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: July, 2021
This is a hidden little site on Tom Thomson. You don’t really see it from the lake until you’re right there. The site itself is mostly hidden from the water. Really, all you can see is a small opening in the shoreline and a cool flat rock right in front. It’s actually a big enough site, but feels very enclosed.
Terrain: The site proper is pretty flat, but there’s a bit of a climb up from the canoe landing area. Ground cover is mostly pine needles with very few tripping hazards like rocks or roots. The site itself is on a couple of different levels, with the fire pit and a tent spot on one level, another tent spot up a little bit. It’s not a huge incline between the two though and apart from the climb up from the water the gradient change isn’t that noticeable.
Canoe Landing: The canoe landing is marked by a large flat rock about two feet offshore. You can use the rock as a landing spot or try to wedge your boat in between the rock and the shoreline. There are a few underwater rocks you might bang into on the way in, but it’s not a minefield or anything.
Fire Pit: It’s a pretty basic fire pit in the middle of the site. The ground underneath it looked damp. It had rained like crazy the night before, so I guess that made sense. But other parts of the site weren’t as wet, so maybe this is a bit of a mucky area. The view out to the water from the pit is semi-obstructed. you can see the water, but it’s a small window.
Swimability: The flat rock out front is a nice spot to slip in from. There are a few lilies in the area, so if you don’t like swimming with green stuff it might not be ideal.
Tent Sites: As I mentioned above, there are a couple of decent tent sites. They’re flat and wide. room for a couple of tents at least, and bigger ones at that.
Thunderbox: The thunderbox is up a path out the back of the site (near the second tent site). The box is in good shape, a little overgrown though. Combine the damp ground with the greenery and this might be a buggy spot at the wrong time of the year.
Accessories: Beyond a couple of very basic log benches, nothing.
Views: This site site is up a hill and the shoreline is fairly overgrown. This means you don’t have much of a view out from the site. The view from the water is pretty nice. You’ve got a good view northwest from the landing rock.
Notes: This site is fine, but wouldn’t be in my top five on Tom Thomson. Maybe not even my top 10. It’s serviceable though, so if you get to Tom Thomson and it seems full, there’s a good chance this one will be free.
Related Trip Report: Tom Thomson Lake
Back to Campsite Reports