Site Details
Closest Access Point: Opeongo Lake (Access Point #11)
Distance to Access Point: 15 KM (2.5 hours)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Easy (unless the wind is up)
Maintenance Level: Regular
Date Visited: August, 2022
This is kind of a weird site. It’s big. It’s got a beautiful beachfront. It’s flat and there’s plenty of room. You could probably set up a small town fair on the site proper. The problem is, even if you didn’t set up that fair, it might feel like you’re at one with the number of people coming and going right in front of your site. This site sits on a small point directly across the from the Proulx Lake portage. This is a busy enough portage with just regular canoe traffic. Throw in the water taxis that come by every hour or so and it kind of feels like the Algonquin equivalent of a condo above the 401.
Terrain: This is a big, enclosed site. There are trees growing fairly thick all around the edges of the point, so I imagine the interior of the site might feel bit dim. The site covers a big area. Apart from the trees around the edges, there isn’t much growth in the site interior so you’re left with a wide open space on fairly level ground.
Canoe Landing: There’s a long beach facing south that is perfect for pulling the canoe up. No underwater obstacles that I came across and easy access from the water.
Fire Pit: This is another kind of weird thing about the site. The pit is in the middle of the interior and it kind of looks like someone just dumped a wheelbarrow of rocks on the ground. There are no benches. The only seating I saw were some stumps that look like they’d been set up as chairs. Odds are those stumps are going to end up as someone’s fire at some point, so don’t count on them.
Tent Sites: The entire site is a tent site. The ground is a soft pine needle carpet. My biggest concern with where I placed my tent would be avoiding any low lying spots as I imagine you will end up with a few pools on this site in a rain storm.
Swimmability: Very swimmable, but also maybe not? The beach is a great entry into the water and would usually be all I would look for in determining if the site is swimmable or not. What would worry me would be the constant motor boat traffic nearby. You can walk down the beach a good distance to avoid this, but it’s still a frustration. I don’t come to Algonquin to swim in exhaust.
Thunderbox: Up a small hill inland along the point. The box feels private from the site, but also seems a bit exposed to the Proulx portage. I think that was more in my head than anything else, but it was definitely on my mind.
Accessories: What you see is what you get. There was a plywood table and a few long stumps. Other than that, you’re looking at a clearing in the woods.
Views: The views from the site’s interior are mostly obstructed. The view from the beach is south along Opeongo and quite nice.
Notes: If this site wasn’t right beside the Proulx portage I’d be a big fan. Given the proximity, I’m not so sure. I like the beach, I like the space. I wouldn’t mind some benches and I could certainly do with less traffic nearby.
Related Trip Report: Opeongo Base Camp