Log Chute – A Must See Hawk Lake

The Hawk Lake Log Chute is the only remaining log chute in the province of Ontario, this testament to local and provincial history is tucked away on Hawk Lake Road, just north of the Loralea Country Inn Resort on Halls Lake in the Haliburton Highlands.

Rebuilt in 2005, this log chute could be the last one of its kind in Ontario The new park, interpretive pavilion, picnic area and trail make a wonderful and very educational stopping point while traveling through the Haliburton Highlands.

Plan to spend some time there, do some hiking, fishing or have a picnic.

Many of our guests visit this historic site, a man made log chute or trough built in 1861 to carry logs over river landscapes and into lakes for delivery to the sawmill. There were thousands of wooden chutes built in the late 1800′s in Ontario and dozens in the Haliburton Highlands and all are gone now but this one.

Trouble seeing video click here Hawk Lake Log Chute Video

Some History

- Log Chute was originally built in 1861

- Repaired, extended and maintained over the years

- 1999 declared a designated historical site

- Thanks to the government and public donations

- Restoration completed from old blue prints

- Site is open Spring, summer and fall – closed in winter

- No admission – best photo time midday to afternoon when sunny

 .

What is There To Do

Get some exercise and enjoy the hiking trail

Bring lunch and have a picnic

Fish above the dam – bass would be the catch of the day

Smell the wildflowers and plants that live in the rocky terrain

View points – get face to face with 2,000,000 year old rocks

Public washrooms

Pet friendly – leashes and clean up after rules do apply

This log chute is actually a man-made trough that was used to carry logs through a river landscape to a sawmill. The log chute was constructed in Canada in 1829 to circumnavigate the Chaudière Falls in Quebec.

In the late 1800s there were thousands of wooden chutes around the province and dozens in the Haliburton county, but they’re all gone now.

The log chute at Big Hawk Lake in Haliburton has been there since 1861, and this chute is now the only one of its kind in Ontario.

This historic site is a testament to the tenacity and perseverance of the tens of thousands of men who made their living in the logging industry, and whose courage helped forge the communities of rural Ontario.

This log chute was re-built at the turn of the 1900′s at the mouth of the Kennisis River that flows from Hawk Lake into Halls Lake where an old sawmill once stood.

How to get there

See on Google Maps where Hawk Lake Log Chute is Located

View Loralea – Activities and Things to Do in a larger map

See their web site below for more information and lots of old photos on the log chute or ask for a flyer and directions at the resort main office, don’t forget to bring your camera.

To see more photos see website of Hawk Lake Log Chute

More than a log chute …

This historic site isn’t just about a big old log chute. It also represents a long history of using hundreds of dams to control water levels, a task now overseen by the Trent-Severn Waterway.

Dams were built originally by loggers for use in spring river drives. In 1906 the control of local waters was transferred to the federal government and many dams were rebuilt of concrete.

To maintain the dams and check on water levels at Hawk, Kennisis, Trout, Crab, Cat and Paint Lakes required the services of a “damkeeper”. This man would travel by canoe, paddling his circuit and reporting back the status of dams and water levels to the federal government.

In 1908 the government built a house for the damkeeper in the bay upstream of the chute. By the 1940s the building was no longer needed and it was sold.

Find out more on site! Get this PDF download

Please comment below if you have ever been to this log chute at Hawk Lake before, let others learn for your experience.

Come and Enjoy What the Haliburton Highlands Has To Offer

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Tags: Activities