Closest Access Point: Canoe Lake (Access Point #5)
Distance To Access Point: 6.5KM (1 – 1.5 hours)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Easy.
Maintenance Level: Regular
Date of Visit: June, 2021
This site is on Joe’s north shore and it’s nothing special. It’s a small indent in the shoreline that doesn’t have a ton of useable space in the site proper. You can walk west along the shore and find some more space there.
Terrain: This is a low lying site. The ground is pretty level. Ground cover is grass on one half, dirt on the other. There aren’t a lot of tripping hazards around the fire pit area. Walking west, you can follow the path to where it crosses the side of a hill coming up from the water. The hill is rocky, but there are a couple of small flat areas here and there that could be used for out of the way tent spaces.
Canoe Landing: There’s a wide dirt, rock and hardpacked sand beach on the sites east end. It’s a bit mucky to step in, but is super easy to load/unload. The underwater approach is relatively free of obstacles, but I did get hung up on a fallen log as I was paddling away.
Fire Pit: The pit is close to the water and gives you a nice view across the water to the north tip of Joe’s big island and beyond. The pit itself is nothing special. It’s just a circle of rocks, but if all you’re looking for is a circle of rocks to light a fire in, you won’t be disappointed with this one.
Swimability: The area around the site proper is kinda mucky. Probably wouldn’t be my first choice for swimming. If you follow that path I mentioned earlier to the west, you’ll find the shoreline gradually gets steeper and changes from dirt/brush to large slabs of rock. If I were going to swim at this site, I’d swim from this part as opposed to the area right in front of the site. I’d also think about just giving u[p on swimming from the site entirely and heading over to the Joe Lake Cliffs, which are nearby.
Thunderbox: Well back of the site and in good shape.
Tent Sites: There’s space for a couple of tents on the site proper, and then a couple of small areas that could work as tent pads as you move further west. The tent spots are fairly level. You could probably sleep in the grassy area without needing much in the way of a sleeping pad. You will, however, need bug spray.
Accessories: Nothing really. A couple of log benches near the fire pit and that’s about it.
Views: Decent views out to the water from near the fire pit. You’re looking south from this site, so you can see down the first part of Joe Lake.
Notes: There’s nothing necessarily wrong with this site, but honestly, there are better options on the lake (including the one directly beside this one).
Related Trip Report: Day Trippin’: Tonakela and Sunday Lake
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