Elephant Lake

 The annual general meeting of the Cottagers Association happened on May 18th, 2025. It was well attended and a new Committee was appointed. Road fees have also increased. For details, please see the minutes which were sent by email.  If anyone did not received the minutes, please comment back with instructions where to send them. We have scheduled work on the road with machines to do ditching and culvert work  starting on June 6th, 7th and 8th. After this work is complete, gravel will be spread starting on the 9th.  There may be some delays for traffic during these days. Note that there will be cones put up indicating road work ahead.  If anyone is able to volunteer time to help with laying and backfilling the culverts, with the survey rod to help with the grading and also help traffic past the machines, please let Peter H. know. Other notes: The blackflies have been thick and mosquitoes are appearing. The dragon flies are also starting to appear and will feast...

Miche Lafleur has started a fund raiser for the North Hastings Hospital (Bancroft) campaign. This year they are looking to purchase 2 respirators.  Miche has crocheted tea towel holders and custom Elephant Lake tea towels.  The cost is $20.00 for the holder and tea towel. They can be purchased separately as well. 100% will be donated.  No tax or tariff!  Reach out to Miche to get yours!

Spring has arrived and the road is drivable! John Jamieson has patched in places where it was very bad, and he dragged it once afterwards. We are fortunate that the road has dried out so early after such a snowy winter. Many thanks to Terry Young for the ditching and clearing the sides of the road he did last fall with his excavator. Also to Peter Healy and others, especially the fellows from Young Logging , who came out for a day to help with clearing brush from the sides of the road. This has allowed the sun to get to the road surface to help dry it. Clarke Road has been graded by the township up to Tusk Trail. You will notice when driving past the 911 parking lot that it is empty.  A new addition is the CJPO at 911. Be sure to ask John Jamieson the Post Master what CJPO stands for.. Thought I would share a picture of one of the sunsets we enjoyed a couple of evenings ago. Lastly......  It's Blackfly season. They are back and starting to bite..

 We woke up this morning to the sight of water on the lake, not ice. Well, a small amount of ice that will not last the day... The birds are back too. Mergansers or Loons? Yesterday, a part of Clarke Road between Forest View Road and Storey Road began to flood over due to a clogged drain and high waters. The township came quickly and dealt with it before we had a total washout.   If anyone is interested, Peter Healy is selling his boat. It's a 2006 Sylvan Expedition Sport 1600 with a 2014 Suzuki 90 HP four stroke engine. Contact Peter for more details at 705-734-4094.

 Parking at 911 continues to be muddy and slushy. The road is also VERY muddy and slushy. Purolator tried... Fellow's 1st day on the route. Last driver did not warn him. He made about half way in from 911 to Boston's.. Tow trucks would not come in. All Terrain Rescue came in pulled him out of the ditch. Purolator had to back down about a kilometer before he could turn around. All Terrain Rescue towed him up Mill Hill. Stay tuned... we will let you know when it we can drive in without these problems. The ice is melting on the lake. Here is a couple of pictures.                                                               Happy Easter Weekend to all!

 The weather continues to change. A couple of nice sunny days, then several cold, cloudy, snow, rain or freezing rain days.  The ice is still on the lake.  The the road is starting to thaw underneath. We are seeing sink-holes, wash-outs, culverts heaving and clogged etc.                                                                                  Clogged Culvert                                                                                 Large Sink-Hole         ...