Closest Access Point: Canoe Lake (Access Point #5)
Distance To Access Point: 6.5 KM (1 – 1.5 hours)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Easy.
Maintenance Level: Regular
Date of Visit: July, 2019
First thing’s first, this site is included under Joe Lake here, but it definitely seems more like a Tepee Lake site to me. This is based on the Park’s definitions though, so Joe Lake it is. That being said, this is a nice site!
Terrain: Flat. This is a long point site with lots of room on it. There are a few exposed rocks and roots floating around, but nothing too exciting. Ground cover is dead pine needles and not much else.
Canoe Landing: There’s a nice little pull up on the east side of the point (facing the narrows). The underwater terrain is mostly sand, but there are a few rocks that I managed to smack into on the way in. It’s a great spot to load/unload.
Fire Pit: The fire pit is in the middle of the point and has a partially obstructed view to the west and north. The pit itself is basically just a circle of rocks in the middle of the clearing. Good enough to balance a grill over, but you might have to build up a wall if the wind starts whipping through the site.
Swimability: Seems like a very swimmable site. There are lots of places to slip in, apart from the canoe pull up I mentioned earlier. The very tip of the point has a few nice pieces of rock along the shore to go swimming from and the view while you’re in the water is quite nice.
Accessories: Not much. A couple of broken down log “benches” near the fire pit and little else.
Tent Sites: Lots of room for tents. You could probably put the maximum number of people (9) on the site, and give them each their own tent, and only a couple of them would be sleeping in a pile of brush.
Thunderbox: Along a long (long) path down the point. The walk was so long that I began to think I must have missed it. However, I didn’t. The box is in its own little clearing with an obstructed (very obstructed) view to the west. It’s in pretty good shape, so there’s that.
Views: The tree cover along the shorelines is pretty dense, except at the northern tip and part way along the western edge. The view up Tepee is quite nice. You’ve also got a clear view to Camp Arowhon on Tepee’s west shore, so you can decide if that’s a good thing or not.
Notes: I liked this site. The one major drawback is that it’s very close to Camp Arowhon, so you’re not going to get much in the way of seclusion during the summer. Sound travels over water and, if you happen to be staying here on camp dance night, you might find yourself hearing more Old Town Road than loon calls (and there’s a reference that will be dated as soon as it’s not 2019 anymore).
Related Trip Report: A Night On Tom Thomson
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