Site Details
Closest Access Point: Kiosk (Access #29)
Distance to Access Point: 13 KM (3 Hours)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Easy (There is a 1.3 KM portage en route though)
Maintenance Level: Regular
Date Visited: May 2022
This is a great little island site. It’s got nice views across Manitou, a decent amount of living space and, importantly for a May trip at least, it gets good air flow to keep the bugs at bay! There are a couple of drawbacks, it’s relatively close to site 5 and you might need mountain climbing equipment to get up to the site proper, but all in all it’s a decent site.
Terrain: This is an island, and it’s a hill. As you can see from the picture, there’s just a touch of uphill to get up to the site from the water. Once you’re up, the site is more level, but still not flat. There aren’t too many tripping hazards around the site to worry about, (although God help you if you slip on those stairs, they’re steep AF).
Canoe Landing: There are two spots to take your canoe in and out. This is the one we used, and it’s not the best one. There’s one at the tip of the island, facing Manitou’s northwest shore, that has a nice flat space for loading and unloading and works better.
Fire Pit: I love this pit. It’s got a great view out too the lake, is well built and is nicely situated in the middle of the site.
Tent Sites: There’s a decent amount of level ground up top. There were a couple of good tent pads (you can see a two person set up in the foreground) and a great spot for an aerial tent or hammock (background).
Swimmability: This is a picture of that alternate landing spot I mentioned. It would also be a not bad place to swim. I’d say the entry is medium difficulty.
Thunderbox: So, this thunderbox is a short walk away from the site. It’s also a short(ish) walk away from the island’s other site (not terribly close, but this is about as small an island I’d want to be on with two sites)
Accessories: I don’t know if the picture does this grill justice. There are so many missing bars from it. Cooking steak was an adventure. The benches around the fire pit aren’t anything to write home about either.
Views: Great views north and west along Manitou. Assuming you can see the sun, it’s a really nice sunset.
Notes: This site was perfect for our needs when we were there. Late May means bugs. The site’s exposure to the oncoming wind kept those bugs pretty much nonexistent. It might be pretty chilly early or late season, but for when we were there it was awesome.
