Lake Bernard is a

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

north of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and west of

Algonquin Park Algonquin Provincial Park is an Ontario provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River, mostly within the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Canada. Addit ...

Parry Sound District Parry Sound District is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its boundaries are District of Muskoka to the south, the Sudbury District to the north-northwest, the French River and Lake Nipissing in the north, Nipissing Distri ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, between

Huntsville Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 ...

and North Bay. Its area is and it measures roughly across and 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 Strong may refer to: Education * The Strong, an educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States * Strong Hall (Lawrence, Kansas), an administrative hall of the University of Kansas * Strong School, New Haven, Connecticut, United ...

. The lake has been named after a family who hunted and trapped for many years in the area. Lake Bernard is the largest freshwater lake in the world without an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

. Large in comparison to the majority of Ontario's thousands of lakes, it is surprising that Lake Bernard is also not connected to any other lake: "The lack of any islands and the fact that it is not connected to any other lake are both very curious since, just to the south, the Muskoka Lakes region is famous for its hundreds of lakes that are full of islands, and most of these lakes are interconnected." It is also a deep lake, charted to depths of but rumoured to have deeper spots of up to , leading to speculation that the lake may have been formed by a meteor. Historically, the lake was primarily used for

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucks Lake Bernard used to be called Stoney Lake, due to the large volume of rock found around the southern shores of the lake. Much of the lake has sandy beaches and many areas feature a sandy bottom and shallow waters. Summer events on Lake Bernard include the annual Canada Day festivities in July and the Sunflower Festival and RBC Sundridge Triathlon each August. Fish species in the lake include lake trout, rainbow trout, speckled trout, whitefish, yellow perch and smallmouth bass. Because Lake Bernard is large and deep, fishing for bass is limited to some areas, but lake trout and whitefish are plentiful in this stocked lake.Sundridge Sunflower Festival website
/ref> Lake Bernard's attractions include High Park Lookout and hiking trails. Lake Bernard is also part of the Discovery Routes Trails system for cycling. Snowmobiling on and around the lake and ice fishing are popular during the winter and huts can be seen on the lake until April. Dog-sledding can be arranged at local resorts. Lake Bernard is also home to Glen Bernard Camp, a residential girls' camp founded in 1922 by Mary S. Edgar. The shores of the lake have been developed with non-permanent residences and cottages as well as permanent residents, many of whom are descendants of the original settlers to the area in the latter half of the 1800s. There is an active property owners' association on the lake, focusing on protecting lake health and building community. Several resorts have also made Lake Bernard their home, including Shady Nook Cottages, the Northridge Inn & Resort (newly renovated in 2015), Lake Bernard Park campground and Caswell Resort Hotel.

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Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''be ...

See also

References