Clamshell Lake – Site 1

This is the only campsite on Clamshell Lake. Tucked away in Clamshell’s northeast corner, this is a nice site with one above average feature.

The site is located on top of and beside a large rock shelf. The majority of the site area is this rock, which slopes slightly towards the water before ending in a small ledge about three feet above the water line. Just north of this ledge is where you’ll find the canoe landing and site access. The canoe landing was a bit tough. There are two spots that look like they should be good access points just north of the rock shelf, but in each case the approach was shallow and hard to get the canoe all the way to the shoreline.

While this is a large site, the useable area isn’t all that big. The fire pit area is tucked behind the rock shelf in a small hollow. The fire pit itself was nice, but doesn’t have much of a view out to the lake as it’s surrounded by rocks and trees. There are two small tent pads near the fire pit that, at first glance, look like they would be good tent sites. They’re flat and big enough for a medium sized tent each. However, they’re quite close to the fire pit and if the wind is blowing the wrong way I’d be (and was) worried about both sparks and smoke. (Also, for all you hammock tent lovers out there, this is an extra bummer as most of the best trees for hanging your tent are right beside the fire pit. I ended up setting up in a small gully in the forest behind the site and spent half the night wondering if I was going to get swept away by a flash flood). The best tent spot is on that rock ledge, where there’s a large enough flattened area right beside the water that works for a good sized tent (it’s also a good spot for a hammock, but isn’t big enough for both).

The highlight of this site is the swimming. A very long time ago Clamshell used to be the basin for a large waterfall. The net result is that the lake bottom is 210 feet deep directly in front of the site, making for a great spot to jump (here’s where I remind you to always check depths for yourself before cliff jumping anywhere in the Park) and an even better spot for a rope swing. Which there is! Most fun I’ve had swimming in a long time.