sits in Fisheries Management Zone 15, so check current zone rules before you go out.

Water clarity and invasive species

The province lists a Secchi reading of about 5.4 m, meaning you can typically see a disk more than five metres down. Spiny water flea, an invasive zooplankton that fouls fishing lines, has been in the lake since 1989. The Muskoka Lakes Association and the District of Muskoka both monitor water quality across the big lakes.

Beaches and public access

The township's public beaches near Windermere include Windermere Park and Four Mile Point Park on Rosseau Lake Road 3. Most of the shoreline is private, so swimming for owners usually means the dock or a sheltered cove. Shield shorelines can drop off quickly, which suits diving but not small children, so look for a shallow, gradual entry if that matters to you.

Services from Port Carling to Rosseau village

Port Carling is the main service village, with a community health hub, shops and the township office. Rosseau village at the north tip has a nursing station run by West Parry Sound Health Centre. The nearest full hospitals are South Muskoka Memorial in Bracebridge and Huntsville District Memorial, both run by Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare.