Paudash Lake

Paudash Lake
Location	Haliburton County, Ontario
Coordinates	44°58′N 78°03′W
Type	Glacial lake, oligotrophic, dimictic
Primary inflows	Natural springs, Silent Lake, Deer Lake, Anderson Lake, and Centre Lake
Primary outflows	Crowe River
Basin countries	Canada
Max. length	14.2 km (8.8 mi)
Max. width	5.1 km (3.2 mi)
Surface area	7.55 km2 (1,870 acres)
Max. depth	46 m (151 ft)
Residence time	3 years
Surface elevation	343.5 m (1,127 ft)
Frozen	Mid-December to Late April
Islands	Mullet, Johnston, Ross, Moulds, Burnt, Stringer, Big, and Birch
Settlements	(None on lake)

Paudash Lake is a freshwater lake in south central Ontario about 20 minutes south of Bancroft down Hy. 28. The lake is located in the Municipality of Highlands East in Haliburton County and begins 1.6 km. (one mile) north of Silent Lake Provincial Park and is 27 km. (16.8 miles) south of the panhandle of one of North America's largest and most beautiful parks, Algonquin Provincial Park (7630 km²., or 2946 sq. miles). It is about two and a quarter hours' drive northeast from Canada's largest city, Toronto, and approximately the same distance, but a slower drive, southwest from the nation's capital, Ottawa. The nearest communities to Paudash Lake are the town of Cardiff, close to the lake's Inlet Bay, and the hamlet of Paudash to the northeast of Lower Paudash Lake, where the lake becomes the head water of the Crowe River, which flows into the Trent River (Ontario) just before reaching Lake Ontario. The nearest shopping center in the area is the year-around resort town of Bancroft, while the next closest is the year-around resort town of Haliburton Village.

Paudash Lake is very much a lake of large bays and has several different sections within it; Lower Paudash Lake (Outlet Bay) to the east, North Bay to the north, Joe Bay to the southwest and Inlet Bay to the northeast. The lake has a surface area of 7.55 km² (1870 acres) and a maximum depth of 46 meteres (150 ft). Fish species include Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Lake Trout, Perch, Pumpkinseed, Northern cisco, White Sucker, as well as small bait fish of various types.

Paudash Lake is part of what is acknowledged to be the finest recreational lake country on Earth, that of southern Ontario. The area contains over 10,000 pristine lakes which were formed by glaciers some 11,000 years ago during the end of the last Ice age. In the very heart of the Ontario lake country are the two areas known simply as “Muskoka” and “Haliburton” (which are both actually counties of Ontario). Muskoka and Haliburton are among the greatest summer resort areas of the world and have historically attracted many of the wealthiest families from the Northeastern and Mid-Western U.S. and Ontario, as well as entertainment celebrities from Hollywood and New York.* To most people in Ontario, the area is simply part of what is known as Cottage country, in reference to the some 250,000 summer cottages on the lakes of southern Ontario. Overall, there are some three million lakes in Canada, which represents 60% of all of the lakes in the World. Accordingly, it is understandable why Canadians love lakes and have both TV programs and publications, such as Cottage Life Magazine, devoted to recreation on the country's lakes.

Towards North Bay

Paudash Lake is a magnificent Haliburton type of lake, with beautiful large bays and islands. North Bay is particularly spectacular, with massive pink granite, partially tree-covered cliffs, rising hundreds of feet out of the lake along the shoreline. Except in the cliff areas, all of the Lake's shore is lined with trees and heavy foliage and, thanks to a far sighted County Council, all of the cottages built during the last forty years are set back at least 60 feet (18 m) from the shoreline, thereby avoiding a clutter of buildings along the shore. The building of any further boathouses along the shoreline was outlawed during the 1940’s, although a few old ones still exist.

