Site Details
Closest Access Point: Tim Lake, I think, but closest is relative here. This is about as interior as you can get. There are no close access points.
Distance to Access Point: 46 KM – 2 Full Days
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Hard. Like, no matter if you’re coming from Kiosk, North Tea or Tim it’s hard.
Maintenance Level: Low. Whatever is below Low.
Date Visited: May 2023, Review updated January 2024
The original introduction to this review focused on the fact that Barred Owl Lake’s sole campsite was not actually reservable thanks to a glitch in the Park’s online reservation service. It, along with Nod Lake‘s sites, just didn’t exist as far as the internet was concerned. As of January 2024, that’s changed, and both Barred Owl and Nod are available to reserve online. In fact, they are lumped together, so you’re reserving “Nod & Barred Owl Lake” giving you a choice of three sites over two lakes. But, should Barred Owl’s single campsite be your choice of the three? Read on to find out. (You will find out that the answer is “no”).
Terrain: This site is built on a gently sloping hump of land poking out into Barred Owl. It’s overgrown and clearly sees little use. The gentle slope turns quickly into a less than gentle slope, leaving you with not that much in terms of a site footprint.
Canoe Landing: The site’s shoreline is a mix of mud and grass. There are plenty of spots to pull up, although you can’t guarantee you’ll keep your feet dry if it’s been a particularly rainy few days. Not too many underwater obstacles to worry about.
Fire Pit: Centrally located. This is a standard, and basic, interior low maintenance pit. That said, I liked the look of it when we were there. Someone had clearly taken a bit of time to build up the walls.
Tent Sites: Honestly, I don’t know where you’d want to put a tent on this site. The only level-ish area is directly beneath a massive pine tree (pictured in the back of this photo behind the fire pit area) that is bristling with branches just waiting to fall on you in the middle of the night. So your choices are rolling down the hill like a hotdog at a 7-11 or ending up flat as a pancake at the IHOP.
Thunder Box: The box is at the top of a steep hill, overlooking the other side of that same steep hill. Your legs aren’t quite hanging off into space, but it doesn’t feel far from it. Nice box though! I don’t think it’s seen a whole lot of use. And it’s got a great view.
View: Speaking of views, the view across Barred Owl is quite nice. Barred Owl is very small, but scenic. You’ve got a good view of the water from everywhere on the site.
Notes: Honestly, don’t stay here. The site in between Barred Owl and Nod (about a 10 second paddle away) is better.
Related Trip Report: Birchcliffe, The Nip and Some Hills
In the Algonquin Park Reservation Zone 2012 system, reservation zone 522 is incorrectly called “Lod and Bared Owl” (with the comment “Nod and Barred Owl – are proper names”). The zone has 3 campsites, with two of the three being available for reservation.