Huntsville Dam - Huntsville, ON
Posted by: 
13acres
N 45° 18.148 W 079° 12.257
17T E 640783 N 5018120
A provincially owned dam at the head of the North Muskoka River
Waymark Code: WM13399
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 09/07/2020
Views: 0
The Huntsville Dam is a concrete stop log dam located at the head of the North Muskoka River in the town of Huntsville, Ontario. The dam is 4.5m high with six stop log bays. Five of the bays are 6.1m wide and one is 5.74m wide with each bay having 7 to 8 stop logs each. The height of the stop log sill to the crest of the retaining wall is 2.85m. Owned by The Province of Ontario and controlled by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, this structure is key in controlling the water levels of Fairy, Peninsula and Vernon lakes. The history of this dam goes back to the steam boat and logging era. It has been used to run sawmills in the past and still is a part of the Brunel locks which allows navigation between Mary and Fairy lakes.
Panoramic shot of the dam
There is an information board close by that has a photo of a postcard showing the the original structure dated 1895.
The coordinates N45° 18.148 W079° 12.257 were taken on the south end of the retaining wall just adjacent to the gate.
Access
To access the dam, make your way to exit 219 on Highway 11 and take Muskoka road 3 for about 3km towards Huntsville. Turn Right on Brunel road and travel 3.2km. Parking will be on right at N45° 18.108 W079° 12.235.