The section of Ontario where Paudash Lake is located is part of what is known as the Canadian Shield. During the last Ice age, the glaciers which covered the area removed over a one mile (1.6 Km.) deep layer of soil, scraping the surface of the Earth down to the original bedrock (which is the crust of the Earth created during the Precambrian era, some 4.5 billion years ago, when the planet cooled from a molten mass)**. As a result, the soil in the Canadian Shield area is very thin, less than a foot (30 cm.) deep in many cases. In addition, there is a great deal of exposed bedrock, such as the beautiful cliffs on part of Paudash Lake.

200 Foot Cliffs in North Bay

All of the lakes in the Shield were carved out of solid bedrock by glaciers. Accordingly, they all have solid rock bottoms (in most instances with a thin covering of sand or mud) and also rocky shorelines. In the case of Paudash Lake, and a number of other Haliburton and Muskoka lakes, the rock bottom is limestone, which completely neutralizes the Acid rain which creates so many problems for lakes throughout North America and Europe. The Shield also results in the fact that all water wells must be drilled through solid rock, usually about 150 feet (46 m) deep on Paudash Lake, which is expensive for cottage owners. On the other hand, no such well can ever be polluted by ground water or other fluid from the surface.

*It was announced in June 2008, that the upcoming 2010 G8 Summit of the leading Eight Industrialized Nations of the World will be held at the great Deerhurst Resort on Peninsula Lake in Muskoka.

**The only area outside of the Canadian Shield, where the original bedrock of planet Earth is exposed in North America, is at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It was formed by the Colorado River which, over millions of years, eroded over a mile of the Earth’s surface.

Water and climate conditions

The water of Paudash Lake is clear and unpolluted and typically reaches 80 to 82 (27-28C) degrees within six feet of the surface in the summer, which is ideal for swimming and water sports. The lake is largely spring fed, but receives some flow from four, small pristine lakes including Silent Lake, Deer Lake, Anderson Lake, and Centre Lake. Based on this inflow, and the outflow to the Crowe River, the Provincial Government estimates that the water of the lake is replaced every three years. The lake is normally totally frozen over from mid-December to the third week in April, when the ice usually breaks up (a spectacular event to watch when it occurs during daylight hours).

Canoeing on Joe Bay

Paudash Fall Colours

Summer daytime temperatures are typically in the mid eighties (29-30C), but certainly do climb into the nineties (32-37C), to a maximum of about 100 degrees (38C) in July. Winter conditions are extreme, with deep snow cover normally from late November to early April. There are few winters during which nighttime temperatures do not reach as low as -40 degrees (the F and C temperature scales come together at exactly -40 degrees). Winter daytime temperatures are typically between 10 to 20 °F (-12 to -7 °C).

Fall conditions on Paudash Lake, lasting no more than from early September to mid-October, are among the most spectacular on the face of the planet. Temperatures range from about 75 °F (24 °C) during the day to about 32F (0C) at night. The world is, of course, familiar with the incredible fall colours of Ontario, Quebec, and northern New England. In Ontario, it is the general consensus that the most fantastic fall colours are centered in, and around, the junction of Highways 28 and 118. In other words, the area of Paudash Lake! The fall colour usually peaks during the first week in October. To sit quietly in a boat in the middle of North Bay at this time of year, leaves one to believe that they have departed planet Earth. The brilliant golds, reds, and oranges are, quite literally, unearthly! One can only recall the title of one of Heinlein’s great novels, “The Green Hills of Earth”. Do not look for them in Haliburton at this time of the year!

EDITOR'S NOTE: All climatic data is abstracted from Environment Canada which maintains a weather reporting facility at the Bancroft airport.

