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PostPosted: July 15th, 2017, 6:28 am 
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I am going to start a new thread for this and link to it from the other one ... this discussion started here http://www.myccr.com/phpbbforum/viewtop ... 9&p=419128

The main website for North Frontenac Parklands is here http://www.northfrontenacparklands.com/

OK here goes - I should write this up as an article somewhere because I seem to type it out a lot :-)

Coming in the north entrance sites 1 through 4 are the only car camping sites on the northern lake. 4 can be really swampy in the spring and probably is right now with all the rain we've had. 1 and 2 are pretty high up on sidedam rapids and do not have a direct put-in to the lake like 3 and 4 have.

5 and 6 are my favorite sites and I always book them together. But they are only a short 10 minute paddle from the parking lot and you can see your car the whole time depending on where you park :-) 5 has a big open area and a better kitchen area and firepit - with some "tables" constructed between trees. 6 has a number of tent pads in the woods and one up on a 20 foot bluff that is really nice but it is granite so you need to be creative in fastening your tent down. 6 also has a much better swimming area than 5 (5 is kind of swampy) with an 6 to 10 foot (depending on water levels) cliff to jump off. If I were to book just one of them it would be 6. The two of them sort of blend together though

Right across from the parking lot in the other direction is 76 and this is a 2 minute paddle and you will definitely see your car the whole time :-) It is a smallish site up on a bluff but lots of open area. Fishing is really great right off the bluff and I've taken in some nice pike right from there. The area all along that shore is marked for pike and you'll get even bigger ones out in your canoe just off shore.

The 4th corner of the X at the top of the lake (look at a map you'll know what I mean) are sites 73, 74, 75. The Area Scouts had these booked a couple of years ago along with most of the other sites in the area so I spend a fair bit of time on them visiting the other troops. I did not like them since there was no open area at all - the trees go right up to the water. There is no big granite which is what I like about this area, and all of the sites are a bit swampy. I've never been to the ones further down that shore (left shore on the map).

Going down the other shore (right shore) from 5 and 6 I have not yet been to 7, but 8 is a really nice site that has a funky metal thunderbox with a seatbelt on it - someone had a sense of humour :-) It is a very large site with some pads down near water level and some up on a bluff. Really great view of the lake from here.

10, 11, 12 I have not been to yet. 13 and 14 I have been to a few times and booked them with a buddy last year. He has been on 14 since Wednesday with his family and is back tomorrow - his facebook shows a massive harvest of wild mushrooms of various types that they enjoyed the other night. 13 is on a small island when the water level is high enough, but not and island when it is lower. There is really good fishing in the channel between 13 and 14, and off 14 as well. The thunderbox for 13 is perched right on the very edge of the island and is a little awkward and possibly even dangerous if you have had a few.

14 is up pretty high on a cliff so you'll have to haul your gear up there. But wow is it a great site with really excellent jumping rocks and great fishing all around. And as mentioned, tonnes of wild mushrooms. The tent pads up here require a bit of creativity as well since it is mostly granite. The one pad on the edge of the bluff overlooking Big Island is just incredible.

16 over near King's Lake Dam is another little island site - Scouts visit it a lot when it is not occupied, and I've camped there before. There is great swimming with an excellent jumping cliff, and good fishing as well.

17 and 18 I have only paddled up to and looked at from there but they both look like nice sites with some open area, lots of granite, and high enough above the water to not be swampy.

I spent a fair bit of time on 19 and 20 two years ago on a Scout trip but I don't have a strong image of them in my head. They were not terrible sites nor were they what I would call ideal sites. But that is because for it to be ideal to me you need a 600 million tonne chunk of the Canadian Shield to jump off of into the water :-) 19 has a nice coved bay with great shallow swimming (rare for the area) and I believe 20 was a bit swampy.

21 and 22 are ones the Scout troop has used a lot. 21 is a massive site with lots of open area but good sheltered area too. It is very level and raised up off the water level at least a few feet. There is good clean swimming but no jumping rocks. Inland 50 or 60 feet it goes from level to a big cliff, and you can pitch your tent atop the cliff. The bottom area is tough to get pegs in but there are lots of surface-running roots you can loop a piece of rope under to tie to. I like 21 a lot in spite of it not having a jumping rock.

