Site Details
Closest Access Point: Canoe Lake (#5)
Distance to Access Point: 8 KM (1-2 hours)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Easy
Maintenance Level: Regular
Date Visited: August, 2022
In his write up on this site Cody over at Algonquin & Beyond offered this review: “I didn’t explore too much around the campsite because in the few minutes I was there, I already knew I would never want to camp there by choice”. Well, I camped there, not by choice, and Cody was bang on. Don’t bother with this one, unless every other site on Tepee is taken.
Terrain: This isn’t the most level site I’ve visited. It’s back from the water, not a huge distance, but thanks to the thick growth along the shoreline it feels like the water’s further away than it is. It’s built on slightly rising terrain and as a result there wasn’t a ton of flat ground.
Canoe Landing: The landing area isn’t bad. There are a few underwater rocks on the approach to keep an eye out for, but there’s a nice ledge to pull up to. There is a very short climb (10-15 feet) to get to the site.
Fire Pit: The fire pit is towards the back of the site. It doesn’t have much of a view out to the water thanks to the aforementioned shoreline growth. It does have lots of room for roasting marshmallows, which is probably the more important feature.
Tent Sites: This was the only reasonably flat tent spot we could find, and it wasn’t the best. If you take a look at the fire pit picture you can see the tent in the background, which gives you an idea of where the pad is on the site. Other than this spot, the options were pretty lousy. Either too small, or two uneven.
Swimmability: My son liked swimming here. I would say that water shoes are a must. The underwater terrain is a mix of sand, muck and larger rocks. The site does get great afternoon sun though, so the air stays warm and makes the swim feel all the better.
Thunderbox: The thunderbox is down a short path kind of along the shoreline. It was in pretty good shape. Had seen a decent amount of use when I was there, which is probably to be expected given the location.
Accessories: None, really. There are a couple of logs beside the fire pit that work as benches, but beyond that this is a pretty basic site. There was, at one point, a bear hang rope out the back, but one of the trees it was attached to has fallen over so it’s more like a bear limbo line now.
Views: There isn’t much of a view from the site. The view down by the water is quite pleasant. This picture is looking south towards Tea Lake proper (and site 3)
Notes: This was the last available site on Tepee Lake when my son and I arrived, and I’m not surprised. If we’d had any other options we would have taken them. Not that the site is a complete dumpster fire. It’s perfectly serviceable for a night if need be, but it’s not a site that’s going to make you fall in love with camping.
Related Trip Report: A Night on Tepee Lake