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Hidden Paradise on Big Rideau Lake 4-season home/cottage
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What’s the Water Like? (Waterfront assets & water quality notes) |
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The waterfront characteristics & facilities and water quality are key assets of this property.
This series of photos shows our waterfront, docks and other assets and water quality at various times of the year from early spring to late fall.
What kind of waterfront experience do you want? Many of the small bays and shallower shorelines in the Rideau Lakes (and elsewhere) tend to be weedy. Algae can be a problem due to nutrient loading, especially in higher density developments and where shorelines have not been left natural. These problems are exacerbated as water levels drop throughout the summer and autumn. Many waterfronts that look OK in the spring are choked with weed, and algae in August. In some popular areas, shoals and other submerged hazards can complicate, limit or preclude boating and docking as the water level drops.
Big Rideau Lake is the largest, cleanest, deepest and most open of the Rideau lakes… the most prime real estate and the best boating on the entire Rideau Canal System (a United Nations World Heritage Site) . There are countless islands and bays to explore, the longest navigational runs between lock stations, and the best variety of water-accessible dining, entertainment and shopping options. Our bay is on the Big Rideau Lake’s prized, rugged, beautiful north shore. The Lake is 300 feet deep at the mouth of our bay and there are large open stretches of deep water, often with dramatic, steep cliffs and shorelines. However, properties on these open, rugged, deep-water shores are subject to ice, wave, and wake damage to docks, boats, and shorelines, often requiring special docking systems, frequent repairs, and impeding boating on windy days.
Our bay is a rather unique exception which maximizes the positive and minimizes the negative attributes of these alternatives. It is extremely sheltered and private, with a narrow yet comfortably navigable exit to the main Lake. The deep, open waters of Big Rideau’s north shore main channel (and the best Lake Trout fishing in eastern Ontario) are just a few hundred meters from our dock, and yet the water at our dock is always calm. We are completely protected from wind, wake, wave and ice damage. The waters of our bay are safe for swimming (even after dark), snorkeling, kayaking, paddle-boating etc., safe from the dangers of boat traffic and from the elements. Our docks are wide and stable, built for entertaining, and for play. They are flooded with morning sunshine, yet shaded by the forest in the heat of the afternoon, when sun-bathers can follow the sun to our raft off-shore. The sheltered waters of our bay warm up quickly in spring, and even on those warm, sunny late-autumn days, extending the season for water lovers to swim among the falling leaves. Our waterfront begs to be enjoyed !!
The water is exceptionally clean. Bass Bay is unique in several respects. There is a small river which drains into the bay over a tumbling waterfall, a deep “hole” in the lake-bed just off our shore, and prevailing breezes that create “mixing currents” across the bay. These things oxygenate the water, discouraging algae and promoting healthy probiotics in the water chemistry. Approximately half of the bay’s shoreline is and will remain undeveloped (natural habitat preserve, part of the “wilderness” portion of Murphy’s Point Provincial Park, with several rare and protected plant species.) The remaining shoreline has been developed as just a few large lots with good setbacks and naturalized shorelines to minimize nutrient run-off and preserve water quality.
In the 1980s when it was still possible to obtain permits and find professional contractors for dredging, we carefully removed nutrient-rich silt and debris from the lake bottom on our waterfront, working closely with Natural Resources and Fisheries experts to actually enhance fish habitat while optimizing our boating and swimming experience. (One of the dividends from this major “tweaking” investment has been a healthy aquatic ecosystem with prolific fish populations, which in turn attract nesting Loons and Great Blue Herons to our shores.)
A healthy ecosystem is not sterile. Snorkellers will find abundant aquatic life out in the bay, and shoreline littoral zones support some healthy aquatic flora which is important for the water’s continuing health. To have this wonderful, stable natural ecosystem, and enjoy excellent swimming and boating right from our dock, and the privacy, seclusion, tranquility and safety of such a naturally protected bay, is a very rare combination.
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Fish, swim, snorkel, waterski, kayak,…or just relax. Waterfront to be enjoyed !
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Specific details: Water depth for swimming, boating:
Depending on fluctuating water levels during the year, the depth at our dock is usually about 5-8 feet. Out at the diving raft the depth is 15-20 feet depending on raft placement and time of the year.
Water levels on Big Rideau and Lower Rideau Lakes fluctuate about 2 feet during a typical navigation season, with highest levels in spring and lower levels in early autumn. After Thanksgiving, when the canal locks close, the water typically drops another foot for winter. This is to prevent shoreline damage and provide reservoir capacity for spring melt.
Our docks are designed to work flawlessly from the highest to the lowest water levels, never swamped or submerged, always level, stable and safe, and with modular removable steps between the solid crib dock and the floating dock which smoothly accommodate even the most extreme high and low water levels.
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Our boat has a deep-vee hull, draws 3+ feet of water with the drive down, and we have lots of clean, safe water for docking and un-docking. Indeed, we can actually drive past our dock into the shallower water, spin the boat around and dock stern-in on the inside dock as can be seen in some of the photos above.
Navigational access to Big Rideau Lake at the mouth of our bay is no problem even at late-autumn water levels after the locks close.
A confidential photo-essay is available which compares our bay with two other representative Rideau waterfronts late in the season as water levels drop. For a link to this photo-essay please contact our Realtor.
You can also view the Realtor’s listing for this property ,
View additional photos of the waterfront, as well as the lot and the dwelling, at the photo collection on Yahoo Flickr.
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More Information: Interior Tour: Details & pictures by room Exterior Tour: Dwelling exterior, land, waterfront Specifications & Features: Construction specs, equipment, outbuildings, access, lot features, environment, etc. Many more Photos: our photo albums on Yahoo Flickr Want more Living Space? Options for a larger dwelling (up to 9,000 sq ft) on this property Realtor’s listing for this property
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