How do I find good camping spots near a lake that don't have people all over? I live in mid to northern Ontario, Canada.
Last summer I tried to camp on an island on a lake about 1h away from my small town. A guy showed up at 8pm telling us it was his land and we could stay for the night but if we started a fire he'd call the cops.
I've found many spots to camp at last summer but they were all without a lake. I want fricking water access. I want to fish and swim and kayak. All the lakes in my immediate vicinity have camps on them already.
The typical response is "It's Canada, just find a lake" but apparently it's not that easy. I don't have a lifted truck or a side by side. I have a shitty old dying very low 2010 Fusion that can barely handle a perfect logging road.
How can I find spots on a lake to camp at this upcoming summer?
>All the lakes in my immediate vicinity
does it need to be in your immediate vicinity?
drive a couple of hours to get to better more out of the way areas.
Go to Quetico, canoe for an hour or 2, camp. simple as.
aren't "crown lands" public access like BLM land in the states?
Yes, but every lake's waterfront is private land unless you drive 10h+ into the bush. My car can't go that far.
Quetico seems awesome but it is 14+ hours from me and my car will not reach there, but ty.
Use the Ontario crown land use policy atlas.
>Yes, but every lake's waterfront is private land unless you drive 10h+ into the bush. My car can't go that far.
Bullshit. I've camped on crown land a 2 hour drive from Toronto. You can also obvious camp in unmaintained parks such as QEII wildlands. Owning a canoe helps though.
>"It's Canada, just find a lake"
i live in Finland, the land of thousand lakes and i have the same exact problem
basically every single inch of every island has a summer home in it, one summer i went ashore on a little remote island just to take a leak and i was chased away by 3 dogs, my dinner and drink spilled all over my canoe
i have gone far and wide and its always the same unless we are talking about an island so small you can barely pitch a tent in and i have done those too numerous times
once i found island that was basically 1/4 free and decided to camp there for the night, as it turned out so did the grouse and i had to fight them over my spot all night and did not get any sleep
my advice would be to have updated map available at all times and try not to lose your temper
My God it's nice to hear that someone else shares the struggles. I'm a beginner backwoods camper so I hope it gets better for me. Half my family originates from Finland. It's very weird; they don't seem to notice the encroachment on the land. They come visit Canada and get extremely upset at a 5-6 hour drive lol, they think we must have gotten lost. It's incredibly difficult to tell them no, it's a giant country. Of course there is a generational gap..
I live in Sudbury. Do you know any spots along highway 144 by chance?
im sad to say it wont get any better but like in fishing there is always some hidden stream you can find and claim for your own for the night
best of luck anon
Sweden here in similar lake density and problem.
I just bought an island with summer house.
If can't fix the problem, join it and be the problem.
>mid to north Ontario
I'm guessing somewhere around Haliburton/Orillia?
Northern Ontario doesn't start until you're north of Sault or Sudbury and I don't care what anyone else says.
Your not even trying anon. Crown land overlay maps of ontario and Canada are easy to find online. I personally use an app called brmb that gives you all that on your phone and shows trails fishing spots etc its like 3 bucks a month.
If your too lazy/poor for that then tell me what rough geographical area or town your in and how far you are willing to drive. Generally anywhere on the borders of algonquin park is crown land and good for overnighters. To get any remote camping spots or to backcountry you will have to portage.
nta, but also in ontario. ive come to that realization as well that in order to see more remote areas I'll have to portage. But I nor my family have experience with it, any tips for a beginner? just buy some cheap canoe/kayak and go for it?
Ya anon I did a lot of solo backpacking and knew my outdoors shit when I lived in the gta. I moved up north and bought a kevlar 2 man from a cottage company, Its light enough i can solo it but if i have a friend its super easy to portage.
Its not too different from backpacking or camping its easier and more fun in ways. If your not experienced you can “car camp” from your canoe. Just load it up with all the shit from your car and find a nice spot on the lake for the night, you can envision what you would need and to leave behind if you were going to be travelling with the canoe and a pack.
For general tips:
-A cheaper one will be heavy but if you have a lot of people its not so bad
-kevlar canoes are more expensive but very light
-good paddles make a difference, the $40 canadian tire ones work but if you try $100 paddle you will immediately change your mind about that being a ridiculous price.
-good lightweight life jackets that actually function. I like to go as lightweight as possible for solo trips while still being comfy so i bought a self inflating lifejacket thats basically a small non-restrictive harness, it has a valve that when immersed in water inflates the vest like an airbag. It was expensive but its very small and light, super worth it on long portages. I also know for a fact it works and would save my life.
Do you have experience regular camping or backpacking?
thanks anons. yeah i live in the gta but im broke and alone so ive had limited experiences. im used to carry cheap and heavy gear and i lift regularly so id settle for a heavy but cheap solo. problem is space to keep it (i live in a small apartment) so maybe id try renting one out or just wait to things improve.
lots of portaging kind of "requires" a light canoe, and most of the big ones are very expensive. solo canoes are light though and you can avoid high prices that way. i don't know about in canada, but here in the US you can find older aluminum Grumman canoes all the time for like $400-700. most often it's the 15ft and 17ft models. they are not light, but a very good bang for your buck considering how durable and longlasting they are. a 15ft can be portaged if you pack lightly and are decently strong.
48.669528, -87.027758
Looks pretty nice. Has a beach. Might be a tough paddle out there, but nothing too bad in good weather.
the elites dont want you to know this but sleeping on the lake in your boat is free
you would need to bundle up with a warm bag for sleeping, because the lake winds in the night, they bring the cold
google earth and not being a moron
Find some crown land on a lake old son. Think you can camp for 14 days before you have to move on. Chances are no one will know when you arrived
if you are able to hold ur breath or have tanks for oxygen, you can even camp under the water, few people wll be there
You should paddle the Trent-Severn waterway.
There's camping available at the various locks for like 10$ a night.
You don't even need a boat. I know a cyclist couple who stayed at a few of the locks on their Cross Canada ride.
It's still pretty developed in places and Ontario Provincial Parks are a ripoff but unless you're willing to go out to Marathon or Gaspesie or somewhere equally distant, you can't beat Trent-Severn for cost and culture.
not what you want to hear but id recommend getting a better car anon, here in canada unless you live in toronto ive found a reliable car makes life so much easier especially since everything in this country is so far between even in cities. plus it makes the weather and conditions far more tolerable.
>A guy showed up at 8pm telling us it was his land and we could stay for the night but if we started a fire he'd call the cops.
Pretty nice of the dude. Last time I was inadvertently on private land (debatable 2bh) I was woken up around midnight with a bright ass flashlight in my eyes and a gun pointed at me and told to GTFO. Pretty sure it was actually public land right near private land, but obviously I was not going to argue right then lol.
>How can I find spots on a lake to camp at this upcoming summer?
You should look at a map of crown land and not just camp on other people's private property like a moron hobo.