Cottage Care Guide

The Rideau Lakes cottage owner’s resource directory.

A starting-point list of the people and organizations worth knowing when you own a cottage on the Rideau Lakes. We’re not affiliated with any of these — it’s just the kind of thing we wish someone had handed us. Always confirm details directly; contacts change.

Who governs the water

Parks Canada — Rideau Canal: jurisdiction over the shoreline and lakebed; permits for docks and in-water work. (See our dock & shoreline permits guide.)
Township of Rideau Lakes: zoning, building permits, waste, and the local business directory.
Rideau Valley & Cataraqui Region conservation authorities: shoreline and floodplain approvals, depending on your lake.

Lake associations

Your lake association is the best source of local knowledge — water quality, issues, events, and neighbours. Around here that includes:

Chaffey’s Area Lakes Association (CALA) — covers seven lakes including Newboro
Big Rideau Lake Association · Upper Rideau Lake Association · Newboro & Loon Lake · Wolfe Lake · Bass Lake
FOCA (Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations) — the provincial umbrella

Marinas & dock services

Len’s Cove Marina (Portland) · Indian Lake Marina (near Newboro) · Brown’s & Franklin’s (Chaffey’s Locks)
Rideau Docks (Westport) — dock sales, installation and removal

Building supply & hardware

Westport Home Hardware · Herlehy Home Building Centre (Westport)
Kilborn’s on the Rideau — the Newboro general store

Everyday trades

For propane, septic pumping, wells and water, and licensed plumbing and electrical, the area is well served by local operators — and knowing who’s reliable before you need them is half the battle. Coordinating those trades so you don’t have to is a core part of what we do: one call, and we line up the right person and stay on it.

In an emergency

For fire, a medical emergency, or a suspected break-in, call 911. For a problem at an empty cottage you can’t get to — a storm, a leak, an alarm — that’s exactly what we’re here for.