Cottages For Sale on Skeleton Lake

Owning a cottage on Skeleton Lake

Skeleton Lake is known for one thing above all: its water. The cottagers' association reports average Secchi readings of more than 9 m, about three times the Muskoka average, and the provincial fact sheet agrees. The lake is nearly round, deep for its size with a mean depth of about 32 m, and fed mostly by groundwater and runoff rather than rivers. That combination keeps it clear, cold below the surface and steady in temperature through the summer.

It is a mid-sized lake, about 8 km across, ringed by islands in the main basin with a shallower south section. There are no navigation locks or through routes, so boat traffic is local. Shorelines are rocky Shield country under pine, and some cottage families here trace their time on the lake back to the 1920s. The active cottagers' organization runs water testing, publishes a lake plan and keeps a bathymetric map that new owners will find useful.

Skeleton sits between Port Carling and Huntsville and is split between two municipalities: the Township of Muskoka Lakes and the Town of Huntsville. That split matters for permits and rental rules, so it is the first thing to check on any listing. Huntsville, about 17 km east of the lake, is the nearest large town, and Port Carling is the closest village on the Muskoka Lakes side.

• Very clear water
• Possible impact crater
• Summer camps

History of Skeleton Lake

Geologists suspect the basin was made by a meteorite impact hundreds of millions of years ago. Estimates of its age vary widely between sources, and later glaciers scraped away much of the evidence, so the origin cannot be proven. The rounded shape is the main clue. The name has a darker story. Surveyors are said to have found two skeletons on the north shore, and a local chief explained that a mother and her weak son had stayed behind and starved when their people left the lake one hard winter.

Before 1970 the lake was divided among the old townships of Cardwell, Watt, Stisted and Stephenson. The Skeleton Lake Cottagers Organization's local history, The Bones of Skeleton Lake, records eight known sawmills, ten pioneer families, a first lodge in 1895 and the first cottager in 1913. Fish Hatchery Road and Fish Hatchery Park in Ullswater recall a provincial hatchery that local accounts say operated here until 1991.

Why the water is so clear

No major rivers flow into Skeleton Lake, so it carries little sediment and few nutrients. Deep water and underground springs keep temperatures fairly stable, and clarity actually improves as the summer goes on. Volunteers take Secchi readings three or four times a year in the main basin and report no meaningful downward trend.

Clear water is fragile, though. Spiny water flea, an invasive zooplankton, was recorded here in 1998. The association asks boaters to clean their boats between lakes and publishes guidance on septic care and natural shorelines.

A weir, not a gate: water levels on Skeleton

The lake drains over a fixed weir dam at the end of Simolean Bay into the Skeleton River. There is no one adjusting stop logs day to day, and a bypass keeps some water moving to the river in dry spells. Because few streams feed the lake, the level is relatively stable, but the weir can do little to drop high water quickly. The association recommends building docks above spring levels.

Boating: Beaman's Bay and unmarked shoals

Most boaters reach the main lake through Beaman's Bay, a channel less than 100 m wide lined with cottages, leading to the marina and the public ramp. Keep it slow, under 9 km/h, and stay in the middle. There are no federal channel markers on the lake, so use the association's bathymetric map to find shoals and respect private markers.

The association also publishes wake maps that set aside areas for wakeboarding and wave surfing well offshore, and asks power boaters to stay at least 50 m from shore. Paddlers and swimmers are a big part of lake life here.

Lake trout and walleye

Lake trout reproduce naturally, and the lake has not been stocked since 1993. In summer they hold in cold water far down, so downriggers are the usual approach; in spring they come shallower. Smallmouth bass work the rocky shallows, and walleye, introduced long ago, are also present along with lake whitefish and burbot. Fishing here is known for being challenging.

Beaches, launches and services

Skeleton Lake Park in Ullswater has a public beach, and the township has a public launch with parking at Skeleton Lake Road 3 plus docks on Bert Simms Road and Skeleton Lake Road 2. Huntsville, about 17 km away, has the closest hospital, Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, and is the nearest large town for supplies. Port Carling, to the southwest, has a community health hub.