Site Details
Closest Access Point: Shall Lake (Access # 17)
Distance to Access Point: 20 KM (1.5 – 2 Days)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Medium/Hard
Maintenance Level: Low, so Low
Date Visited: May 2024
Related Trip Report: The Alder Express: To White Partridge And Beyond
Map courtesy of Maps by Jeff
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. in my opinion, the picture at the top of this page is worth exactly two: “Don’t bother”.
On Maps By Jeff’s Algonquin Map (which is the map I’ve used for this review) this site is listed as unconfirmed. Well, I can confirm it exists. I can also confirm that maybe it shouldn’t? This is a small, uneven, enclosed site that’s been (barely) hacked out of a dense patch of forest on Vireo’s west shore. The best thing I can say for it is that it’s probably great on a windy day, because the tree coverage along the shore is so dense that barely any light gets in, let alone wind. I could spend a couple hundred more words talking about the fire pit area (meh) and the canoe landing (scratchy!), but, honestly, I took a bunch of pictures and those probably tell the story better than I could.
Are there better sites nearby? I didn’t get a chance to check out Vireo’s other site (site 2) as there was someone on it, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say yes, it’s better. I can’t imagine how it could be worse.
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