Eastern Townships Lakes: Which One Is Right for You?

A lake isn’t just a view: it’s a way of life. The hush of a lake with no gas motors, a swim in clear water, a public boat launch down the road or a private domain reserved for owners: every detail shapes your days. Here are the Eastern Townships lakes, one by one, with what you should know before you buy.

Eastern Townships lakes at a glance

For water quality, we use the ratings of Quebec’s Volunteer Lake Monitoring Network (Réseau de surveillance volontaire des lacs, or RSVL), which run from ultra-oligotrophic (very clear water, few nutrients) to hyper-eutrophic. A rule of thumb: an oligotrophic lake averages 4 to 10 µg/l of phosphorus and more than 5 m of water clarity; a mesotrophic lake, 10 to 30 µg/l and 2.5 to 5 m. In between, the RSVL speaks of a “transition zone.”

Yes: motors allowed, with speed limits set in Transport Canada’s TP 15587.
Electric only: 7.5 kW or less.
Ranges: sources differ · n/a: not found in our sources.
* Wikipedia, for reference only · ** Monitored by the Quebec environment ministry and Memphrémagog Conservation; elsewhere, the rating is the RSVL’s for the year shown.
Sépaq is the agency that runs Quebec’s national parks.

Lake Memphremagog: the giant shared with Vermont

Where: Magog sits at its northern tip; five other Quebec municipalities line its shores, as does Newport, Vermont. Three quarters of the lake’s surface is in Quebec, but 71% of its watershed is in Vermont.

Size: 44 km long and 6 km wide, with an area of 95 to 102 km² depending on the source. Its deepest point, 107 m, lies beneath Owl’s Head mountain.

On the water: 10 km/h within 100 m of shore and 70 km/h elsewhere (Transport Canada’s TP 15587), plus a few zones closed to all motors, including part of Magog Bay. Every boat must carry a valid wash certificate or user certificate, or face a $100 fine (MRC de Memphrémagog, 2024).

Water quality: the lake isn’t part of the RSVL. Monitoring by the Quebec environment ministry and Memphrémagog Conservation rated it oligo-mesotrophic based on phosphorus from 1999 to 2018 (mesotrophic in its southern half based on chlorophyll), with phosphorus stable or slightly declining.

Two caveats: cyanobacteria were reported from 2006 to 2018, and zebra mussels were identified in July 2018. About 175,000 Canadians drink its water.

Access: on the Quebec side, six public beaches, five municipal boat launches and 27 marinas (2019), including Plage des Cantons and Plage de l’Ouest in Magog. No Sépaq park.

Did you know? Legend has it that the lake monster Memphré lives in a cave beneath Owl’s Head, right above the lake’s deepest point. The Abenaki refused to swim there.

Lake Massawippi: North Hatley’s deep lake

Where: five municipalities, including North Hatley and Ayer’s Cliff, have managed the lake together since 2001. It’s 14.2 km long according to Ayer’s Cliff; sources put its area at 15 to 18.7 km² and its depth at 75 to 86 m.

On the water: 70 km/h offshore, 10 km/h within 100 m of shore (TP 15587). Every boat, motorized or not, must be washed at an approved station, with fines of $400 or more.

Water quality: oligo-mesotrophic transition in 2024 according to the RSVL, based on water clarity alone (about 5 m); the last full chemical analysis dates from 2014. Zebra mussels (2021) and Eurasian watermilfoil are present.

Access: Plage Massawippi in Ayer’s Cliff is free and supervised (paid parking); North Hatley’s public beach charges admission. No Sépaq here: this is the Massawippi Regional Park.

Did you know? Around 1886, a Baltimore doctor fell for the lake, and families from the American South followed by train. By 1903, North Hatley had 250 residents in winter… and 1,200 in summer. With its many artists, the village was nicknamed the “Athens of the North.”

Brome Lake: Knowlton, its beach and its old villas

Where: in the town of Lac-Brome (Knowlton, Foster), at the source of the Yamaska River. Wide but shallow: 14.57 to 15 km² depending on the source, 12.8 m at its deepest and 6.3 m on average.

On the water: 10 km/h within 150 m of shore and of Eagle Island (TP 15587). Washing is mandatory before every launch, and the certificate expires after 24 hours or as soon as the boat leaves the lake.

Water quality: mesotrophic in 2025 according to the RSVL (phosphorus 16 µg/l, clarity 3.8 m). Since 2006, cyanobacteria episodes, mostly in August and September, have sometimes closed Douglass Beach.

Access: Douglass Beach is a supervised sandy beach where you can launch a non-motorized boat, but not a powerboat; the marina’s ramp charges a fee. No Sépaq park.