History

BIG Island in North Bay

Paudash Lake was named after Chief George Paudash, a Crane-doodem (clan) member of the Chippewa (Ojibwa) Indians of the Hiawatha Reserve of Rice Lake (Ontario). The immediate area was first settled by pioneer families in the early 1870’s. One of the original families, the McGillivray's, are still part of the Paudash Lake community. In 1875, Malcolm McGillivray Sr. took a land grant of 300 acres (1.2 km²) at Concession V111, a point of land jutting into Paudash Lake, and later built the first bridge over the narrows between the upper and lower lakes (by today's Anchorage Resort). While the first summer cottage was built on Big Island by the Johnson family in North Bay in the early 1920’s, there was very little development on the lake, and indeed in Haliburton as a whole, until the late 1930’s, when the two great access highways from the south were constructed. Highway 28 in the east, and Highway 35 in the west, with Highway 118 later connecting the two. The War then delayed development on the lakes, and finally in the late 1940’s, development got under way.

From the 1880’s to the 1940’s there were commercial resorts in Muskoka and Haliburton that were accessible by railroad and boat, with local transport over dirt roads by horse and buggy and later, cars and buses. However, the uncoordinated and ill advised attempts by the government to develop Muskoka and Haliburton, between 1850 and World War II, were largely a complete failure due to the area's general unsuitability for agriculture and industry. Since the War, modern all-weather roads, the automobile, and the general affluence of Canadian and American society, have finally brought real success to this magnificent resort area.

Major cottage development on Paudash Lake got underway in the 1950’s and continued through the 1960’s. Today, the lake is not over developed, but fully developed with 640 properties, and virtually all new construction involves the removal of 50 or 60 year old cottages and their replacement by modern cottages, usually designed by architects familiar with Muskoka and Haliburton. Fifteen percent of the land on the Lake is unoccupied, permanent Crown land, as well as one large island. Most of the finest new construction is built, both inside and outside, of totally natural materials of wood and stone. During any given month, there are usually at least a few cottages for sale on the lake and some rentals are available in the summer. As is the case with virtually all of the lake communities on Haliburton's 600 lakes, Paudash is known as a very friendly place. History Reference:

Ojibwas on Paudash

The Mark of Chief Paudash (a crane), used on the treaty of 1818 which deeded to the Crown the area of Paudash Lake, et.al.

On November 5, 1818, the six Chiefs of the Chippewa (Ojibwa) Nation of southern and central Ontario, including Chief Paudash, sold and conveyed to the Crown what is today all of southern Muskoka and southern Haliburton (below 45 degrees north), for the “consideration of the yearly sum of Seven Hundred and Forty Pounds Province Currency in goods at the Montreal price”. Chief Paudash’s “mark” on the Treaty was, in accordance with the custom of signing as a representative of the Crane-doodem, a tiny stick drawing of a Crane (Public Archives of Canada R.G. 10, ser.4, v.2, Treaty No. 20.).

Despite the fact that Paudash Lake is named after an Indian Chief, there is universal agreement among anthropologists and archeologists that the Ojibwa tribe of Ontario never established regular settlements in most of Haliburton. This was not simply due to the Indians' nomadic habits, but also due to the extremely long and harsh winters and the lack of major rivers bisecting the area for transportation. Another significant influence was the fact that the lakes in Haliburton were not a food source. As all Haliburton lakes are glacial lakes, there were no fish in them until the government and private individuals started to stock them in the 1870's (some Haliburton lakes did not have fish until the 1920’s).

As Haliburton did, and still does, contain a tremendous amount of game, the Ojibwa tribe did use the area as a summer hunting ground. At the time of the early settlers in the 1870’s and 1880’s, there were still small Indian hunting parties passing through the Paudash Lake area during the summer. While they had no permanent camp on the Lake, the hunting parties would occasionally spend the night on Wolf Point on Joe Bay or at the north end of Silent Lake. Certainly Paudash Lake did have an earlier name in the Anishinaabe language spoken by the Ojibwa, as did all major Haliburton lakes. However, very few other major Haliburton lakes have retained Anishinaabe associated names, the most notable being Kashagawigamog (long-winding-water).

