A Wilderness Home

There's wilderness camping and then there's wilderness camping. On Crotch Lake, wilderness camping means staying at numbered sites around the lake. There's none of the 'pitch your tent anywhere you like' stuff. For that kind of wilderness, you have to get a bit more wild, so to speak.

So what's it like to camp at Crotch? Let's have a look at site 25, probably the most favoured location on the lake, but somewhat typical of the rest. This place has it all, or at least past visitors have seen that it comes equipped with lots of amenities.

Uniquely, it has a small sandy beach to land and launch for your boat. It isn't large, but compared to the usual rocky shore line, it's easier and less rough on the gelcoat than most other sites.


Walk up the short path to the site itself and you arrive at the vast 'kitchen and dining' area. This year some kind soul cut and stored lots of driftwood for the woodstove/campfire facility just adjacent. See the photo below…


There are a couple of nice bedrooms… err, tenting areas.


I pitched my tent in the upper one to take advantage of the lake breezes, but the lower one also has a good view, albeit, with slightly less breeze and probably more flying six-leggers.


The 'nature' facilities are situated a short walk away and conveniently private. While not as comfortably screened in as some sites, I found the ambiance pleasant enough, although lingering over a newspaper and coffee didn't seem like a good idea given the other residents busy flying about.

So there you have it. Wilderness and the comforts of home, all wrapped into a tidy campsite for the weekend paddler.