Site Details
Closest Access Point: Smoke Lake (Access # 6)
Distance to Access Point: 7 KM (1.5-2 hours)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Easy
Maintenance Level: Regular
Date Visited: August, 2023
This is an unexpectedly big site based on what you can see of it from the water. Nice spot, lots of room to spread out, great views and a nice waterfront area as well. Only downside is that it is smack on the canoe expressway that connects the Smoke Lake access point to everything south of Smoke. Expect lots of passers by.
Terrain: This is a large, flat site. It occupies a small point and is a mix of dirt, rock and some grass. Terrain is level and easy to navigate. The shoreline is mostly covered with vegetation, so there isn’t a lot of visibility from the site interior to the water.
Canoe Landing: This site has a great canoe landing area. The underwater approach is relatively free of obstacles (a few rocks just below the surface, but easy to miss) and there’s plenty of room to pull up and unload
Fire Pit: This is a cool fire pit area. The pit backs against a large rock, which I imagine would throw a bit of heat back at you on a cold day. The pit is centrally located in the site’s interior and does not have much of a view out to the water.
Tent Sites: Lots of level ground on this site. You could fit a large group here easily. There’s room for three (or more) tents and lots of room to spread out. Keep an eye above you for dead branches!
Swimmability: This is a good site for swimming, particularly if you’re with younger kids. The underwater terrain slopes gradually deeper and is mostly sand. The swimming area’s exposure is west, so you’ll get good afternoon sun as well.
Accessories: There wasn’t much in the way of seating around the fire pit, just one log. The table pictured here would be a handy counter. I didn’t check out the thunderbox, but I imagine it’s a pretty heavily used spot as this is very likely a heavily used campsite. Just FYI.
Views: Really nice views to the northwest from the swim and landing area. The interior of the site is very enclosed, so don’t expect much in the way of water watching when you’re by the fire. The view towards Archer Bay on the other side of the site is also nice, but again you’ll need to walk down to the water for it.
Notes: This site would be pretty high on my list if I was taking a large group down to Ragged, particularly if that large group included kids. The only significant drawback I see here is that it is in a very busy spot. There are four sites in close proximity here and it’s also on one of the busier canoe routes in the Park. Other than that, great spot!
Related Trip Report: Rocking Algonquin