Although Muskoka and Haliburton history may initially appear to be of recent vintage, all such matters should be kept in perspective. It must be noted that, by the time the Pilgrim Fathers landed in the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock in 1620, French Canadians had already explored Muskoka and Haliburton and had established relations with the Indians on Georgian Bay of the Great Lake Huron, even further west of Muskoka! Native Peoples Reference:

Wildlife

File:Loon on Paudash.jpg

Loon on Paudash

Paudash Lake is largely surrounded by wilderness, which usually begins right behind the cottages near the lakeshore. The wilderness in Haliburton is intense and contains an incredible array of wildlife. The larger mammals include the American Black Bear, Moose, Elk, the Eastern Canadian Wolf, White-tailed Deer, the North American Cougar, and the Canadian Lynx. The smaller mammals include the Red Fox, Beaver, Raccoon, Muskrat, Mink, Otter, Marten, Fisher, Weasel, Ermine, Skunk, Porcupine, Woodchuck, Red and Gray Squirrel, Northern Flying Squirrel, the Snowshoe Rabbit, and various Shrews, various Moles, various Bats, various Chipmunks, various Voles, various Mice, and various Lemmings.

Reptiles and Amphibians include the Snapping, Spotted, Wood, Blanding’s, and Painted Turtle, American Toad, Spring Peeper, and the Gray Tree, Striped Chorus, Bull, Green, Mink, Wood, Pickerel, and Leopard Frog. There are no poisonous snakes in Haliburton, but there are the following non-poisonous snakes: Common Garter, Common Water, Brown, Eastern Ribbon, Hognose, Eastern Ringneck, Smooth Green, Milk, and Red-bellied.

The bird life of the Paudash Lake area is simply staggering, as the standard field guide runs to some 400 pages. Accordingly, only a very condensed listing of water birds can herein be provided. Naturally, in a lake country, water birds play a most important role. Indeed, the very symbol of Haliburton and Muskoka is the Loon, honoured as Ontario’s Provincial Bird. Cottagers revere the Loon’s haunting calls from the lakes, which absolutely pierce the stillness of summer nights*. Every bay on Paudash Lake has its breeding pair of loons every summer. In addition to Loons, the most beautiful of the water birds on the lake include the Great Blue Heron, the Great Egret, the Sandhill Crane, and the dazzling Hooded Merganser. Other water birds include a wide variety of ducks, grebes, bitterns, herons, terns, and mergansers as well as the Canada Goose, the Double-Crested Cormorant, the Ring-Billed and Herring Gull, the Common Sandpiper, the Killdeer, the Common Snipe, the Virginia Rail, the Sora, the American Coot, and the Common Moorhen..

*Ojibwa legend states that the Loon was given its Necklace of Pearls by the mother of Hiawatha, Nokomis, Great Daughter of the Moon, for bringing its lovely calls to the northern lakes of the Ojibwa people, including of course, Gitche Gumee (Big-Sea-Shinning-Water), the Grandfather of all lakes, Lake Superior.

The Woods at the End of the World

Haliburton in the Fall

In the far north, just below the treeless polar region, is found the forest which encircles the earth. This is the boreal forest, which covers 35% or 1.3 billion acres (5,261,000 km²) of the landmass of Canada, and is the largest terrestrial ecosystem in the world. At the southern edge of the boreal forest lies the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Forest, in the heart of which is Muskoka and Haliburton and, of course, the area of Paudash Lake. It is, quite simply, one of the truly beautiful areas on earth.

The native trees of the Paudash Lake area include the Silver, Red, Sugar, Mountain, and Striped Maple; the Jack, Red, and White Pine; the Largetooth and Trembling Aspen; the Yellow and White Birch; the White and Red Spruce; the Bur and Red Oak; the White, Black, and Red Ash; the Pin, Black, and Choke Cherry, and the Balsam Fir, Eastern Tsuga (Hemlock), Tamarack Larch, Balsam Poplar, White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis), American Beech, Ironwood (Ostrya virginiana), and Speckled Alder.

