Otter Lake, on the south shore of the Rideau waterway, drains into Otter Creek which meanders over ten miles to the Rideau River. The lake is situated on a limestone plain which formed the bed of the western part of the Champlain Sea from approximately 13,000 to 10,000 years ago.

Today’s freshwater lake is the home to many fish species including northern pike, largemouth bass, lake trout, rock bass, sunfish, and perch.

Otter Lake was named as early as 1805 and, in the early 1900s, it became a favoured fishing, camping and cottaging location. American visitors bought an island in 1917 and built a fishing club. Cottage development accelerated from 1931 to 1951. The majority of the first cottagers were residents of Smiths Falls. The Otter Lake Tourist camp was built in the 1940s and other businesses which catered to summer visitors, including a motel, soon followed. Today, several hundred cottages line Otter Lake’s shores.

By David Gwynn

Rideau Lakes Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee