Rainy Lake
48.7266° N, 93.1307° W
Shoreline and neighbouring water from open government data.
Download the map (SVG)Rainy Lake, Ontario. 48.7266° N, 93.1307° W
Not for navigation. Depths are from government surveys and may be outdated.
borealbound.ca/lakes/on/rainy-lake/, compiled October 9, 2026
- Canadian Geographical Names Database, Natural Resources Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
- HydroLAKES v1.0, Messager et al. 2016 / WWF HydroSHEDS. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Census boundaries and population, 2021, Statistics Canada. Adapted from Statistics Canada. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada.
- Aquatic Resource Area survey points, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
- Fishing access points, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
- Fisheries Management Zones, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
- Lake Partner Program, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
- Real-time hydrometric data, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Contains data from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC Data Servers End-use Licence).
- National Water Data Archive (HYDAT) daily means, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Contains data from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC Data Servers End-use Licence).
- City page weather forecasts and alerts, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Contains data from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC Data Servers End-use Licence).
- Guide to Eating Ontario Fish: Advisory Database, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
- Photographs, Wikimedia Commons contributors. Each photo carries its own licence (CC0, public domain, CC BY or CC BY-SA), credited where shown.
Rainy Lake covers 826 km², making it larger than 99% of the 18,731 lakes in Ontario. It lies beside Northwest Bay.
Government surveys have recorded 16 fish species here, including smallmouth bass, burbot and cisco.
- Area
- 826 km²
- larger than 99% of the 18,731 lakes in Ontario
- Shoreline
- 2,160 km
- longer than 99% of the 18,731 lakes in Ontario
- Water clarity
- 3.6 mSecchi depth, 2025
- clearer than 53% of the 1,251 monitored lakes in Ontario
- Fish species
- 16
- more than 91% of the 2,454 surveyed lakes in Ontario
- Elevation
- 334 m
Today on the water
-1.3 °C
Observed at Fort Frances, as of 2:00 a.m. CDT
choppy Estimated waves, next 12 hours: up to 0.4 m. Around 10 a.m., wind from the southeast: the southeast shore is sheltered, waves build toward the northwest shore.
| Time | 3 a.m. | 6 a.m. | 9 a.m. | 12 p.m. | 3 p.m. | 6 p.m. | 9 p.m. | 12 a.m. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind km/h | var. 5 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 20 | SE 20 | SE 20 | SE 20 | SE 20 |
| Gusts km/h | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | ||||
| Waves (est.) m | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | |||
| Temp. °C | 3 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 |
| Precip. % | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 30 | 30 | 10 | 10 |
Tonight: Clear. Wind west 20 km/h gusting to 40 becoming light this evening. Low plus 1.
Weather: Fort Frances (local forecast), as of 2:03 a.m. CDT
Water level
Rainy Lake near Fort Frances: 337.42 m at 1:30 a.m. CDT: 11 cm below the median for this time of year, within the normal range.
Normal range (25th–75th percentile, HYDAT) Last 7 days
Provisional real-time data, subject to revision. hydrometric station 05PB007
Sun and moon
- Civil dawn
- 6:52 a.m.
- Sunrise
- 7:23 a.m.
- Sunset
- 6:34 p.m.
- Civil dusk
- 7:06 p.m.
- Moonrise
- 6:17 a.m.
- Moonset
- 5:53 p.m.
- Moon
- Waning crescent, 1% lit
Follow this lake by email: a weekly summary of conditions.
Fish
Sport fish by the share of the 5 government surveys (2015–2026) that recorded them.
Forage fish and other species (4)
Forage fish
- Logperch 1
Other
- White Sucker 2
- Mooneye 1
- Shorthead Redhorse 1
Numbers are the surveys that recorded each species.
Eating your catch
The provincial guide to eating fish (2026) sets limits for 9 species from Rainy Lake. Maximum meals per month:
| Species | Length | General population | Sensitive population* | Contaminant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Crappie | 20-25 cm | 16 | 8 | Mercury |
| Lake Whitefish | 45-50 cm | 16 | 16 | Precautionary |
| Muskellunge | >75 cm | Do not eat | Do not eat | Mercury |
| Northern Pike | 55-60 cm | 4 | Do not eat | Mercury |
| Smallmouth Bass | 35-40 cm | 4 | Do not eat | Mercury |
| Walleye | 40-45 cm | 4 | Do not eat | Mercury |
| Burbot (Ling) | 50-55 cm | 4 | Do not eat | Mercury |
| Cisco (Lake Herring) | 35-40 cm | 16 | 8 | Mercury |
| White Sucker | 40-45 cm | 16 | 8 | Mercury |
* As defined in the guide, including children and people who are or may become pregnant. Limits are for the length the guide lists most often; they change with the size of the fish. Read the official guide
Fishing regulations: Fisheries Management Zone 5. Check seasons and limits before you fish.
Water
Clarity was measured with a Secchi disk in 25 years between 1980 and 2025; the latest annual mean is 3.6 m.
Getting on the water
5 listed boat launches; 4 with parking listed. marks launches on the map.
North shore
- Crowrock Inlet
East shore
- Redgut Bay Landing
West shore
- Causeway Access Point
- Hopkin's Bay
- Windy Point Landing
Photos
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Follow this lake
Every Friday by email: the Environment Canada forecast, the water level at the nearest gauge and any weather alerts in effect.