Cottages For Sale on Sparrow Lake

Owning a cottage on Sparrow Lake

Sparrow Lake is about an hour and a half from the GTA and sits right on the Trent-Severn Waterway. It is often called the most southerly Muskoka lake, sitting on the southern edge of the Canadian Shield. That location gives it granite islands and well-treed rocky shores without the longer drive north. For buyers who want a Shield lake but plan to come up most weekends, the short trip is the main reason to look here first.

It is a shallow, warm lake. The average depth is only about 4 m and the deepest spot is around 12 m, so the water heats up early in summer and stays comfortable for swimming. The trade-off is that it is a productive, nutrient-rich lake, with more weeds in the bays and a fishery built on panfish rather than trout.

Most cottages are road-accessible, and several full-service marinas serve the lake by both road and water. With the Severn River flowing straight through, owners can cruise to Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe one way, or toward Georgian Bay through the locks the other. Few lakes this close to the city offer that much boating range from a single dock, and the lake has a century of resort and cottage history behind it.

• Trent-Severn Waterway
• Short drive
• Fishing

History of Sparrow Lake

The lake is said to be named for William Sparrow, an Englishman who hunted and fished here in the 1800s and disappeared one summer, which led to rumours of foul play. The earliest known image of the area is a 1794 birch bark painting of McDonald Rapids on the Severn by Elizabeth Simcoe.

Captain Thomas Stanton launched the first steamboat on the lake in 1875. His family later founded Port Stanton on the south shore and the Sparrow Lake Steamship Line. In 1906 the Canadian Northern Ontario Railway reached the lake, with a station near the government wharf, and a resort boom was in full swing by 1908. More than a dozen hotels and lodges operated around the shore over the years.

The rapids at the outlet, including McDonald Rapids and Swift Rapids, disappeared when the Trent-Severn Waterway works were completed around 1917. Sparrow Lake Camp, founded in 1912, is the oldest children's camp run by the United Church of Canada, and the lake later served as a filming location for the TV series Paradise Falls.

Living on the Trent-Severn Waterway

Parks Canada runs the Trent-Severn Waterway, and Sparrow Lake is one of its lakes. The Severn River flows in at the southeast corner and out again about three kilometres away at the northwest corner. Downstream is Lock 43 at Swift Rapids, described by Parks Canada as the deepest single-chamber lock on the system, and beyond it the Big Chute Marine Railway at Lock 44.

This means through traffic. Boats travelling the waterway pass along the river route in summer, so frontage on the main channel sees more passing boats than a quiet back bay. Lockage permits are needed for anyone heading through the locks.

A warm, shallow lake for families

With an average depth of about 4 m, Sparrow Lake warms quickly and is a natural choice for families with young swimmers and paddlers. Granite islands and rocky points give the lake a Muskoka look.

Parks Canada warns paddlers about strong winds in the wider openings, and the lake's nutrient levels support plenty of aquatic plants. If a weed-free swim area matters to you, look at the frontage in July before buying.

Panfish country

Sparrow Lake is productive water. Yellow perch, rock bass, black crappie, pumpkinseed and bluegill are common, along with channel catfish, brown bullhead and bowfin. It is a lake for steady action off the dock rather than deep-water trout fishing.

Birdlife is a bonus. Loons, terns, ospreys, great blue herons and bald eagles all use the lake.

Getting there and getting supplies

Sparrow Lake lies northwest of Orillia and south of Gravenhurst, about 150 km from the GTA. That short drive makes year-round weekend use realistic. Orillia, to the southeast, and Gravenhurst, to the north, provide larger grocery stores and services.

Public put-ins include Franklin Park on Kilworthy Road and the Morrison Creek Landing dock and launch, both useful if you are bringing a boat before your own dock is ready.