Closest Access Point: Canoe Lake (Access Point #5)
Distance To Access Point: 10 KM (2 hours)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Easy.
Maintenance Level: Regular
Date of Visit: July, 2019
I would not put this campsite high on the list of places I’d want to spend a night. I wouldn’t even put it in the middle. Basically, it would be somewhere towards the bottom, above Furrow Lake, but below a recently washed dumpster.
Terrain: This is a very compact (read: small) site. The terrain is flat, ground cover is for the most part grassy. There is about a three foot step up from the canoe landing to the rest of the site, but that’s about it for elevation change.
Canoe Landing: The best part about the site. The canoe landing is a wide, flat area that’s basically hard packed dirt turning into mud as it gets more water logged. You can load/unload to your heart’s content here. Although, why you’d want to unload is beyond me. There isn’t much in the way of underwater obstructions leading up to the landing, unless you count the mat of lily pads and green stuff that sits in front of the landing like a moat.
Fire Pit: Actually, not a bad fire pit, either. It’s right by the water, so you’ve got a water view. The pit is just a bunch of rocks in a circle, but it’s a well built bunch of rocks.
Accessories: The site is home to three solid log benches set in a horseshoe around the fire pit. I have no idea why this site gets such nice places to sit and site 2 has nothing, but there you have it. If you stay here at least you’ll be sitting comfortably.
Swimability: I wouldn’t want to swim here. You’re just coming out of the Little Oxtongue River and the water is still more river-y than lake-y. There’s also that mat of lily pads I mentioned. Also, the underwater terrain is probably pretty mushy. I don’t know, there are better places to swim.
Tent Sites: One or two sites, if you don’t mind getting cozy, and if you’ve got smaller tents. On the plus side, the tent spaces are flat, and the grass probably makes for a pretty soft underpad.
Thunderbox: This is down a (kind of treacherous) rock strewn path from the site. It’s in the middle of a small clearing and doesn’t look to have been used all that much (probably because no one wants to stay on this site).
Views: The tree coverage along shoreline on either side of the canoe landing is fairly dense, so your view is restricted mostly to the river right in front of the site. The good news is that you’ve got this view from anywhere on the site, since it’s such a small site. The bad news is, as far as views go, it’s not that spectacular.
Notes: Not my first choice as a place to stay, but definitely doable if it’s late and you just want to pitch your tent for the night.
Related Trip Report: A Night On Tom Thomson
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