Are you a mountain, beach or desert person?

My brother is a desert person. There’s something about the light and landscapes of places like New Mexico, Utah and Nevada that speaks to him. Since I live on a lake, and am a water baby, it will come as no surprise to you that I’m a beach person.

And while Canada is blessed to boast three coastlines, all with stunning scenery, I have long since realized that I will always need to be or live on interior lakes where I can swim.

Here are ten interior lakes in Canada that hold a special place in my heart:

• Big Hawk Lake: I’ve been visiting this beautiful lake north of Minden, Ontario since I was a teenager. The lake is on a popular canoe route and is dotted with pretty islands and bays and has several interesting features including rapids, a historic log chute, a rockface known as the three chiefs, rocks for cliff jumping and even a totem pole.
• Lake Moraine: There is a reason why this picturesque lake in Banff National Park in Alberta was featured on our $20 bill. When you round the corner from the short hiking trail, your breath is literally taken away by its stunning turquoise blue colour and mountainous backdrop. (The colour is unique to glacial lakes and is caused by rock flour that is produced as glaciers grind against bedrock and is carried by glacial meltwater into the lake). Substitute any mountain lake in the Rockies or BC.
• Red Lake: Anyone who has spent time in northern Ontario will understand why Dave’s father calls this region God’s country. Located where the road ends off the TransCanada highway near the Manitoba border, Red Lake is a fisherman’s dream, spanning 165 kms of islands, bays teeming with walleye, northern pike and muskie. The constant drone of float planes taking off from Howie Bay serenade you while on the water, but can make swimming in Red Lake hazardous!
• Mazinaw Lake: Bon Echo Provincial Park houses this second deepest lake in Ontario, famous for its impressive 100 metre high Mazinaw Rock. While the rockface itself is magnificent, it’s the ancient pictographs painted centuries ago by the Algonquin and Anishinaabe peoples that are said to have spiritual meanings and qualities that attract people to the cliffs.
• Georgian Bay: With more than 30,000 islands and grey granite sculpted shorelines, Georgian Bay is a boaters dream. Every time I’ve spent time in this beautiful region of Ontario, I fall in love all over again with its greenish blue waters, unique shorelines and undulating waves that stretch for miles and miles.
• Lake Superior: The granddaddy of the Great Lakes, Lake Gitche Gumee is massive, majestic, and magical. It can be peaceful, calm, and breathtaking on a nice day, and dark, menacing and deadly on a stormy day. Take the Lake Superior Circle Tour, a 2,000 km route and enjoy the magnificent views and natural wonders. Be sure to take a slight detour to Mackinac Island just south of Sault Ste Marie.  
• Lake Memphramagog: This stunning lake in the Eastern Townships straddles the Quebec/Vermont border and offers picturesque mountain views. Legend has it that a sea monster inhabits the lake! Spend an afternoon strolling along the boardwalk in Magog or in the pretty town of Newport, Vermont which Dave and I explored last fall on our way back from the Maritimes.
• Opeongo Lake or any lake in Algonquin Park: There’s something about Algonquin Park that is special. When people think of a wild space, they think of Algonquin. Picture early morning mist gently rising off the water, revealing stately pines lining the shoreline and pure silence. It’s pure heaven.
• Mackenzie Lake: Located near Lake St. Peter Provincial Park in Ontario, this lake and region is a snowmobiler’s dream in the winter with trails galore. Surrounded by cliffs, there is one concave rockface on the southern end of the lake that becomes almost mystical towards the end of the day when the light hits it. Patterns of light dance across the rockface and the water. Alone in a canoe or kayak, it’s one of the most spiritual places I’ve ever been. 
• Lake of the Woods OR Lake Muskoka/Lake Joseph: Okay, since this is supposed to be a top ten list, I’m cheating and combining the lakes that make up the “Muskoka of the South” and the “Muskoka of the North”, even though they are 1,600 kms apart. Beautiful, stunning and expansive, these lakes have become prime real estate. Take a boat cruise and spend time gawking at the million dollar cottages. Hey, you can always dream!
• Bonus pic: Desert Lake or any lake in South Frontenac. Dave and I moved to this area thirty years ago because of all the beautiful shield lakes and its proximity to Kingston. When you’re paddling on the north end of Desert Lake on a bright sunny day, watching eagles perching on the tips of pine trees swaying in the breeze and loons feeding their babies beside your canoe, you feel like you’re in paradise.

Of course, every lake is special. I’m reminded of this every time I’m out exploring our pretty little lake in my kayak. This week’s #HappyAct is to spend some time on the water.

Related reading: The trees of my life

The sunlight reflecting off this conclave rock face on Mackenzie Lake at the end of the day is very spiritual. I’ve yet to photograph it in the perfect light.

Pog light campground in Algonquin Park

My girls paddling at dusk on Big Hawk Lake.

Featured photo above: Sydenham Lake at dusk in South Frontenac.