Area 348.1 km² Province Ontario Cities North Bay | Surface elevation 202 m Mouth Mattawa River | |
 | ||
Islands Hemlock Island, Three Sisters Islands, Joe Island Similar Lake Nipissing, Lake Talon, French River, Manitou Islands, Marten River Provincial | ||
Trout Lake is a lake in municipalities of East Ferris and North Bay, Nipissing District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada, approximately 6 kilometres (4 mi) east of the much larger Lake Nipissing. Trout Lake is the source of the Mattawa River and a significant body of water on a well-known historic North American voyageur (fur-trading) route. It is about 11 kilometres (7 mi) long and 4 kilometres (2 mi) wide and exits eastward into the Mattawa River, which flows via the Ottawa River to the St. Lawrence River. Some of the most difficult portages are found on this part of the voyageur route between Trout Lake and the end of the Mattawa River, e.g., Portage de Mauvaise Musique, located at the Talon Chute (named after explorer and voyageur Jean Talon).
Contents
Map of Trout Lake, East Ferris, ON, Canada
The City of North Bay (population approx 54,000) draws its drinking water from Trout Lake. North Bay's urban core is located primarily between Lake Nipissing and Trout Lake, although the city limits contain the lake's entire northern shore. Much of the lake's southern shore is located within the township of East Ferris.
In October 2006, a long-time unsolved mystery of a couple who disappeared from their Trout Lake cabin in the spring of 1956 was solved. Margaret and Allen Campbell, along with their family dog, went missing on May 25, 1956 under mysterious conditions. It was believed that Mr. and Mrs. Campbell went out in their fibreglass boat from the shore, encountered trouble and presumably drowned, but search teams in 1956 were unable to find their bodies or their boat. This mystery also amplified the belief in the cryptozoological legend of the Trout Lake Monster. In 2006, the Ontario Provincial Police, on a lead from a recreational fisherman and using high-tech imaging equipment, discovered both bodies on the bottom of the lake, not far from the couple's cabin. Their boat was also found nearby on the bottom of the lake. The Campbell's surviving children were very relieved to have the mystery of their missing parents finally solved.