Ramsey Lake

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Ramsey Lake is a large lake in the city of Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. It covers about 792 hectares (1,958 acres), is up to 20.5 metres deep, has 71 islands, and a shoreline about 134 kilometres long. It sits near Bell Park, Laurentian University, and Science North.

Water flows into Ramsey Lake from Minnow Lake, Laurentian Lake, and several streams on the north shore; Bethel Lake can feed the lake when water is high. The lake drains into Lily Creek, then to Robinson Lake, Kelly Lake, the Spanish River, and finally to Georgian Bay.

The Anishinaabe name for the lake is Bitimagamasing, meaning “water that lies beside the hill.” The lake sits on traditional lands of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek within the Robinson Huron treaty area. In 1879, surveyor William Allen Ramsey renamed the lake after he got lost in fog; it had been called Lost Lake before.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, mining near Sudbury released heavy pollution that hurt local waterways. Emissions peaked in 1960. A rehabilitation program began in 1973 to restore the land and lakes, including Ramsey Lake. The Inco Superstack, opened in 1973, helped disperse emissions over a wider area and aided recovery. By 2023, atmospheric sulfur emissions had fallen by about 98%, and copper and nickel levels in the lake were much lower than in 1990. The lake now supports a healthy fish population, including walleye and northern pike. Blue-green algae can occur and pose health concerns during blooms. Winter road salt has raised sodium and chloride levels, which can affect tiny aquatic organisms.

Two Blue Flag beaches line the lake: Bell Park Beach on the western shore and Moonlight Beach on the eastern shore. Bell Park also has a gazebo, an amphitheatre, and a boardwalk to Science North, which opened in 1984 and won a Governor General’s Medal in Architecture in 1986. The William Ramsey Cruise Boat operates on the lake from Science North from June to September.