Site Details
Closest Access Point: Kiosk (Access #29)
Distance to Access Point: 13 KM (3-4 hours)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Easy/Medium (depending on weather and your appetite for long portages)
Maintenance Level: Regular
Date Visited: May 2022
This is a serviceable but not that exciting spot. It’s on the same point as a couple of better sites, and it’s worth the extra few paddle strokes to see if either 43 or 43a are available before settling here. That said, you could spend a night here and not be uncomfortable.
Terrain: The site is fronted by a rock and sand beach. There’s a small rise from the beach up to the site proper. It’s not a terrible hill, but the Manitou Lake Stair Consortium has been by and added a small flight of steps for your climbing pleasure. The rest of the site is pretty much completely flat, and not all that big.
Canoe Landing: See above (the underwater approach is fine. There were no significant rocks or stumps in the way).
Fire Pit: It’s not much of a pit, TBH. It’s squirrelled away in the back corner of the site, away from the water. On the plus side, the site has enough grills to cover a couple of subpar fire pits.
Tent Sites: The entire site is a tent spot. The ground is quite flat and there’s room for three or more tents. It’ll be crowded, but it’s doable.
Swimmability: Reusing a picture here, but it’s the best one I’ve got for this. It’s definitely a swimmable spot. The beach isn’t exactly a soft sand paradise, but it’s an easy wade in.
Thunderbox: Down a short path and around the corner from the rest of the site. The box is in good shape, but when we were there it was surrounded by deadfalls. This means lots of firewood.
Accessories: Nothing really. A couple of logs trying to convince you they’re meant to be benches, but that’s about it. Oh, and the stairs!
Views: Once you get off the beach, this is a pretty enclosed site. There’s tree coverage across most of the shoreline giving an obstructed at best view of the water from the site itself. The view from the beach across Manitou is great (sunrise, I believe) but it’d be better if it was more accessible from the rest of the site.
Notes: Like I said off the top, this is a serviceable site, but it’s not going to make anyone’s top 10 list. Probably won’t even make the list if you add another 0 to the end of that 10, but it’s not awful either.