Waterfront, Cliff, House in 251 McCarrel Lake Road, Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada

Private Lake, Cliff, House on Almost 490 Acres

Private lake, cliff, house on almost 490 acres near Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada

Price: $1.2 million USD.

Legal Description:
· 188.59 acres: Section 31, SW ¼ pt & NW ¼ pt MacDonald / Meredith Township, Ontario, Canada. 2520’ frontage on McCarrel Lake Road.
· 300.76 acres. Plan H748 Lot 3 PT RCP Laird Township, Ontario, Canada.
· 3 Bedroom house at 251 McCarrel Lake Road.

General location and amenities: All measurements are approximate: 30 kilometers east of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario Canada, 40 Kilometers northeast of Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, USA. Approximately 7 Kilometers to Echo Bay, 30 Kilometers to St. Joseph’s Island; a thriving farming / tourist community nestled in the St. Mary’s River which joins Lake Superior and Lake Huron and separates Canada from the United States. 5 hours north of Detroit, Michigan via Interstate 75. 7 hours west of Toronto via the Trans Canada Highway.A new four lane highway is under construction which will greatly reduce the commute distance / time to Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. Larger aircraft (Air Canada, Northwest, US Airways) land in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario or Pellston Michigan (PLN) airports. Smaller private aircraft can land in the Bar River Airport, or the Kinross / Sault Ste Marie Michigan airports. Most major North American business franchises (Home Depots, Canadian Tire (arguably the best store in the WORLD!), Sears, Walmart, Staples. etc) are present in the Canadian Sault. The Michigan side has Lake Superior State University (formerly part of University of Michigan). The Ontario side has Algoma University (part of Laurentian University) and Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology. The international ship locks separating the two Saults boast some of the highest tonnage of shipping passing through a set of locks in North America: mostly steel, timber and grain. There are 2 hospitals and 2 clinics on the Canadian side and at least one hospital on the Sault Michigan side. Below are Links to find out more about the general area. (wwwsault-canadacom, wwwsault-sainte-mariemius, wwwhiltonbeachcom)

The property:

Becking’s Lake: The property includes approximately 4000 feet frontage on Beckings Lake. A small landlocked 40-acre parcel owned by the Province of Ontario and an even smaller landlocked parcel owned by the township comprises the remaining frontage on this beautiful lake. Essentially this is a private lake. The only access is from a ½ mile long logging trail starting behind the house on the property; swim in private! The lake itself is approximately 60-70 acres in size and has crystal clear spring fed water. It was once sounded at 100’ deep. We’ve been told it is large enough to land a floatplane. A beaver dam at the far end of the lake controls drainage. Even in the driest season, this spring fed lake maintains a very stable water level. Three gorgeous Loons currently inhabit the lake (mom, dad and baby makes 3) and as you can see from one of the pictures they will let you swim quite close. Another included photo shows 3 eagles circling the lake: hawks, owls, heron, cranes, bears, beaver, porcupines, deer, moose, raccoons have also been seen on the property over the years. A lynx (size of large house cat, but wild) is fabled to roam the area but has not been seen by the owner. There are no venomous snakes / spiders / insects in this part of Canada in case you are wondering.

Although the Ministry of Natural resources had at one point surveyed this lake as having trout this has not be practically validated. There are swarms of minnows readily visible from the shore and in the winter you can see larger fish through the ice fishing holes (we always called them whistling trout or suckers due to the appearance of their pucker lips designed for bottom feeding). It can be stocked, but only by the Ministry of Natural Resources after they complete an assessment. The lake surface freezes over in the winter making this property a winter wonderland for snow machines, skiers, skaters…etc.

The “Cliff”: If you’ve ever seen the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind…” and recall the “Devils Tower” mountain it featured, you will have a good idea of the nature of this cliff. It is about a 400-500’ diameter stone plateau surrounded on all sides to 2/3rds of its height by a steep grade of what we call “tallis rock”. More then enough blocks of rock anywhere from 1 to 2 ft in length to build a sizable castle. It’s a remarkable geological phenomenon and would certainly make a stone mason’s mouth water at the construction prospects it could provide. A rough guess is that the “cliff” is about 400-500’ above Beckings Lake level. If someone with resources and some engineering support were so inclined there is one side the cliff that could perhaps be engineered with a road leading to a potential castle or summer cottage above. The view is spectacular on all sides overlooking the lake, nearby Sylvan Valley, Bar River, Echo Bay, the St. Mary’s river and as far as the shores of Michigan State in the USA. Absolutely fantastic!

Beaver Dam Lake: Approximate 300- 400 ft frontage on this 10-acre picturesque lake surrounded by large pine trees.