Did you know? The Abenaki called the lake Yamaska. As early as 1867, many villas owned by wealthy Montrealers stood in Knowlton.

Orford, Stukely and Fraser: the Mont-Orford lakes

Mont-Orford National Park (Sépaq) was created in 1938 thanks to the efforts of 27 municipalities. Two of its sectors, Lac-Stukely and Lac-Fraser, sit on a lake, with supervised beaches, boat rentals and camping. The surprise: Lake Orford itself isn’t in the park.

Lake Orford

Shared by Eastman and Austin, it supplies Eastman’s drinking water: 1.29 km² and 48 m deep according to Wikipedia. It has three speed zones (5, 10 and 70 km/h) and was oligotrophic from 2022 to 2025 according to the RSVL, with average clarity of 7 m in 2025.

At the rest area Eastman acquired in 2025, swimming and boat launching are prohibited.

Lake Stukely

Between Bonsecours, Eastman and Orford, partly in the park: about 4 km² and 32 m deep according to Wikipedia. Motorboats are increasingly common, and washing is mandatory. Oligotrophic from 2016 to 2024 according to the RSVL, it moved into the oligo-mesotrophic transition zone in 2025.

Locals used to call it Lac Bonnallie, and Sépaq’s rental centre there is named Le Bonnallie.

Lake Fraser

In the Canton d’Orford, in the park’s Lac-Fraser sector. Speed is capped at 10 km/h, and towing a person or wakesurfing is only allowed during authorized hours. Oligo-mesotrophic transition in 2025 according to the RSVL (clarity 6 m).

Long Pond (Bolton-Est): peace and quiet, no gas motors

Where: it’s sometimes placed in Austin, but Long Pond (officially “Lac Long Pond”) lies entirely within Bolton-Est, in the MRC de Memphrémagog. A headwater lake, it drains into Lake Trousers, then into the Missisquoi Nord River.

Size: 0.66 km², 2.7 km long and 11.5 m deep (about 5 m on average), according to the lake association. Its mostly forested watershed is 8.8 times the lake’s area: a low ratio, which favours good water quality.

On the water: the lake is listed in Schedule 3 of Transport Canada’s TP 15587. All mechanical propulsion (gas, diesel) is prohibited, and electric motors are allowed up to 7.5 kW. Neighbouring Lake Trousers and Lake Nick follow the same rules: three lakes, zero gas motors.

The rule dates back to the 1990s, when the lake association of the day had motors banned; people water-skied there at the time. Boat washing is mandatory (Bolton-Est by-law 2023-423) at the Missisquoi-Nord park station in Eastman, free for light craft.

Water quality: in the oligo-mesotrophic transition zone every year from 2014 to 2025 according to the RSVL, except 2023 (mesotrophic). In 2025: phosphorus 8.8 µg/l, clarity 3.8 m.

Access: no public access and no public boat launch, the Association du lac Long Pond confirms. The Bourgade du Lac Long isn’t a public park either: it’s a private residential domain on chemin Kates, managed by the Association des propriétaires de la Bourgade du Lac Long de Bolton-Est (founded in 2006). Its park is reserved for member owners.

We actually have a house for sale on chemin Kates, in the Bourgade du Lac Long: see our featured property.

Did you know? Near the lake, the Quebec Copper Mine produced 11,242 tonnes of copper, 3,000 ounces of gold and 30,000 ounces of silver between 1954 and 1958. The lake’s water is said to have stayed whitish until the early 1960s.

Other lakes worth knowing

Less famous or farther afield, these lakes are well worth a look too.

Lake Magog

Between Sherbrooke, Magog and Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley: 10.8 km², 18.85 m deep, motors allowed. In 2025, the RSVL rated it mesotrophic or meso-eutrophic transition depending on the station; zebra mussels are present. Its Abenaki name, Namagw, means “at the lake trout.”

Lake Lovering

In Magog and the Canton de Stanstead: 4.9 km², 25 m deep, motors allowed, oligo-mesotrophic transition in 2025 according to the RSVL. Its boat launch, key required, is reserved for residents of both municipalities, and 83% of its shoreline is inhabited.

Lake Bowker

In the Canton d’Orford, very clear water: 10.9 m of average clarity in 2025. Oligotrophic that year according to the RSVL, it was ultra-oligotrophic in 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023. Motors allowed (55 km/h). On maps from 1863 and 1884, it was called Long Lake.

Lac d’Argent

In Eastman: 1.02 km² and 15.6 m deep according to Wikipedia, oligo-mesotrophic transition in 2024 and 2025 according to the RSVL. Municipal parks line its shore, but swimming is prohibited at public access points for lack of supervision (2022). It was once called Lac Missisquoi, then Lac Eastman.

