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
I try not to be too effusive about the sites I think are truly awesome because I don’t want them to get overused. That’s not really a thing I have to worry about with this site. It’s awesome, and pretty much anyone going north from Canoe Lake (so, everyone leaving from the busiest access point in the Park), can see it. It already gets overused. I’ve paddled through Joe Lake more times than I can count, and this was the first time I’ve ever seen this site empty.
Terrain: This site is built on top of, and beside, a huge, sloping slab of rock that rises up from the water. The area to the side of the rock face, where the fire pit and canoe landing are, is decently flat and free of obstacles. There’s a fair bit of grass and green stuff on the east side of this part, which I thought would be pretty buggy, but I was there in early June and the bugs were minimal (with one, exception, that we’ll get to).
Canoe Landing: The canoe landing is easy to access and free of underwater obstacles. It’s to the east of the rock face, right in front of the fire pit area. It’s easy to pull up on and load/unload.
Fire Pit: The fire pit is nothing special. A circle of rocks that you can build up on the water side if there’s a bit of a breeze. It’s very close to the water, and has a nice view down Joe Lake. It’s a perfectly serviceable pit, but probably isn’t the main reason why you want this site.
Swimability: This is the main reason why you want this site. The swimming is great. The rocks make for an awesome spot to get in and out. The rocks also get a lot of sun, so you can bake in between dips. To top it off, the Joe Lake Cliffs are a less than five minute paddle away. Awesome spot.
Tent Sites: This is a large site, but a good chunk of it is dominated by sloping rock face, which isn’t an ideal milieu for putting up a tent (and now I can cross “work the word milieu into this blog” off the list). That being said, there’s still a lot of room for tents, with some really great looking spots halfway up and at the top of the rocks.
Thunderbox: Remember when I promised bugs? Here they are! The good news is this is a really good thunderbox. Brand new, doesn’t stink. Not full. Can’t really ask for much more. The bugs seem to like it too, because they were a-swarming when I checked it out.
Accessories: Not much in the way of accessories. A couple of logs near the fire pit and that’s about it.
Views: The site has a mostly unobstructed view of the south part of Joe Lake. The view across the fire pit is good, the view from the bottom of the rock face is good, the view from the top of the rock face is good. Basically, the view is good.
Notes: Not much else to say. This is a good site.
Related Trip Report: Day Trippin’: Tonakela and Sunday Lake
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