Cottages For Sale on Peninsula Lake

Owning a cottage on Peninsula Lake

Peninsula Lake, known locally as Pen Lake, is Muskoka's resort lake. Deerhurst, Hidden Valley and several other resorts share the shore with cottages, and a ski hill rises above it. If you want a lake with golf, dining and winter skiing within a short boat ride, this is it. If you want silence, look closely at which bay you are buying in.

The lake is long and fairly narrow, about 10.7 km end to end, and it sits just east of Huntsville. Its name comes from two peninsulas that push into it from the north shore. The Lake Plan counts 352 shoreline lots, and almost every stretch of frontage is already built on, so buyers here are choosing among existing cottages rather than raw land.

Two municipalities share the water. The west end falls in the Town of Huntsville and the east end in the Township of Lake of Bays, which matters when you apply for permits or a rental licence. Both are close enough to Huntsville that groceries and the hospital are an easy drive in any season. The two municipalities have worked with the lake association on its Lake Plan since 2001, so local rules here tend to reflect a long, organized interest in protecting the water.

• Canal to Fairy Lake
• Hidden Valley ski hill
• Resorts

History of Peninsula Lake

Surveyor Alexander Murray named the lake in 1853 for its two northern peninsulas. Reverend Robert Norton Hill and his family arrived in 1869 as the first permanent settlers, and their trail along the north shore later became Highway 60. A dam built in 1877 at the Fairy Lake outlet controlled water levels on both lakes for logging and navigation.

In the late 1880s a canal was dug from Fairy Lake so steamers could reach Pen Lake. Charles Waterhouse opened Deerhurst in 1896, and in 1905 the short Portage railway began carrying passengers and freight over the steep height of land from North Portage on Pen Lake to South Portage on Lake of Bays. It is often described as the world's smallest commercial railway. Steamer service ended in 1958 and the railway closed in 1959. In 2010 the G8 summit was held at Deerhurst.

Resorts, the canal and summer boat traffic

The resorts bring rental boats, tour boats and guests onto the water, and the lake association reports that large wake boats have been damaging shorelines. The canal to Fairy Lake has posted speed and wake notices. Expect a livelier lake on summer weekends than many Muskoka lakes of the same size.

Public access is limited. The Lake Plan notes only three public access points, including a launch ramp near Tally Ho. Most boaters arrive from their own docks or come through the canal from Huntsville.

At capacity: why new lots are rare

Pen Lake's 2001 Lake Plan reports that the Ministry of Natural Resources considered the lake at capacity for lake trout habitat, so no new lots could be created. Combined with an almost fully built shoreline, this keeps the number of waterfront properties close to fixed.

For a buyer that cuts both ways. It protects the lake from more crowding, but it also means severances are effectively off the table and any rebuild is reviewed carefully. Confirm the current status with the town or township planning office before you buy.

Water quality and the 2017 algae bloom

Pen Lake has been rated slightly oligotrophic, meaning generally clear, low-nutrient water. In 2017 it had a blue-green algae bloom, and the District of Muskoka then listed it as a vulnerable lake. A District study completed in 2020 concluded the bloom was most likely triggered by a stretch of hot, calm weather that favoured a cyanobacteria called Gloeotrichia.

Shoreline soils on the west, north and east sides are fine silt and clay, which erode easily during construction. Good septic maintenance and a natural buffer along the water are the best things an owner can do here. Spiny water flea has been present since 1998.

Protected hills and the north shore view

Wolf Mountain, Flat Rock and Strawberry Mountain are held under a conservation easement so they stay natural, which keeps the skyline green from much of the lake. Cottages lined the south and part of the west shore by the 1930s, and several of the early family cottages along the Springsyde shore were still standing a century later.

Highway 60 follows the north side, so north shore lots are road-accessible and close to the resorts. South shore properties tend to feel more tucked away but face north.

Fishing on Pen Lake

The Lake Plan lists 16 fish species, from lake trout and lake whitefish in deep water to smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, northern pike and yellow perch in the bays. The west basin is the deeper of the two, at about 34 m, while the east basin bottoms out around 23 m.