Population trend:

• Population in 2006: 4526
• Population in 2001: 4233
• Population total in 1996: 4778
  • Golden (township): 2248
  • Red Lake (township): 2277
• Population in 1991:
  • Golden (township): 2355
  • Red Lake (township): 2268

Climate

The climate of the area is warm-summer continental. In this township, snow usually starts falling around late October / early November, and starts melting around March but doesn't fully melt until late April (and snow in May and even June is not uncommon). This long winter is ideal for the local snowmachiners and for ice fishing though during this period, the wind is often very cold and temperatures may drop to below -35 degrees Celsius. During winter, residents and visitors participate in snow-mobiling, ice fishing, skiing, ice hockey, and downhill sliding.

During the summer, the area experiences a moderate climate with little humidity, which is ideal for camping, boating, canoeing, and hiking.

Transportation

Red Lake is located at the northern terminus of Highway 105, and is the northernmost town in Ontario that is located on a primary King's Highway. A short spur route, Highway 125, extends northerly from Highway 105 to the communities of Balmertown, Cochenour and McKenzie Island, while Highway 618

Ontario Highway 618

Secondary Highway 618, commonly referred to as Highway 618, is a provincially maintained secondary highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It connects Olsen Mine and Madsen with the northern terminus of Highway 105 in the town of Red Lake. The route was established in 1956, and has...

 extends westerly from Highway 105 to the communities of Madsen and Starratt-Olsen. Only one highway in the province, the secondary Highway 599, extends further north than the terminus of Highway 125.

The town acts as a cargo, passenger and tourism hub for Northwestern Ontario

Northwestern Ontario

Northwestern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior, and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the Canadian province of Manitoba, which disputed Ontario's claim to the...

. With Pickle Lake, Red Lake services over twenty northern fly-in communities. Today, Red Lake Airport

Red Lake Airport

Red Lake Airport, , is located north of Red Lake, Ontario, Canada.The airport is classified as an airport of entry by NAV CANADA and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency. CBSA officers at this airport currently can handle general aviation aircraft only, with no more than 15 passengers....

 is a "mini-hub" facilitating travel to and from all northern communities in North-western Ontario. Four airway companies take advantage of Red Lakes close proximity to the northern communities. Bearskin Airlines

Bearskin Airlines

Bearskin Lake Air Services Ltd., trading as Bearskin Airlines, is a regional airline based in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada. It operates services in northern Ontario and Manitoba...

, Superior Airways

Superior Airways

Superior Airways is a chartered air service based in Red Lake, Ontario, Canada at the Red Lake Airport in the town of Cochenour. Established in 2003, Superior Airways has been serving Northwestern Ontario by flying cargo, fisherman, hunters, firefighters, first nations, medical patients and law...

, and Wasaya Airways

Wasaya Airways

Wasaya Airways LP is a 100% First Nations owned domestic airline with its headquarters in Thunder Bay, Northern Ontario...

 all operate out of "YRL".

Attractions

This little bush town has a museum and is close to Woodland Caribou Provincial Park

Woodland Caribou Provincial Park

Woodland Caribou Provincial Park is a provincial park in northwestern Ontario, Canada, west of Red Lake. It borders western Manitoba, and is made up of Canadian Shield and boreal forest. Woodland Caribou Provincial Park is a wilderness park of 1,150,000 acres...

 and Pakwash Provincial Park

Pakwash Provincial Park

Pakwash Provincial Park is a park in Northwestern Ontario, on the eastern shore of Pakwash Lake. It is located about 20 kilometres northwest of the town of Ear Falls.-External links:*...

. Some local restaurants are Spud&Dog, the Lakeview, and The Howey. Red Lake is a prime location for summer sports fishing, as the lake contains several types of fish including walleye

Walleye

Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...

, northern pike

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

, lake trout

Lake trout

Lake trout is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char , touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, they can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbellies and leans...

, whitefish

Freshwater whitefish

The freshwater whitefish are fish of the subfamily Coregoninae in the salmon family Salmonidae. Along with the freshwater whitefish, the Salmonidae includes the freshwater and anadromous trout and salmon species as well as graylings...

 and sauger

Sauger

The sauger is a freshwater perciform fish of the family Percidae which resembles its close relative the walleye. They are members of the largest vertebrate order, Perciforms. They are the most migratory percid species in North America. Saugers obtain two dorsal fins, the first is spiny and the...

. Other popular recreational summer activities include golfing at the Red Lake Golf and Country Club, swimming at Rahill Beach, and even exploring the many bays and arms of Red Lake by boat.

Hunting is another activity in the region that attracts tourism, especially during the fall season. Outdoorsmen know of the abundance of game in the Red Lake District, including moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

, ruffed grouse

Ruffed Grouse

The Ruffed Grouse is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is non-migratory.The Ruffed Grouse is frequently referred to as a "partridge"...

, spruce grouse

Spruce Grouse

The Spruce Grouse or Canada Grouse is a medium-sized grouse closely associated with the coniferous boreal forests or taiga of North America. It is one of the most arboreal grouse, fairly well adapted to perching and moving about in trees...

, duck

Duck

Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...

, and bear

Bear

Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...

. Some citizens even participate in the fur industry with established trapping lines interspersed throughout the local forests. The gray wolf

Gray Wolf

The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...

, white-tailed deer

White-tailed Deer

The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...

, red fox

Red Fox

The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...

, beaver

Beaver

The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...

, and many bird species also inhabit the area.

Notable residents

• Kristen Hager
  Kristen Hager
  Kristen Hager is a Canadian film and television actress.-Biography:Hager was born in Red Lake, Ontario, and made her first television appearance in the mini-series Beach Girls in 2005. A year later, she appeared in the TV series Runaway, which starred Donnie Wahlberg and child actress Niamh Wilson...
  
  , actress
• Linda Lundstrom
  Linda Lundström
  Linda Lundström, O.Ont., is a Canadian fashion designer. She studied fashion at Sheridan College in Toronto before receiving a scholarship to travel to Europe to continue her studies....
  
  , clothing designer
• Peter McLeod
  Peter McLeod
  Peter Gerard McLeod , was an Australian racing driver, best known as co-winner of the 1987 James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst and for driving the distinctive yellow and black Slick 50 Mazda RX-7 Group C touring car during the early to mid 1980's.-Group C Touring Cars:McLeod began his racing career in...
  
  , professional aerobatic pilot
• Norval Morrisseau
  Norval Morrisseau
  Norval Morrisseau, CM , also known as Copper Thunderbird, was an Aboriginal Canadian artist. Known as the "Picasso of the North", Morrisseau created works depicting the legends of his people, the cultural and political tensions between native Canadian and European traditions, his existential...
  
  , renowned Anishinabe artist sometimes called the "Father of Woodland Art"
• Brendan Williams
  Brendan Williams
  Brendan Williams is Deputy Commissioner in the Office of the Washington State Insurance Commissioner in Olympia, Washington. He served as a Democrat member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 22nd district from 2005 to 2011....
  
  , musician

External links

• Municipality of Red Lake