Lake Brompton

Between the Canton d’Orford, Racine and Saint-Denis-de-Brompton: 11.7 km², 42.4 m deep, oligotrophic in 2025 according to the RSVL. Motors allowed, with speed limits by sector. A surprising fact: part of the lake is land flooded by the Bombardier dam.

Lake Mégantic

In the MRC du Granit: 26.4 km², 75 m deep, the source of the Chaudière River, mesotrophic in 2024 and 2025 according to the RSVL. Motors allowed: 70 km/h by day, 55 km/h at night. Benedict Arnold’s troops used it as a route in 1775.

Grand lac Saint-François

The largest lake in this guide after Memphremagog: 51 km², shared by five municipalities, including Lambton and Adstock. Part of it lies in Frontenac National Park (Sépaq), which warns of strong winds and motorboats. Motors allowed; meso-eutrophic transition in 2025 according to the RSVL.

Choinière Reservoir

In Yamaska National Park (Sépaq): 4.56 to 4.75 km² depending on the source. Gas motors are prohibited and rental rowboats come with electric motors; meso-eutrophic transition in 2025 according to the RSVL. Formed during the 1977 spring thaw, it covers a former hamlet.

Selby Lake

In Dunham: 1.6 km² with more than 180 homes on its shores. A sticker is required to navigate, except on paddleboards and inflatables. Meso-eutrophic transition since 2020 according to the RSVL.

Lake Aylmer

A widening of the Saint-François River between Stratford, Disraeli, Beaulac-Garthby and Weedon: 33.3 km² and 35 m deep according to Wikipedia. Eutrophic from 2020 to 2022 according to the RSVL, it was mesotrophic in 2024 and 2025.

Before buying near a lake: 5 questions to ask

Every lake has its own rules. For a specific property, the municipality, your notary (in Quebec, notaries handle property transfers) and Transport Canada remain your references.

1. Does the lake have public access, or is it private?

Some lakes have none, like Long Pond; others reserve their launch for residents, like Lake Lovering. Check what comes with the address: an association park, an access right, or nothing at all.

2. What are the motor and speed rules?

They’re federal, published in Transport Canada’s TP 15587 and updated at least once a year. A lake with a 70 km/h limit and a lake reserved for electric motors offer very different experiences.

3. Is boat washing mandatory?

On several lakes in this guide, yes, sometimes even for a kayak. Fines run $100 on Memphremagog and $400 or more on Massawippi: the goal is to stop invasive species.

4. What is the water quality, and which way is it trending?

Look at several years of RSVL data, not just one: Brome Lake has alternated between two ratings since 2008, while Long Pond has almost always stayed in the same one. Ask about any history of cyanobacteria, too.

5. Is there an association, with fees and shoreline rules?

A lake association monitors water quality; in a private domain, it may require membership and fees, so ask how much and what they cover. Also check the municipal rules on the riparian buffer (the protected strip of shoreline vegetation) before you dream of a dock.

On Long Pond, for example, only 57% of the shoreline was still natural in 1984; anglers planted 6,955 shrubs to bring it back.

BEAU’s advice

The right lake is the one that fits the way you live: a paddle at dawn, a family boat outing or total silence. Visit on a Saturday in July and again on a Tuesday in October, and ask these five questions before you sign a promise to purchase (Quebec’s term for an offer).

Torn between two lakes? Write to Yanick or call him at (514) 358-3126. To hear about new properties that match your criteria, set up your real estate alerts.

Sources

• Transport Canada: TP 15587, 2nd edition, April 2026 (French version)
• RSVL: lake trophic status data (Données Québec, in French)
• RSVL: methods and trophic classes (in French)
• International Joint Commission: Lake Memphremagog nutrient report, 2019 (French version)
• Commission de toponymie du Québec: Lac Memphrémagog
• MRC de Memphrémagog: Lake Memphremagog brochure
• Association du lac Long Pond
• Association des propriétaires de la Bourgade du Lac Long
• Bolton-Est: by-law 2023-423
• Ayer’s Cliff: Lac Massawippi
• North Hatley: the origins of North Hatley
• Town of Lac-Brome: My lake
• Sépaq: Mont-Orford, Yamaska and Frontenac
• Wikipedia (French): data marked with an asterisk

Data consulted on November 7, 2026. Boating rules and lake conditions change: check with the municipality and Transport Canada before putting a boat in the water.

Yanick Beaupertuis, residential and commercial real estate broker, BEAU L’Équipe immobilière, eXp Agence immobilière

Photo: Kevstan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons