Site Details
Closest Access Point: Access #27 (Brent, Cedar Lake)
Distance to Access Point: 16 KM (4-5 hours)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Medium
Maintenance Level: Regular (high)
Date Visited: September 2023
Related Trip Report: Cedar Loop 2023: Hogan, Philips, Clamshell and More!
Map courtesy of Maps by Jeff
This is an awesome site on Radiant’s rocky west shoreline. Wrapping around a small point just south of where the Petawawa empties into Radiant, this site offers great swimming, a fantastic fire pit area, a decent amount of useable tent space and hands down the best backcountry fireside bench I’ve seen.
Access to the site is at the bottom of a small rocky hill. There’s a V shaped break in the rocks that makes for decent access, although if I recall correctly there was a bit of acrobatics required to get from the water to the rock as it’s a bit of a step up. There were no underwater obstacles on the approach.
The site proper is up a small hill. The fire pit is centrally located with a great view out to Radiant. The pit is surrounded by a couple of log benches, including what I can only describe as a backwoods Muskoka chair. Scratch that, it’s not a Muskoka chair, it’s a Muskoka bench. Easily the most comfortable thing I’ve sat on in the backcountry.
There’s room for a couple of tents here at least, and the ground is flat and mostly clear of obstacles. The thunderbox is a bit of a hike up a hill behind the site. In fact, this is a good spot to mention that there would be a bit of up and down required to navigate this site. There’s a climb up from the water, a climb from the main part of the site to the fire thunderbox, and more uneven terrain if you want to explore around the area.
The highlight of the site is the swimming. The site is surrounded by a series of rocky ledges. Here’s the part where I remind you to always, always check depths for yourself, but once you’ve done that you might find some decent jumping rocks here. The sun exposure is east and north, but the site kept the sun well into the midafternoon when I was there.
So, every site has its drawbacks, right? Well, mostly, and this site is no exception. The one downside to this site is that it’s within spitting distance of a cottage and within shouting distance of a couple more. Beyond the cottages, Radiant is a busy lake, so if it’s privacy you’re after this might not be the site for you.
Are there better sites nearby? No. And that’s saying something because up until I visited this site, Radiant Lake, Site 4 was in my top five all-time list of Algonquin campsites. It’s been bumped, but only because this site is now in its spot.
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