Closest Access Point: Rain Lake (Access Point #4)
Distance To Access Point: 6.9 KM (2 hours)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Easy.
Maintenance Level: Regular
Date of Visit: June, 2019
This is a fairly enclosed site, just past the portage over to Hot Lake. It’s got a few things going for it: a nice set of swimming rocks, lots of space, a random broken camp chair by the fire pit, but it wouldn’t be my first choice of site in the Park. It wouldn’t even be my first choice of site on Islet Lake for that matter, but that’s partly because site # 2 is awesome.
Terrain: Fairly flat terrain throughout the site. The site is hidden back in the woods from the canoe landing, meaning you’re following a short path to get to the fire pit and tent pad area. It also means the site has an enclosed feeling to it, which can be both good or bad I guess depending on what you’re looking for. Ground cover is mostly dirt, dead leaves and pine needles.
Canoe Landing: The landing is a nice, flat shelf of rock that gradually slopes into the water. It’s very easy to pull up to and beach the boat, and loading/unloading shouldn’t be much of a challenge. I didn’t see anything in the way of underwater obstructions paddling in.
Fire Pit: A typical circle of rocks style fire pit. It looks solid enough to balance a grill on top (you can tell, because there’s a grill balanced on top in the picture) and I have to imagine wind isn’t a problem given the wall of trees between the pit and the water.
Swimmability: Very swimmable. The canoe landing doubles as a great spot to slip in and out of the water. The rocks have a nice southern exposure, so I imagine the sun is fairly constant into the mid/late afternoon. The slope of the rock underwater is gradual. The rocks might get a bit slippery, but other than that this is a nice place to take a dip.
Tent Sites: Room for at least three decent sized tents, and all the trees you could ask for if you’re looking for a place to hang a hammock tent. All three sites that I saw were pretty flat and looked like good spots to pitch.
Thunderbox: The thunderbox looks like it’s seen a few seasons. But, like a fine wine, it probably only gets better with age. Unless it’s like one of those wines that gets aged too much, and ends up turning to vinegar. In this analogy, the vinegar wine would be a thunderbox that gives way beneath you. That’s not a thing you want to happen. Fortunately, it probably won’t. I think.
Accessories: Well, there’s the broken down camp chair that, at first, had me thinking I’d invaded someone’s site without realizing it. There are also a couple of very sturdy benches around the fire pit that would double as good food prep counters in a pinch. Apart from a couple of grills (neither of which look too appealing for use) that’s about it.
Views: Minimal views from pretty much everywhere on the site except the canoe landing/swimming area. The growth along the shoreline is quite thick, meaning you’ve got all the shade and protection from the wind you could ask for, but none of the views. In direct contradiction to that last sentence, the views from canoe landing are actually pretty nice. You’re looking south and east for the most part, but you can also see west(ish)
Notes: This site is fine, and would be good for a large group, but the closed in feeling of it really turned me off. That being said, you could do worse (but also better!)
Related Trip Report:
Back to Campsite Reports