Lake Simcoe Docks, Protected Through a Long Ice Season
From Kempenfelt Bay to Beaverton, the lake freezes over every winter. Keep the ice off your dock until spring.
A big lake with year-round neighbours
Lake Simcoe is the largest lake on the Trent-Severn Waterway. Its shoreline runs past Barrie, Innisfil, Georgina, Beaverton, Brechin and Orillia, and Lake Couchiching sits just north through the Narrows.
Many homes here are lived in all year, so the dock is part of the view every winter morning. The whole lake freezes over, and once the ice is in, it becomes one of the most heavily fished lakes in Ontario.
Lower water by freeze-up
Parks Canada sets Simcoe and Couchiching levels through the Trent-Severn Waterway, lowering them through the fall to leave room for spring melt. The lowest levels of the year usually arrive in late fall and winter.
That changes your setup in two ways:
- Measure in November, not July. An Arbrux pump de-ices best with 4 to 6 feet of water above it. Take depth readings once the lake has come down.
- Watch the posts. When levels shift under the ice, ice frozen around a piling or lift leg can lift it. Our post on how ice damages a dock explains why.
What a de-icer does on Simcoe, and what it can't
- Ice forming around cribs, posts and boathouse doors: the de-icer holds a 40-foot circle of water open, so ice cannot grip or push against the structure in that zone.
- Water levels changing under the ice: it keeps lift legs and pilings free of ice, so they are not jacked up through the winter.
- Wind-driven ice at break-up: it can't stop it. A sheet of pack ice pushed by the wind carries far more force than the water a pump moves. Simcoe ice has damaged docks on the northeast shore in 2018 and near Sutton in 2019. Take out what you can before winter.
We would rather you know this up front. A de-icer stops the slow, all-winter damage that ruins most docks. It is not a shield against a spring ice shove.
A busy lake all winter
By January, Simcoe is dotted with ice huts, snowmobile trails and skaters. A patch of open water beside your dock is the last thing someone crossing at dusk expects to find.
- Put signs on the dock and on shore where they can be seen from the ice.
- Tell your neighbours, and any hut operators or snowmobile clubs nearby, where you keep water open.
- Ask your town and lake association about any local rules for de-icers.
Lake Simcoe FAQ
I live on the lake year-round. Can I adjust the de-icer through the winter?
Yes, and that is a real advantage. The pivot bracket on the Dock Bundle lets you re-aim the flow if ice starts creeping toward a crib after a cold snap.
Will a de-icer protect my dock from an ice shove?
No. It protects against ice gripping and pushing on the dock all winter, which is where most damage comes from. For spring shoves, remove what you can and talk to a local dock builder about your shoreline.
Does the same setup work on Lake Couchiching?
Yes. Couchiching levels are managed alongside Simcoe's, so the same depth check and mounting advice apply.
Where is Arbrux based?
In Portland, Ontario, on Big Rideau Lake. We ship anywhere in Canada and answer weekdays at (343) 422-6224.
Ready for a long Simcoe winter
Simcoe winters are long. Arbrux pumps are assembled in Portland, Ontario to run through all of it, with UL and CSA certification and a 2-year warranty.
