| Townsend Lake | |
| Location: | Porcupine Hills Provincial Park, |
| Pushpin Map: | Saskatchewan#Canada |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Saskatchewan |
| Coords: | 52.4828°N -101.7385°W |
| Catchment: | Woody River |
| Basin Countries: |  Canada |
Townsend Lake[1] is a lake in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located in the east-central part of the province in the Porcupine Hills and Porcupine Provincial Forest. The lake is in the Woody River Block of Porcupine Hills Provincial Park.[2] Highway 980 provides access to the east side of the lake and its amenities.[3] [4] Several small creeks feed into the lake from the surrounding hills, lakes, and muskeg. The outflow is a short river at the eastern end of the lake that flows into the western end of Woody Lake.[5]
The lake is named in memory of Flight Sergeant Robert Wilfred Ernest Townsend who died fighting in World War II on 29 July 1944.[6] Since 1947 Saskatchewan started naming lakes after fallen soldiers and now there are more than 4,000 such lakes in the province.[7] [8]
Prior to the formation of Porcupine Hills Provincial Park in 2018, the parkland around Townsend Lake was a provincial recreation site called Woody River Recreation Site. The recreation site has a campground with 33 campsites, a boat launch, two fish cleaning stations, and a picnic area.[9] [10]
Moose Range Lodge, located on the northern shore of the lake, is an outfitters with modern cabins, boat rentals, fuel, and a restaurant. In the winter, the lodge is the centre for snowmobiling in the park.[11] [12]
Fish commonly found in the lake include walleye, perch, and northern pike.[13] [14]