Bear Lake
170 ft
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Depth scale
Survey readout
Bear Lake is mapped to a depth of 51.8 m (170 ft) on the Ontario MNRF survey and covers about 727 ha (1,796 acres) in Sudbury District, Ontario. Depths come from the Ontario MNRF survey of 1976.
Measured from the Ontario MNRF bathymetry survey.
- Deepest mapped contour
- 51.8 m (170 ft)
- Survey year
- 1976
- Surface area
- 727 ha (1,796 acres)
- Shoreline
- 29.5 km (18.3 mi) · irregular
- Fishing access
- No MNRF fishing access point listed within 100 m (the list is incomplete)
- In
- Killarney Lakelands and Headwaters Provincial Park · Ontario Parks
Additional depth details17 contours
- Contour depths
- 0–51.8 m (170 ft)
- Deep-spot markers
- 51.8 m (170 ft)
Provenance
Sources: Ontario MNRF / LIO Bathymetry, Ontario FRI Leaf-On Imagery, Ontario FRI LiDAR DTM, OpenStreetMap (ODbL), Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
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Map details & sources5 sources
All layers registered to one bounding box; positions in WGS 84.
Survey-derived depth contours drape over Ontario LiDAR (FRI DTM) elevation, with a Ontario FRI aerial basemap and OpenStreetMap shoreline. Colour shows surveyed depth; dark lines are the survey's own isobaths.
- Coordinates
- 46.18820, -81.44860
- MNRF lake ID
- 17-4652-51149
- Vertical exaggeration
- 1.4×
- Basemap
- Ontario FRI
- Model size
- 1.3 MB
Check the source: this lake’s record (17-4652-51149) in the Ontario MNRF bathymetry index, and the contour line layer the map is drawn from (Land Information Ontario open data, Open Government Licence – Ontario). Survey year: 1976. This model was built 2026-09-07. Depths between contours are interpolated, not measured.
Paddling
Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-09-16Bear Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, notable open-water exposure, little nearby major-road exposure.
On a canoe route · portages mapped. Portage trails end at this shoreline. Portages carry canoes over land between waters, and the ground around the lake in the 3D view is terrain those trails cross. Trail condition, length and elevation change are not measured here — check the park or canoe-route map before you go. Trails: OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
Why this score?5 components
Included in the index
| Component | Rating | Points of weight | Measurement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural setting | Excellent | 40.1 of 43 | 94% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (89% forest, 1% wetland; 0% developed) |
| Geometric wind exposure | Mixed | 6.5 of 36 | mean fetch 2,915 m · 3% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · long fetch in some directions |
| Motor & speed rules | Not modelled | — | Canada publishes vessel motor and speed restrictions as federal legal schedules, not map data, so they are not part of the Ontario index. Check local signage and Transport Canada rules before going out. |
| Public access | Not listed | — | No publicly listed MNRF fishing access point within 100 m of this shoreline. Municipal, private and informal launches are not all in this source, so this is not evidence that access is poor — the component is excluded and the remaining weights are renormalized. |
| Road isolation | Excellent | 21.4 of 21 | relatively isolated from major roads · 0 Ontario Road Network segments within 1.2 km (traffic estimated from road class, not measured) |
Additional paddling considerations
These describe the lake but are not part of the v1 Paddling Index and do not change the number above.
- Wake sensitivity
- Low — wide enough that wakes disperse over most of the lake
- Observed motorized activity
- Unknown — No lake-level measurement of boat traffic is available. Legal permission to operate motors is not evidence of use.
- Wildlife habitat potential
- High — 89% forest and 1% wetland cover within 150 m of shore
- Mapped wildlife habitat
- None mapped — Ontario MNRF has not mapped moose, deer or waterfowl habitat within 1 km of this lake. The province maps these areas where it has surveyed, so this is not evidence that wildlife is absent. · Ontario MNRF Wildlife Values Area. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
Compare Ontario lakes by Paddling Index →
Angler catch reports
Fish ON-Line · 2017–20263 angler trips logged here between September 2017 and August 2026 — too few to show a pattern, so each species is listed with how many trips named it.
Pictures are sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colours, not photographs (provenance).
About these fish → the Fish of Ontario guide
Bear Lake — common questions
How deep is Bear Lake?
The deepest contour on the Ontario MNRF bathymetric survey of Bear Lake is 51.8 m (170 ft). That is the deepest depth the historical survey map records, which may differ from the deepest point of the lake itself.
How big is Bear Lake?
Bear Lake covers about 727 ha (1,796 acres) in Sudbury District, Ontario.
Is there public access to Bear Lake?
No fishing access point for Bear Lake appears in the Ontario MNRF fishing access point list (within 100 m of the shoreline). That is not the same as the lake being private -- the MNRF list is incomplete, and many municipal, marina and private launches are not in it.
