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Cottonwood Lake

MU 4-8, Kootenays
49.4283° N, 117.2528° W

Map of Cottonwood Lake: the shoreline from the BC Freshwater Atlas, the roads round it from the BC Digital Road Atlas and the traced road in.117°15.8′W117°15.5′W117°15.2′W117°15′W49°25.8′NCottonwood Lake0100200 mNMap of Cottonwood Lake: the shoreline from the BC Freshwater Atlas, the roads round it from the BC Digital Road Atlas and the traced road in.117°15.2′W117°15′W49°25.5′N49°25.8′N0200 mN
WaterTraced road inRoadRough surface roadShoreline from the BC Freshwater Atlas, roads from the BC Digital Road Atlas, under the Open Government Licence, British Columbia. The lake's depth is not drawn on this map.
Surface area
6.6ha
Maximum depth
14.9m
49 ft
Elevation
893m

Open Cottonwood Lake in the appThe 7-day forecast, max depth and wildfire smoke check, on the lake's own coordinate.

Cottonwood Lake at a glance

Region
Kootenays
Management unit
MU 4-8
Species
Rainbow Trout, Kokanee (last recorded 1995), Brook Trout (last recorded 1995), Redside Shiner (last recorded 1995)The newest of these fish records is from 2026.Species from the province's fish observation records.
Lake size
Small Water (< 50 ha)
Ice fishing
Open to ice fishing, confirmed
Coordinates
49.4283, -117.2528

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Fish on record at Cottonwood Lake

Species in the Province's fish observation records
SpeciesFirst recordedLast recordedRecords
Rainbow Trout1928202686
Kokanee194219956
Brook Trout196019952
Redside Shiner194919952

A year is when the Province last recorded the fish here, not a statement that it is caught today.

How to fish Cottonwood Lake

Best times of year at Cottonwood Lake

  • May - June
  • September - October

Cottonwood Lake fishing regulations

Electric motor only - max 7.5 kW. Source: Province of British Columbia

Getting to Cottonwood Lake

0.7 km of traced road to the shore. The road at the end is a paved surface. It stops 150 m short of the shore.

The road route traced to Lake shore at Cottonwood Lake, 0.7 km.Start of the traceLake shore250 m
The route traced over the BC Digital Road Atlas. A trace is a line on a map, not a report on the road: check conditions before you drive it.

Coordinates: 49.4283, -117.2528

Depth chart for Cottonwood Lake

14.9 mdeepest

Cottonwood Lake runs to 14.9 m (49 ft) at its deepest.

The Province sounded Cottonwood Lake and published the depth chart surveyed in 1950.

The ice year at Cottonwood Lake, modelled

Modelled from air temperature, not an ice report. It says nothing about whether ice will hold you.

In the model Cottonwood Lake froze in 65 of the 65 winters since 1960. Freeze-up falls most years between 7 November and 25 November, and ice-off between 9 April and 27 April. The median winter freezes on 17 November and opens on 18 April.

Modelled ice season at Cottonwood Lake: freeze-up most winters between 7 November and 25 November, ice-off between 9 April and 27 April.OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunFreeze-upIce-offabout 152 days in the median winter

the middle half of modelled winters the median ice cover in the median winter

Winter 2024-25 in the model: frozen from 26 November 2024 to 5 April 2025, 130 days.

Cottonwood Lake is open to ice fishing under the regulations on file.

Whether a lake is open to ice fishing says nothing about whether its ice will hold you. Ice conditions vary year to year and across a single lake. Check locally before going out, every time.

Cottonwood Lake climate, 1960 to 2025

Averaged over a year, the air above Cottonwood Lake is 0.9 C warmer than it was in the 1960s. That is 66 years of daily readings, not a forecast.

  • +0.9 Csince the 1960s
  • 5.7 Caverage year now
  • 4.7 Caverage year then
  • -7 daysbelow freezing, change
Average year at Cottonwood Lakedegrees C, yearly mean
3 C5 C8 C1960198020002020

each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025

Days below freezingdays a year averaging under 0 C
641121601960198020002020

each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025

This week at Cottonwood Lake

The forecast on this lake's own coordinate, refreshed through the day. The app reads these seven days for fishing and scores each one.

DaySkyHigh / lowWindRainPressure
Tue 20 OctOvercast14° / 4°9 km/hdrySteady
Wed 21 OctOvercast18° / 8°14 km/hdryFalling (-4.3 hPa)
Thu 22 OctOvercast19° / 7°12 km/h, gusts 18dryFalling (-4.7 hPa)
Fri 23 OctOvercast13° / 2°9 km/h, gusts 17dryRising (+6.8 hPa)
Sat 24 OctOvercast11° / 1°7 km/hdryRising (+11.7 hPa)
Sun 25 OctOvercast11° / 1°8 km/hdryRising (+2.4 hPa)
Mon 26 OctMainly clear12° / -1°8 km/hdrySteady

Open Cottonwood Lake in the app

Cottonwood Lake, in brief

What fish are in Cottonwood Lake?

Rainbow Trout, Kokanee (last recorded 1995), Brook Trout (last recorded 1995). Species from the province's fish observation records.

Which management unit is Cottonwood Lake in?

Cottonwood Lake is in MU 4-8, in the Kootenays. The BC Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis is organised by management unit; check it before you go.

Trout lakes near Cottonwood Lake

All 162 lakes in the Kootenays, with today's conditions on each.

Reading the water