Peninsula Lake | |
---|---|
Location | Muskoka District Municipality, Ontario |
Coordinates | 45°20′N79°7′W / 45.333°N 79.117°W |
Basin countries | Canada |
Max. length | 10.7 km (6.6 mi) [1] |
Surface area | 840 ha (8.4 km2; 3.2 sq mi) [1] |
Max. depth | 37 m (121 ft) [1] |
Water volume | .0838 km3 (0.0201 cu mi) [1] |
Shore length1 | 29.8 km (18.5 mi) [1] |
Surface elevation | 284 m (932 ft) [1] |
Islands | Hills Island, Wolf Island, Cubby Island, Grassy Island |
Settlements | Huntsville, Township of Lake of Bays |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
Peninsula Lake in the District Municipality of Muskoka, known colloquially as "Pen Lake", is one of the Muskoka Lakes. [2]
Peninsula Lake is a mid-sized cold-water lake located just east of Huntsville, Ontario. [3] Municipal jurisdiction is split between the Town of Huntsville and the Township of Lake of Bays. The Lake encompasses a surface area of 868.8 ha (8.6 km2) and a total shoreline of 27.4 km.
The shoreline of Peninsula Lake is generally characterized as being typical of most developed cottage country lakes. The land immediately surrounding Peninsula Lake has predominantly residential uses, however, there are 7 commercial resorts, including Cedar Grove Lodge, one commercial ski hill, and one residential condominium. Other resorts on the lake include Deerhurst Resort and Hidden Valley Resort. There are two large islands on the lake. Hills Island, the larger of the two, is situated in the central waters and Wolf Island is located in Wolf Bay at the lake's eastern edge.
There is currently no industrial development, although the area has been heavily logged over the past two centuries.
The G8 summit was held on the lake at the Deerhurst Resort from June 25–26, 2010.
The water level of Peninsula Lake is controlled at two points. The first control point, which is the outlet of the lake, is the canal that is located between Fairy and Peninsula Lake. The canal was excavated in 1888 [4] to facilitate access to Peninsula Lake by large steam ships. Before the canal was created the area consisted of a small stream and wetland. The second point is a water control structure located at the outlet of Fairy Lake.
Peninsula Lake was named by the explorer and surveyor Alexander Murray during his 1853 expedition to the area. Murray named the lake in honor of its distinctive geographical shape, which features two prominent peninsulas on its northern shoreline. [5]
The first permanent settlers in the area were Reverend Robert Norton Hill and his family, in 1869, on the peninsula. The trail Hill created to Hunstville, originally known as Hill's Trace, is now the current path of Highway 60. [6]
In 1877 a dam was constructed to control the water levels of Fairy and Peninsula Lakes to enhance navigation and logging operations. [3] The Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway, completed in 1905, was a 1.8 km link that connected Peninsula Lake and Lake of Bays, playing a vital role in opening North Muskoka to tourism and development. [7]
Founded in 1896 by Charles W. Waterhouse, Deerhurst Resort was the first major summer resort on Peninsula Lake and Muskoka's northern lakes. [8] Cedar Grove Lodge started as a resort in 1927, Tally Ho Inn was established as a year-round resort in 1939, [9] and Colonial Bay was established as Brooklyn Lodge in the 1940s. [10] From the canal's construction in 1888 until 1958, tourists and cottagers used private steamships to get to Peninsula Lake. [11]
Lake of the Woods is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. Lake of the Woods is over 70 miles (110 km) long and wide, containing more than 14,552 islands and 65,000 miles (105,000 km) of shoreline. It is fed by the Rainy River, Shoal Lake, Kakagi Lake and other smaller rivers. The lake drains into the Winnipeg River and then into Lake Winnipeg. Ultimately, its outflow goes north through the Nelson River to Hudson Bay.
Huntsville is a town in Muskoka district, Ontario. It is located 215 kilometres (134 mi) north of Toronto and 130 kilometres (81 mi) south of North Bay. Of the three major Muskoka towns, Huntsville has the largest population and land area.
The District Municipality of Muskoka, more generally referred to as the District of Muskoka or Muskoka, is a regional municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. It extends from Georgian Bay in the west, to the northern tip of Lake Couchiching in the south, to the western border of Algonquin Provincial Park in the east. A two-hour drive north of Toronto, it spans 6,475 km2 (2,500 sq mi). It has some 1,600 lakes, making it a popular cottaging destination.
Lake of Bays is a township municipality within the District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. The township, situated 193 kilometres (120 mi) north of Toronto, is named after the Lake of Bays. During the 2016 census, the township had a population of 3,167 and encompassed 677.91 square kilometres (261.74 sq mi) of land.
Bala is a compact rural community in the township municipality of Muskoka Lakes, District Municipality of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Canada. It is well-known for the Bala Falls, the source of the Moon River, which flows from Lake Muskoka to the Georgian Bay.
Skeleton Lake is a lake in the municipalities of Huntsville and Muskoka Lakes in the District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada, about 17 kilometres (11 mi) west of the town centre of Huntsville. Up until 1991, the Ministry of Natural Resources operated a fish hatchery on the lake.