Other: Approximately 1-2 acres surrounding the house is mowable but the rest of the property is almost entirely forested. The hill across the road from the house is also part of the property included in this listing. At one point in history it sported an old radio tower, but this has long since been removed. The lower gravel area below the septic bed is large enough to park multiple pieces of heavy equipment. Currently an old 5-ton articulating (pivots in the center to keep all wheels on the ground) 4wd plow truck is parked out of sight of the house in this lower area. A logging trail leading from this gravel area goes to an approximately 40’ X 60’ garden with a 6 ft high cedar post /chain link fence and gravity fed water supply fill able via a pump from a nearby stream. We had tried planting fruit trees in this same exceptional soil, but the deer and rabbits lacked the patience to wait for the fruit and ate the trees instead. The garden has not been worked in the last 9 years since we moved to Connecticut,USA, but when last used it easily supplied more vegetables (tomatoes, celery, peppers, beans, peas, corn, zucchini, asparagus, swiss chard, carrots, spinach, pumpkins mostly) than 2 families could consume in a year. The 1/4-mile trail down to the garden needs work, but is readily navigable with an ATV or 4wd vehicle.

· A 5-acre swamp created by a beaver dam has a donut shaped floating mat of sphagnum moss in the middle of it. The beavers have created a swimming area for themselves (and their huts) in the middle of this donut shaped mat. In the past we’ve picked cranberries off this mat.

· A corner of the property in Laird Township overlooks Cloudy Lake. A corner of the property in MacDonald Township overlooks McCarrel Lake. Both lakes are connected (along with Diamond lake) and have public access.

· Approximately 1/2 mile road frontage: Mostly on McCarrel Lake Road, with a limited amount on Cloudy Lake Road.

· The property is almost entirely forested (mostly white and red pine, oak, maple, birch, hemlock, cedar). Part of the acreage in MacDonald Township was selectively logged approximately 20 years ago. It is unknown when if ever the property in Laird Township was logged. With few exceptions the property is ruggedly hilly and rocky (granite, white & pink quartz, even some” pudding stone). Although surrounded by farmland this property is not suitable for that purpose. A rarity is that this property is transferable with timber and mineral rights

Severance possibility: Technically the land in MacDonald Township is zoned to allow severance into one-acre parcels providing some form of road frontage is included. The owners would consider severing off the house with perhaps 5 acres and selling the remainder for perhaps $200K less.

The House:

Construction: Originally intended to be the owner’s very solid barn shaped workshop this 24 * 36’ structure was constructed in 1992 and has since been tastefully renovated into a 3-bedroom home. The walls are 2* 6 construction and have 6” fiberglass insulation. It has been framed for 2 garage doors should the future owner wish to install these. The ceiling has 12” fiberglass insulation. The house is wired with 200-amp service in a huge panel box with just about every major circuit having its own individual breaker (including ones for welders, aircompressor). The exterior is colonial blue vinyl siding with trim in stonehedge gray and white. The roof has 25-year asphalt shingles. Heating is via a forced air combination airtight woodstove / electric furnace. Two interconnected shallow wells are on site, but currently not plumbed to house as the water lines were switched to the recently drilled 300’deep well: still like the wood furnace they provide and excellent backup for power outages should this ever occur. Because the house is so well insulated it can be readily heated throughout the Canadian winter season with only 8-10 face cords (4’*8’*12”) of firewood: in chainsaw gas and free exercise that translates into about $80 a year to heat the place.


· Upstairs: With the exception of a sizeable tiled bathroom sporting a rare 6-foot long cast iron tub, the rest of the upstairs is a large open area with yellow birch / sugar maple flooring. The cupboards are solid old growth pine. Some of the cubby-hole (there are six 3’*8’ storage spaces between the dormers) and cupboard doors are constructed of solid 28”-30” wide white pine planking. The built in oven is a Tappan and a newer Maytag countertop range is centered in the island. The refrigerator is 2-3 years old and would be included.

· Downstairs: Currently framed for 3 bedrooms, a laundry room and a combination workshop / furnace room opening into an enclosed 16’ * 36’ woodshed. None of the lower lever interior walls are load bearing so these could also readily be removed to create one large open space with 9 ft ceilings. The laundry room and front hallway has linoleum flooring. The bedrooms have tile floors and feature 10” antique molding. The washer and dryer are also 2-3 years old and would be included. This area also includes a double laundry sink and a deluxe Culligan water treatment system (the kind that does not require salts & regular user maintenance). There is plenty of shelving and storage area throughout the house.

· The 16’ * 36’ woodshed attached to the house was created in 1995 from pine lumber and cedar posts sawn from the property. The floor is covered with 3’ wide thick rubber conveyor material running the length of the shed and the wooden siding has intentionally been laid with spacing between the planks to promote air circulation for purposes of drying firewood. The roof is steel and the structure abuts the house in a watertight means; you will enjoy hanging out here on the rainy days.

· A second 15’ * 25’ shed with wooden siding and tin roof was constructed in 1991 approximately halfway between the house and Becking’s Lake along the access logging trail.

· The immediate premises surrounding the house include a large gravel driveway approximately 150’ from the municipally maintained road. A large cedar post swing set / tire climbing area. At the front of the house is a 8’* 10’ landing and rock garden created with large native stones. Behind the house is a large rock walled garden and stairs leading up the hill behind. The road frontage in front of the house has a split cedar rail fence.