About Us
OUR STORY
Daphne Hauser has owned and managed Round Lake Resort since 1979 a beautiful group of log cottages that can be rented by the week during the summer or the week or weekend during the spring and fall. The resort includes a large log lodge with an open stone fireplace a cosy room to read or play games on wet days or during the evening Round Lake Resort is located on the shores of one of the cleanest lakes in the Ottawa Valley. The lake is stocked with fish each spring by the the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. This is quiet North Country, thick with pines. The call of the loons in Algonquin Park is close by. The one, two or three bedroom cottages have fully equipped kitchens with all needed utensils. Sheets and bedding are provided. Bathrooms all have showers and flush toilets. Satellite Internet for those who wish to keep connected is also available. Tranquility and solitude at it’s best. Relaxing has never been so easy! Build fantastic family memories of an unforgettable time together. Sit back around the fire pit while listening to the loon’s singing their evening songs, sunbathe in a lounge chair, read on the dock, drink wine on your own private porch, go for a morning swim or simply float in the lake.
The Lake
Round lake is a very clean lake fed by the Bonnechere and Sherwood rivers. You can see to the sandy bottom in water ten feet or more. The lake floor near the shore slopes down gradually making it safe for swimming. The shorefront has two docks for tying up boats and a raft for swimmers. Canoes are available for use by everyone.
As you look across Round Lake from Round Lake Resort it is five kilometers to the other side (Foymount Provincial Park). The lake is seven and a half kilometers long and one hundred and eighty feet deep. The Bonnechere River, which feeds the lake, begins in the heart of Algonquin park. When the Bonnechere leaves the lake it continues onto Golden Lake.
In the mid 20s Hydro built a dam on the Bonnechere (opposite side of the lake from Round Lake Resort) and flooded the land around the lake. The edge of the lake before the rise in water level was about 75 yards out from our present shore.
Great beaches to visit
There is a great sandy beach at the Bonnechere Provincial Park about 4 km by car (turn right on highway 58) or boat to the left of Round Lake Resort. If you go by boat you can also find a tiny private sandy beach on the lake to the right just as you enter the Bonnechere river. The water is shallow and it is fun for the kids to explore.
Across the lake is the large sandy beach of the Foymount Provincial Park. There are often waves crashing on the sand and it almost feels like the ocean. The beach is well shaded and its a great place for picnics. You can also reach the park by car. Turn right at the highway and drive about 7km to the Red Rock Road. Turn right and follow the signs to the park (about 10km around the lake)
The closest river is the Sherwood. You can reach it in a few minutes by canoe from Round Lake Resort. The mouth of the Sherwood is about 200 meters to the left of the property. You can paddle up the river for about a mile. The river winds under the highway and up past the Cybulski farm (across the highway from Round Lake Resort). It is facinating and there are places to picnic up the river.
You can explore up the Bonnechere from Round Lake either by canoe or motor boat. Motor boats can navigate the river for about a mile or so. The mouth of the Bonnechere is about 3 miles to the left of Round Lake Resort at the Bonnechere Provincial Park. There is a wonderful beach there and great hiking trails.
If you put your boat (motor boat or canoe) into the Bonnechere just beyond Turner’s Camp you can navigate the river up to Algonquin park (and if you are in a canoe you can go right into the park up to Basin Lake). Turner’s Camp has information about Algonquin park and can be reached by turning right at the highway, left at the grocery store and continuing up the road for about 10 km.
An interesting day trip is down the Bonnechere to Golden Lake. The trip winds through a wonderful series of little lakes lined by farms, woods and cottages. There are interesting deserted old farmhouses to explore. There is a small dam at the outlet to the lake so unless you have a boat you can lift over the dam you will have to put in at the Traymore bridge (turn left on highway 58 and left again 3km beyond Round Lake Center).
Activities
There are lots of things to do at Round Lake Resort, including:
- Volleyball and badminton on the front lawn.
- Camp fires - there is an outside fireplace for each cottage and lots of wood on the woodpile.
- Canoeing - two canoes are available for all guests.
