Cottages For Sale on Mary Lake

Owning a cottage on Mary Lake

Mary Lake is the southern anchor of the Huntsville lakes, a big, deep, island-dotted lake with the village of Port Sydney and its sand beach at the bottom end. It covers more than 1,000 hectares, yet it keeps a village feel because Port Sydney is small and the shore is mostly cottages and homes. The north end is quieter and leads up the river toward Huntsville.

The water is deep and fairly clear for the area, with clarity of about three and a half metres and an average depth near 25 m. Eight islands break up the open water, led by Crown Island, and the lake is part of the North Muskoka River system, which links it by lock to the rest of the Huntsville lakes. Rocky shoreline is common, which limited cottage building in early years and still shapes where docks and swimming spots work best.

Ownership here has been shifting. The lake association notes that many older cottages are being replaced by full-time homes. The lake sits close to Highway 11, and Huntsville, with its hospital and shopping, is a short drive north. That mix of year-round neighbours and summer families gives the lake a lived-in feel in every season, and the association works to protect the shoreline scenery that drew people here in the first place.

• Port Sydney beach
• Boating to Huntsville
• Family cottages

History of Mary Lake

The Rama people from the Orillia area travelled through on their way to the Algonquin highlands, and families often camped on Mary Lake while hunters went north. First Nations called Crown Island Kche-negeek-chiching, the place of the great otter. Surveyor Alexander Murray named the lake in 1853 for his eldest daughter, Mary Ellen.

Settlers came in the late 1860s for cheap land and big pine. Logging ruled for about 30 years, and Port Sydney took its name from mill owner Sydney Smith. Log locks were built at Port Sydney in the 1870s, and the Brunel Locks opened the route north to Huntsville in 1877. Steamers such as the Northern, Algonquin and Ramona carried passengers, and the small steamer Phoebe made the last run down the river in 1949.

Tourism followed. Clyffe House, run by the Jenner family who settled here in 1869, expanded in the early 1900s and became one of Muskoka's longest family-run resorts. Around 25 lodges and inns eventually opened, most of them in Port Sydney, and children's camps have operated on the lake since the 1930s, including the Muskoka Bible Centre at the north end.

Port Sydney beach and the south end

Port Sydney Beach is a public beach managed by the Town of Huntsville. On hot weekends the south end fills with swimmers and day visitors. Owners near the village get walkable access to the beach and village life, but should expect more activity in July and August.

Water leaves the lake at the south end over the falls and dam at Port Sydney. The dam is owned and run by the province under the Muskoka River Water Management Plan.

Boating north to Huntsville

Mary Lake is part of the North Muskoka River. At the north end, the river leads up to the Brunel Locks, which lift boats about eight feet into Fairy Lake. From there you can carry on to Peninsula Lake or through Huntsville to Lake Vernon. New locks opened in 1989, keeping this route open for pleasure boats.

Within the lake itself, the islands and rocky points call for a chart and some local knowledge. The northwest side has Mary Lake Marina, a private business that offers paid public access.

Lake trout rehabilitation and a mixed fishery

The native fish community was built around lake trout, whitefish, cisco and brook trout. Introduced species changed that. Today lake trout persist largely through stocking, while bass and northern pike are abundant. Walleye are the newest arrival and appear to be establishing.

The province has been trying to rebuild self-sustaining trout. Since 2009 it has collected lake trout eggs from Lake of Bays for Mary Lake and moved adult whitefish in from Lake of Bays, and netting in 2011 found those fish surviving. The lake is managed as put-grow-take for lake trout and is not listed at development capacity.

Islands and rocky shoreline

Eight islands sit in Mary Lake: Crown, Bonner, Gall, Lawrence, Rocky, Forrest, Deadman's and the Isle of Pines. Deadman's Island, named for an early settler, is joined to the mainland by a causeway. Island lots come with water-only access, so you will need a reliable boat and a mainland parking plan.

Much of the mainland shore is rock, which makes for deep water off the dock but can mean steep lots and tricky septic placement. Ask for a lot survey and septic records.