Lake Nipissing is the 5th largest inland lake in Ontario and was known by the Ojibway people as "Gichn-bee" or "Big-water". It covers 831 square km.

The South Shore of Lake Nipissing stretches from Callander Bay to South Bay, where the South River enters Lake Nipissing. As the Township of Nipissing was one of the first established areas on the lake, this area is steeped in history.

Lake Nipissing is a large and diverse lake, it contains over 40 species of fish. There are weedlines near shore that hold pike and muskie, rocky shoals with smallmouth bass and shallow, weedy bays that hide largemouth. Islands in the bay provide structure for fish and fishermen alike, making it possible to get out fishing regardless of the weather. Complimentary maps are available along with information on hot spots, tackle and techniques used.

Lake Nipissing drains into Georgian Bay, which is a part of Lake Huron, via the French River. Lake Nipissing lies about 25 km northwest of Algonquin Provincial Park. In the days of the fur trade, voyageurs traveled through the lake by canoe via the Mattawa and French Rivers. The first permanent European settlement on the lake dates back to around 1874 on the southeast corner in Nipissing Village.

North Bay sits along the lake's northeastern shoreline. Other notable towns are Callander and Sturgeon Falls.

Lake Nipissing Facts:

• With a surface area of 330 square miles, Lake Nipissing has an average depth of only 4.5 m and a maximum depth of 173 feet (52 m) located near the mouth of the French River.
• The entire water volume of Lake Nipissing turns over by natural means every three-quarters of a year.

Lake Nipissing History

When the glaciers retreated, the entire Lake Nipissing region was submerged beneath a large sea, the shoreline of while can still be noticed in the area hills. The Nipissing First Nations people settled in villages around Lake Nipissing itself. When early French explorers like Champlain and Lasalle moved up the Ottawa River and into the interior of the continent via the Mattawa River & Lake Nipissing, they thought they would find a way to the Pacific and on to China, instead they pioneered the fur trade routes.

Once the fur trade depleted the beaver, lumbering became the primary industry and the backbone of the economy. Many of these stories are recorded in the area museums, like the Nipissing Museum. The lumbering work drew early settlers and homesteaders, forming many of the local communities. Like the beaver, the old growth trees too were over-harvested and in the 1950s the area economy had switched to a tourism based economy around the excellent Lake Nipissing fishing. Of course practiced at this level this too has proved unsustainable, that is why here at Piebird Bed & Breakfast we encourage and promote only fun & sustainable activities like canoeing, cycling, vegetarianism, hula-hooping, organic gardening and being nice!