- Billiards and table tennis in the lodge
- Animals - Chickens (fresh eggs are available for sale)
- Swimming from the raft
Fishing
The fishing really is good The Ministry of Natural Resources stocks the lakes in the area with 200,000 lake trout, brook trout, rainbow trout and splake each year so there a lots of fish to catch. The following fish have been caught in Round Lake.
- Yellow pickerel
- Walleye
- Northern pike
- Small and large mouth bass
- Perch
- Lake trout (many caught in the summer of 96, one over 12 lbs)
- Brook trout (rare)
To fish for pickerel or walleye go straight out into the lake until you can see the church steeple at Round Lake Center. There is a drop-off in this area and it is best to trawl back and forth .
You can obtain a fishing license at Round Lake Grocery & Variety 757-2162. Open 7am – 11pm everyday (Turn right at end of Drive onto highway 58. 3km on right). The first weekend in June is the Ontario Family Fishing Weekend – no license is required.
If you are really hungry and can’t wait to catch a fish try one of the local trout farms. A trout is guaranteed and the whole family can fish – no license required:
Natural Waters Trout Farm is open daily dawn to dusk. (613) 757-2254. On Hagarty Township road 16, off Hagarty road 29 between highway 60 and Round Lake Center.
Opeongo Mountain Trout Farm is open from 8am till dark (closed Tuesdays). (613) 754-5241. Between Foymount and Dacre on the Opeongo road.
Hiking
There is a great walking (or jogging) trail in The Bonnechere Provincial Park. Park on the highway and walk in. Follow the trail map. There are signs once you reach the trail.
There are also great walking trails in Foymount Provincial Park, which is directly across the lake. Driving: turn right at the highway and drive about 7km to the Red Rock Road. Turn right and follow the signs to the park (about 10km around the lake).
You can also walk across highway 62 to the driving range. If no one is hitting balls you can walk back onto the old farm land. There are some 100 year plus log barns back there.
The view of Golden Lake from the top of “Blueberry mountain” is fabulous. It gets it local name from the masses of wild blueberries at the top. The walk takes about 45 minutes and is a steady gentle climb to the top. It begins at the Pakkotina Trail in the Renfrew County Forrest which is 1km on the left as you leave Deacon. Directions: Deacon is about 25 km from Round Lake Resort. Turn left on to highway 58 at the end of the drive and the left at he flashing light at highway 60. After turning left at the Renfrew County Forrest sign, drive in about 100 yards to the parking lot. Follow the trail to where there is a distinct Y junction. Take the right arm of the Y and follow the trail to the top. Don’t take the right turn on to an indistinct trail after the first hill in the trail. Continue past slightly downhill until you reach the Y. At the top follow the trail around the summit to the view of Golden Lake - it’s breathtaking. And don’t forget to eat the blueberries if they are in season..
Shaw Woods - trails in 120 acres of virgin Ottawa Valley forest. It’s north of Lake Dore on county road 9 just off highway 41.
There is another walking trail on the Pakkotina trail from highway 62. The trail is on your right on the way to Pembroke on Highway 62.
Renfrew Forrest - off the Pitt Road.
The Valley
Round Lake Resort lies in the Bonnechere Valley. Round Lake is the first major lake in the course of the Bonnechere River which begins at Basin Lake in Algonquin Park to our north, and passes through Golden Lake, Eganville, Douglas and Renfrew before emptying in to the Ottawa River near Castleford. We are separated from the Madawaska Valley by the hills of Wilno. The Madawaska River which runs drains the Madawaska Valley begins at Radiant Lake in Algonquin Park and ends 225 km later in the Ottawa River at Arnprior. The river drops 224 meters in its course, creating many white water rapids.
The first white men paddled up the Madawaska River in the early 1700s seeking a route from the Ottawa River to the Great Lakes. They were soon followed by loggers who used the Madawaska to transport logs to market. The Bonnechere was a minor fur route, nevertheless is was large enough to have a Hudson Bay Post at Golden Lake in 1827.
In the 1850s the Canadian Government started the development of colonization roads. The roads were originally to be military supply routes. It was hoped that farmland could be developed along the roads to support the logging operations and, if necessary, military operations. Settlers were given land along the roads with the agreement that they maintain the road in front of their property. The plan failed miserably. The rugged terrain of the precambrian shield did not provide good soil to support farming. As the great pines were harvested the logging industry declined depriving the settlers of their only market. Many were forced to move out and you will can see many abandoned homesteads and ghost towns of the early settlers throughout the Madawaska Valley.
