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“We know that #heartlake #infrontenac is amazing, but you need to stop visiting!” the county posted on its Instagram and Facebook pages.

“We get it. It IS beautiful, but there is no public access. You’re trespassing on private property and that’s not right.”

Heart Lake first began to appear on social media feeds a couple of years ago, and the viral photo of the perfectly formed lake and the fall foliage soon went global. Frontenac County even posted a photo of its own last winter, said Alison Vanderveide, community development officer with the county.

“It’s been picked up by media Ontario Highlands and Destination Ontario and they have a huge audience,” she said. “It’s such a compelling photo. It’s a beautiful lake.”

Social media posts have called the lake “a Canadian wonder” and a “must visit place.” Though the lake itself is on Crown land, the only practical way to get to it is by crossing land owned by Schonauer and two other cottagers on adjacent Mosque Lake.

While the trespassers have been annoying, an even bigger danger looms during the fall hunting season. Bow hunting season is already underway and the rifle season for deer begins next week.

“Hunting season is a very dangerous time to be wandering around in the forest,” the county’s social media post says. “Stay safe, be respectful and stick to admiring pics on your screen.”

Heart Lake is easily found on Google maps, its curving lobes made even softer by the growth of water vegetation. The visitors have been a mix of people tromping to its shoreline for a photo and drone pilots who’ve sent cameras aloft for an aerial view.

Schonauer says most of the people she’s talked to have come from Toronto, about a three-hour drive away, but others have come from North Bay and Sudbury. She says she let one man on her property last year hoping it would convince him there was nothing worth seeing.