Environmental Considerations

Contemporary Paudash Cottage

During the last 40 years, a great deal of time and effort has been expended by both the government and the residents to ensure that Paudash Lake remains in as natural a state as possible and free of pollution of any kind. The installation of any septic tank system is carefully controlled by government and must be well removed from the lakeshore. Over the years, careful checks have been made to ensure against septic leakage into the lake, including dye tests in all septic facilities and tests for any septic bacteria around the entire shoreline.

While Paudash is a natural lake, there is a small dam at the east end of the lake at the outlet to the Crowe River. This dam helps maintain the lake at a fixed water level, to avoid the problems of eutrophication which can occur when a lake is subject to constantly changing water levels. In order to construct a boat dock on the shoreline, an approved plan and permit is required to ensure that the dock will not have an adverse affect on marine life. In addition, all property owners are encourged to maintain their shoreline in a natural state, with attractive native foliage, and avoid having fertilized lawns which run down to the shoreline and could leak fertilizer nutrients into the lake.

Today, the Lake is a fine example of conservation efforts over the years and has an active Conservation Association which works diligently for continued success in this area. There have been outstanding efforts in recent years to ensure the undisturbed retention of the natural wetland areas of the lake which act as a both a lake bio-filter and a refuge for wildlife.

It should be noted that there is nothing resembling Michael Corleone’s Lake Tahoe estate in Haliburton. The lake estate in the Godfather Series was actually that of the late, great, brilliant industrialist, Henry J. Kaiser, and was located on the California shore of Tahoe, not the Nevada shore as portrayed in the movie. Look for it no more, for it is no longer seriously endangered like Lake Tahoe itself, in that it has been sold off, torn down, and converted into a condo development! This absolutely, positively, could not legally happen in Haliburton!

Roads and Services

Typical part of Upper Paudash Road, Joe Bay

As of 2008, all properties on Paudash Lake are serviced by the Ontario Government's Electric Utility, either by land line or marine cable. All properties are also serviced by Bell Telephone, by land line or marine cable, and all properties are within range of Cell telephone service. Bell offers only dial-up internet service, but satellite high-speed internet service is available. For all practical purposes, TV service is only available by satellite, as there is no available cable service and the lake is out of range of all major broadcast facilities.

Properties on Joe Bay are serviced by all-weather roads, while portions of Lower Paudash Lake (Outlet Bay) and Inlet Bay are serviced by all-weather roads. There are still a number of shoreline areas in North Bay, Outlet Bay, and Inlet Bay which contain water access only properties and North Bay, itself, is largely inaccessible in the winter except by snowmobile. It should be noted that the lands surrounding the lake are by in large wilderness areas except, of course, for the narrow band of cottages near the shoreline.

Mail Service is available five days a week, Monday through Friday, at either your own post box on your property or at central post boxes placed at various convenient locations on the lake access roads. The area is serviced by both FedEx and UPS, however, newspaper delivery is not available.

Summer Recreation

Rock Diving in North Bay off Pink Granite Cliffs

Wakeboarder on Joe Bay

During the summer Paudash Lake is a popular destination for cottagers and tourists. North Bay features a beautiful public sand-bottom beach (with rest rooms) that can be accessed by car off of Hy. 118 (via North Bay Beach Road) and by boat. The beach features a boat launching ramp and there is an annual regatta that takes place on the beach. As noted, the lake is excellent for swimming and water sports such as Skiing and Wakeboarding which are very popular (the residents normally put in place a competition-type slalom run on the lake every summer). Many of the classical outboard ski boats are seen, as well as the latest inboard wakeboard and ski boats and the smaller variety of sailboats. Boat traffic on the lake is usually quite moderate, even on holiday weekends. Fishing on the lake is very popular, with numerous species of fish available in the lake. There is also an annual Rock Bass Derby for the children of the lake held by the Conservation Association. As noted in the foregoing section, the summer in Muskoka and Haliburton is virtually a recreation paradise on Earth!