HISTORY
Daphne Hauser owned and managed Round Lake Resort beginning in 1979 and passed it on to her children in 2010. Jo Hauser (Daphne’s son) and Gay Osler (Daphne’s daughter) are the current owner/managers. Round Lake Resort is a beautiful group of log cottages that can be rented by the week during the summer or the week or weekend during the spring and fall.The resort includes a large hunting/fishing lodge with an open stone fireplace - a large but cosy room to read or play games on wet days or during the evenings where you can socialize with other guests.
Round Lake Resort is located on the shores of one of the cleanest lakes in the Ottawa Valley. The lake is stocked with fish each spring by the the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. This is quiet North Country, thick with pines. The call of the loons in Algonquin Park is close by. The one, two or three bedroom cottages have fully equipped kitchens with all needed utensils.
Bedding and towels are provided. Bathrooms all have showers and flush toilets. Satellite Internet for those who wish to keep connected is also available. Tranquility and solitude at it’s best. Relaxing has never been so easy! Build family memories of your unforgettable time together. Relax around the fire pit while listening to the loon’s singing their evening songs or sunbathe in a lounge chair on the dock. Swim, canoe and drink your favourite beverage on your own private deck as the sun sets. The natural beauty of Round Lake and its environs will astound you.
COLONIZATION ROADS
The Opeongo Road: When the first part was built in 1851 at Farrell’s landing on the Ottawa (near Castleford) it was to continue to Georgian Bay. It was declared fit for wagons in 1858 but it only reached as far as Barry’s Bay before the project was abandoned for lack of funds.
The Peterson Colonization Road: This 180 km long road links the Opeongo Road with the Muskoka Road to the west. It is the longest colonization road and highway 62 between Maynooth and Combermere shadows the original route.
The Mississippi Colonization Road: Built by John Snow this road ran east from Bancroft. It can be seen crisscrossing Highway 28.
The Addington Road: Highway 14 follows some of the old roadbed built by the Perry Brothers.
The Hastings Road: This road begins near Madoc and extends 120 km to Bancroft. It connects the Peterson Colonization Road at Maynooth. Highway 62 follows the road in some places. The old road bed in still accessible and remnants of 19th century villages still exist.
Coming of the Railway
The first railway arrived in the Madawaska Valley in 1890. Originally called the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway, it changed its name to the Canada Atlantic Railway and was sold in 1905 to the Grand Trunk (later called CN). It ran from Ottawa, through Renfrew, Eganville and Barry’s Bay and ended at Depot harbor on Parry Island in the Georgian Bay. There is a fully restored railway station and unique wooden water tower in Barry’s Bay.
The railway was considered an engineering triumph largely attributed to the drive of John Rudolphus Booth. J. R. Booth was one of the greatest lumber barons. At his peak he worked 18,000 square kilometers of forest (in comparison Algonquin Park is 7,600 square kilometers) and owned the world’s largest lumber mill in Ottawa.Barry’s Bay’s has been a lumber town since 1870’s when the McLachlin Brothers built a lumber mill on Lake Kamaniskeg. The foreman of the mill was called Barry. He gave his name to the bay on the Lake and so the village was named. The town grew as settlers followed the Opeongo wagon trail to find land. Among the settlers were 300 Poles who had immigrated to Canada from Prussia seeking religious freedom. They are now the ancestors of many of the families in the region. A large number of Irish and Germans also emigrated to the region at this time. Sixty years past before Barry’s Bay organized itself as an official town. The first town council meeting was held in 1933.
Pembroke is older than Barry’s Bay. Colonel Peter White built the first homestead in 1828 and encouraged others to settle in the area. By 1831 there was a saw mill and in 1836 a general store opened. Killaloe was established much later in 1911.
GET IN TOUCH
For general inquiries, email us at info@roundlakeresort.org or fill out the contact form below. For immediate bookings, visit our Booking page.
Phone
902-452-3461
info@roundlakeresort.org
Address
Round Lake Resort 37 Daphne’s Lane RR#5, Killaloe, Ontario K0J 2A0