A mermaid has been watching over this Ontario lake for nearly 100 years

There’s a mermaid sunbathing on the shores of Fort Frances, Ont., and spotting her is just one reason to take the scenic drive to this border town this summer.

Exploring Fort Frances

Fort Frances is an all-season destination, offering that charming small-town vibe with exciting seasonal activities.

Whether it be summer patio dining by the lake or hitting the snowmobile trails in the winter, Fort Frances is an outdoor lover’s paradise that’s worth the trip.

It borders the U.S state of Minnesota. If you’re in the area and would like to visit our friendly neighbours to the south, you can do it all in a single day.

If you’re more of an outdoors explorer, Fort Frances and the surrounding area offer limitless opportunities to explore and be one with nature.

“You can wrestle with a muskie on one of the 70,000 fishable lakes or paddle along the countless km of waterway, surrounded by giant red and white-pine scented miles of nature at its finest,” shares Destination Fort Frances.

And while visitors are out and about, they must explore Rainy Lake and the local mermaid that rests within its waters. It’s not as creepy as it may sound, considering this legend is a statue resting on a rock.

Mermaid statue

According to Ontario’s Sunset Country Travel Association, the Rainy Lake Mermaid is only accessible by boat, so if you hope to get up close and personal, you’ll have to hit the waters.

“In 1932, Gordon A. Schlichting, a Minneapolis architect, carved the Mermaid while he was a student spending the summers on Rainy Lake,” shares the travel site.

It’s located in Silver Island Narrows, near Copenhagen Island, about 25 minutes away from the nearest town, which is Fort Frances.

“The Mermaid sits upon a rock in the middle of beautiful Rainy Lake. Constructed out of steel rods, old boat props, and cement, the mermaid is truly a work of art,” shared the site

Per the town of Fort Frances, Schlichting finished the sculpture in three months and went on to be a renowned architect in Minneapolis. He passed away in 1997, but never failed to visit his mermaid whenever he could.

So if you ever find yourself cruising along the shores of Rainy Lake, don’t be surprised if a mysterious figure catches your eye from a distant rock.

In Fort Frances, the legends aren’t just stories; they’re sculpted into the landscape, waiting to be discovered.

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