Closest Access Point: Canoe Lake (Access Point # 5)
Distance To Access Point: 16.4 KM (3 -4 hours)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Easy.
Maintenance Level: Regular
Date of Visit: July, 2020
This site is along the shore of the bay leading to the Jay Lake (and eventually Sunbeam) portages. It’s a smaller site, and the terrain is a bit uneven. I don’t know that I’d pick this over some of the other options along that stretch of shore, but it’s not terrible either.
Terrain: Like I said, this is a bit of an uneven site. It rises from the shoreline and the rise continues pretty much all through the site. Ground cover is dead pine needles and the occasional root or rock sticking out of the dirt. It’s also fairly enclosed, with trees all along the shoreline except for the canoe landing area.
Canoe Landing: The underwater approach is a gravelly beach with the occasional (or less than occasional) larger rock to scrape across. The landing itself is pretty good. You can pull right up on that beach to load unload.
Fire Pit: Probably the highlight of the site. I’m not saying it’s a spectacular pit, just that it’s the best thing about the site. It is a nice, big pit with high walls. Someone has obviously taken the time to build it up. The seating area around the pit is very nice as well.
Swimability: I don’t know. You could wade in along the gravel beach for sure. There are definitely worse places to swim. That being said, nothing about this site screamed “take a dip” at me. If I’m remembering right, the shoreline was also a bit weedy in places.
Tent Sites: The problem with building a site on a hill is that the tent sites are also on that hill. Don’t get me wrong, there are a couple of reasonably flat areas that can be used, but there isn’t a ton of usable space here for tents.
Thunderbox: Back of the site and looks relatively new. So, if high quality thunder boxes are your main criteria for picking a site, this one’s for you.
Accessories: A really nice bench and table set up around the fire pit. That’s about it.
Views: The view is obstructed by trees from most of the site. Down at the canoe landing you’re looking southish at the far shore of the bay.
Notes: Like I said at the top, this is a fine site, but it’s not my first choice on Burnt Island, or even along this stretch of Burnt Island. I’d probably go with Site 1 or Site 50 before picking this one. Also, this site isn’t exactly where it says it is on the map. I’ve got the actual GPS location below.
Related Trip Report: Burnt Island Lake
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