Lake Muskoka is located between Port Carling and Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada. The lake is surrounded by many cottages. The lake is primarily within the boundary of the Township of Muskoka Lakes, the southeast corner is within the boundary of the Town of Gravenhurst, and another small portion around the mouth of the Muskoka River is within the boundary of the Town of Bracebridge. The town of Bala is located on the southwestern shores of the lake, where the Moon River starts. Lake Muskoka is connected to Lake Rosseau through the Indian River and lock system at Port Carling. The lake is mainly fed by the Muskoka River, Lake Joseph and Lake Rosseau.
Bigwin Island is an island in the municipality of Lake of Bays, District Municipality of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Canada. It the largest island on Lake of Bays.
Limerick Lake is a lake in the Trent River and Lake Ontario drainage basins in the township of Limerick, Hastings County, Ontario, Canada, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) northwest of the community of St. Ola, 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) northeast of Highway 62, and 25 kilometres (16 mi) southeast of the town of Bancroft. In 1934, the building of St. Ola Dam raised the level of Big Salmon Lake by two metres. The lake was then renamed, as part of a process in Ontario to give each large lake a unique name. The original concrete dam was assessed in 2002 and significant cracking was found. The dam was replaced in 2004 with a new concrete dam. The waterway falls under the jurisdiction of the Crowe Valley Conservation Authority which has responsibility for furthering the conservation, development, and management of natural resources, but whose main activity is flood control.
South River is a village on Highway 124 near Algonquin Park in the Almaguin Highlands region of Parry Sound District of Ontario, Canada. It is about halfway between North Bay and Huntsville or a 3-hour drive (300 km) north from Toronto. South River has access to the Algonquin Park for canoeists at Kawawaymog. South River is home of Mikisew Provincial Park on the shores of Eagle Lake.
Sparrow Lake is a lake in the Great Lakes Basin in Central Ontario, Canada. It is situated north-west of the town of Orillia and south of the town of Gravenhurst, Ontario and approximately 150 kilometres and a 1.5 hour drive north of the Greater Toronto Area. Sparrow Lake is the most southerly lake in the popular Muskoka tourist region.
The Huntsville and Lake of Bays Transportation Company was a company chartered in 1895 to operate steamboats on the Lake of Bays, and a series of lakes connecting to Huntsville in the northern section of the Muskoka Lakes District of Ontario, Canada. The wholly owned Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway ran a short line narrow gauge railway to connect steamboats operating on Lake of Bays and Peninsula Lake outside Huntsville, Ontario. Covering a vertical distance of 175 feet (53 m) along the hilly 1.125-mile (1.811 km) route, it was known as the "smallest commercially operated railway in the world".
Hidden Valley Resort is a holiday resort in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada, about 225 kilometers (140 mi) north of Toronto. It is situated on one shore of Peninsula Lake, which is also home to the nearby Deerhurst Resort.
Lake Bernard is a freshwater lake 276 km (171 mi) north of Toronto and 23 km (14 mi) west of Algonquin Park in Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada, between Huntsville and North Bay. Its area is 20.9 km2 (8.1 sq mi) and it measures roughly 2.5 km (1.6 mi) across and 7 km (4.3 mi) long. The village of Sundridge lies on the northern shore of this clean, clear lake, which is otherwise surrounded by the municipal township of Strong. The lake has been named after a family who hunted and trapped for many years in the area.
Paudash Lake is a lake in south central Ontario southwest of Bancroft along Highway 28. The lake is located just north of Silent Lake Provincial Park in Haliburton County, 27 km (17 mi) south of the panhandle of Algonquin Provincial Park. The nearest communities to Paudash Lake are the village of Cardiff, close to the lake's Inlet Bay, and the hamlet of Paudash to the northeast of Lower Paudash Lake. Actually two lakes, 'Paudash' and 'Lower Paudash', the lakes are located on the Crowe River, near its head waters, which flows into the Trent River at Crowe Bay north of Campbellford.
The Highland Inn (1908–1957) was a year-round resort hotel built and operated by the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR), in Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park. It was located near the park offices on the northern edge of Cache Lake, and was a focal point for the park for many years. Wishing to return the park lands to a more natural state, the Inn was purchased by the Ontario Government in 1956 and removed. Today all that remains are traces of the concrete stairs and platform that met the CNR line, which was lifted after departure of the last train in 1959.
Kawagama Lake is located on the northwestern border of Haliburton and Muskoka counties in Central Ontario, Canada.
Lake of Bays is a large lake in the District Municipality of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Canada. It is located almost entirely in the Township municipality of Lake of Bays, which is named after the lake, with the exception of the southwest arm of the lake which is in the Town of Huntsville. Ontario Highway 35 runs north and east of the lake.
Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ontario, is 215 km north of Toronto in Ontario's Muskoka region, bordering the Algonquin Provincial Park. The resort dates from 1896 when it was opened by English entrepreneur Charles Waterhouse. The lakeside hotel was the central venue of the 36th G8 summit in 2010. A number of summer camps are located nearby.
The Wawa Hotel was a large summer resort hotel located at Norway Point on Lake of Bays, in Ontario, Canada. Constructed in 1908, it was entirely destroyed by a fire on August 19, 1923. The name "Wawa" is a native Canadian word for "wild goose".