On a lovely summer's evening, there is nothing quite like the wonderful Bancroft Village Playhouse! It is only 20 minutes from the lake and was built in the 1920s as an absolutely legitimate playhouse (it is not a converted movie theatre). Nowadays, it features nothing but riotous comedies during the summer and is air conditioned, with terrific seating, lighting, and sound systems. The acting is very professional and has set a real standard for summer stock. The theatre has great goodies during the intermission and a huge upper floor balcony that overlooks the town of Bancroft from the theatre's site on a hill. It's true, you can be a "first-nighter" in the wilds of the Canadian north!

Winter Recreation

A part of Joe Bay frozen over during the winter months

File:Natives with Traditional Drink, Ice Fishing on North Bay.JPG

Natives with Traditional Drink and Power Auger, Ice Fishing on North Bay

Paudash Lake, like similar freshwater lakes in Ontario, freezes over during the winter months with 18 to 24 inches (46-61 centimeters) of ice which will support a fully loaded dump truck. During this time the lake is often traversed by snowmobilers and ice fishing is also common. One mile away (1.6 km.), Silent Lake Provincial Park offers over 40 km. (25 miles) of some of the most spectacular, fully groomed, cross-country ski trails in Canada, featuring natural, wood-fired warming huts along the trails and fantastic views from the trails on the hills that surround the lake. Members of the great Canadian National Cross Country Ski Team have stated that the Silent Lake Trails were not the toughest they have ever trained on throughout the world, but were certainly the most beautiful.

The Paudash Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club is one of the best known snowmobile clubs in Ontario, with well-groomed trails maintained throughout the region during the winter months. The Central Region of Ontario contains over 5500 km. (3410 miles) of completely interconnected, groomed snowmobile trails which, in turn, are interconnected to the incredible Ontario system of 43,000 km. (26,000 miles) of maintained snowmobile trails. During the last 20 years, the Ontario Provincial Government and the huge Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs has spent some 400 million dollars on the development of the largest snowmobile trail system in the world! One could spend a lifetime of winters, and never see it all! A single annual license, or brief period license, available from the Paudash Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club, will give you complete access to the entire system. It includes some of the most intense wilderness areas on Earth, but it is regularly patrolled by the Snowmobile Clubs and the Ontario Provincial Police. A winter experience without equal in the world, and a lot safer than going down a mountain on one or two plastic slats! However, for those that must go down a mountainside, they are not named the Haliburton Highlands for nothing! There are some fine downhill ski resorts in Haliburton, with great lifts and even greater after ski action! Try the famous Sir Sam's Inn, about an hours' drive from Paudash Lake, overlooking Eagle Lake. In Haliburton, you are always overlooking a beautiful lake!

Current Early Winter Bulletin

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Lake now frozen. A portion of Lower Paudash on Dec. 11, 2008.

Upper Paudash Road, Joe Bay, freshly ploughed and sanded

As of December 21, 2008, the lake is now frozen-over. However, it should be into January before the ice is thick enough for snowmobiles and ice fishing. All snowmobile and ski trails in the area are open and in full operation. The snow base is now 22 inches (55.8cm.) and, under normal conditions, should continue to rise. Please check the External Links Section for the current five day weather forecasts.

The next Bulletin, with photos, will be posted when a major change occurs, such as the start of ice fishing on the lake.

Marinas, Food, and Lodging

Bonfire at Somerset Inn, Lower Paudash

There are three marinas on the lake offering standard marine services:

• The Anchorage Resort is located off of McGillivray Road on the channel between the upper and lower lake.

• The Paudash Lake Marina is located on the lower lake off of McGillivray Road.

• Wil-Lou Marine & Sports is located on the lower lake off of Highway 28.

Lodging and Food:

• The Somerset Inn is located on the lower lake off of Highway 28.

• The Fox and Hounds Restaurant is located on the lower lake off of Highway 28.

• The Anchorage Resort is located of off McGillivray Road on the channel between the upper and lower lake.

External links

• CURRENT 5 DAY WEATHER FORECAST
• Paudash Lake Conservation Association
• The Paudash Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club
• Silent Lake Provincial Park