Closest Access Point: Canoe Lake (Access Point 5 )
Distance To Access Point: 12.7 KM (3 hours)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Easy.
Maintenance Level: Regular
Date of Visit: August, 2018
This is a small but functional site with a great view of Tom Thomson. It also has a great view of the site that is directly beside it, so might not be the best place to go if you’re looking for privacy. If you’re looking for two sites, close together, for a large group, it’s kinda perfect.
Terrain: This site has a relatively small footprint. The terrain around the fire pit, is mostly flat with quite a few exposed roots jutting out of the ground to up the degree of difficulty. There’s a steep grade leading up to the (very) nearby site 3. It’s easy enough to get up and down for an adult, but you’ll want to keep an eye on any smaller humans who decide to do their best mountain goat impressions on hill. The shoreline is dotted with sporadic tree cover, not enough to make the site feel in any way closed in, but maybe enough to cut the worst of the breeze on a blowy day (but not all of it).
Canoe Landing: There’s a natural harbour of rocks jutting out from the site in front of the campsite sign. The underwater approach is fine, although there are a few rocks that could give you some fresh scrapes on the bottom of your boat depending on the water levels. Getting in and out of the boats onto the rock outcrops is pretty easy. We didn’t unload our gear (this was a lunch stop) but I can’t imagine it would be too difficult doing so without getting your feet wet.
Fire Pit: It’s a pretty decent fire pit. Actually, it seems more like a fire table than a pit. It’s built well off the ground and seems pretty sturdy. You’ve got a great view of the lake looking over the pit from the benches and the nearby hill/rock wall would likely reduce the wind you’re dealing with. There were a couple of grills on the site, but basically the only thing they would be good for cooking is rust.
Swimmability: Very swimmable. The rocky outcrop I was talking about a few minutes ago doubles as a great stop to slip in from. The underwater terrain does have a couple of rocks jutting out, so I wouldn’t do any jumping or diving without scouting first, but for the most part, it’s one of the best spots I swam from that summer (but also it was a super hot day and I was hotter than a jalapeno in lava. A bog filled with angry leeches and sewage would have been a swimmable paradise at that point (this is still a great spot for a swim)).
Tent Sites: There are a couple of flat spots for smaller tents (leave the man carnival tent at home). This is a small site, so don’t expect to put up too many people on it.
Thunderbox: I don’t know if I found this site’s thunderbox, or site 3’s thunderbox, or if the thunderbox I found is supposed to serve both sites (in which case it’ll probably be disgusting by the end of each summer). The thunderbox I did find was in pretty good shape, well away from both sites. You get to it by climbing the hill heading east from site 4 and north from site 3. Basically, get to the top of the hill and your throne awaits.
Accessories: There’s a good set of log benches around the fire pit, and a nice rocky wall just behind the benches that is more a feature than an accessory. Other than that … not much.
Views: I really liked the views from this site. Looking southwest from the canoe landing you’ve got a gorgeous view down Tom Thomson. There’s sporadic tree cover along the western edge of the site, but not enough to distract from the view in that direction either. You can see clearly out to the lake from the firepit (in this case your clearest view is towards Bartlett).
Notes: Nice little site on a great lake. Just really close to its neighbour, so if you’re looking for privacy maybe give this one a miss.
Related Trip Report: Up Potter’s Creek
Back to Campsite Reports