22 is in a little cove and sort of perched on the side of a hill. There is really only 1 level tent pad and it is moss on granite so may require some creativity. There is good fishing all around 21 and 22 and especially along the path between the 2 sites. 22 is a nice site with a decent swimming area but no jumping rock.

23 is another one perched way up on a cliff (so you'll be lugging your gear up there). Excellent fishing around it and you'll definitely catch Pike right off shore. I always use various sizes of a Mepps Black Fury for Pike in this lake. There is excellent swimming and depending on the water level some lower jumping spots.

And that's it for my knowledge.

Oh and speaking of good jumping rocks - Gull Rock - a small island - is a popular stopping point for jumping off the cliffs. I highly recommend it.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@44.9430311,-76.7917658,17z


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PostPosted: July 15th, 2017, 6:32 am 
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Here we are below the King's Lake Dam teaching Scouts a bit about moving water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-An7Xv_k7s


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PostPosted: July 15th, 2017, 6:34 am 
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Here is site 76

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX4Ip3fJZRI


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PostPosted: July 15th, 2017, 6:34 am 
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Sites 5 and 6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyOuobDDJD4


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PostPosted: July 15th, 2017, 6:37 am 
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It is fun to ride Whitefish Rapids in your life jackets. This is also a good spot to teach how to paddle upstream. On our Scouts trip in June we had about 8 canoes and we all challenged these rapids and eventually everyone made it up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UmaQ7GxpDA

https://www.google.ca/maps/@44.9593155,-76.8180575,17z


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PostPosted: July 15th, 2017, 6:38 am 
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Below Sidedam Rapids can be fun as well - right where the Mississippie comes into the lake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT7ElL6re_k


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PostPosted: July 15th, 2017, 6:39 am 
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Another look at Sidedam Rapids - my 2nd son was not too happy to approach them in this video :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeA6OSysbIM


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PostPosted: July 15th, 2017, 6:42 am 
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More fun at Sidedam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHCrPEyNP3k


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PostPosted: July 15th, 2017, 6:43 am 
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Site 21 in some really nasty winds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab-N4WpllKs&t=2s


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PostPosted: July 15th, 2017, 7:15 am 
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Someone else's video of site 13. Note that the big half dead tree next to the fire pit is gone now. I reported it as a hazard last year when we were on this site, and they took it down. I am reminded that there are some really good tables on this site and the firepit is pretty good. Though the low table he shows with the firewood under it is gone now - some twit probably burned it. He says 2 tents max but we had 3 on it no problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alPDF7Vi5Mg

This also reminds me that the fire pit on Site 16 the other little island is really elaborate - like a full oven. Very nice.

Site 5 used to have a picnic table as well, but it is also now gone. Probably some twit burned it.


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PostPosted: July 15th, 2017, 7:47 am 
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Anyway, there are a number of videos you can find on Youtube that show specific sites. I found ones for 71 and 74 as well. This user "Fridge Magnet" seems to have a half dozen or more videos of different sites.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTCqNRuxdz8

As you can see - once you get me talking about Crotch Lake it is tough to shut me up :-) This is one of the few areas where I can pretend to be an authority and I just love the place so much.


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PostPosted: April 12th, 2021, 4:11 pm 
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Thanks for the info. Booked my first trip, 2 nights on site 66 then 2 nights on 52. Looking forward to exploring the area


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PostPosted: April 13th, 2021, 1:52 pm 
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If you search youtube there are a number of good videos giving a tour of various camp sites - I added about 4 or 5 last summer.


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PostPosted: April 13th, 2021, 1:53 pm 
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There is also a facebook group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/friends ... cparklands


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PostPosted: May 19th, 2021, 10:22 am 
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Location: Mississauga
Its not for the purist but its a nice option canoe/boat base camping. There are lots of good sites. I like to camp at #61 and I've enjoyed staying at Morrows Cabins. The fishing was good considering the pressure and there is nice variety of fish species. Its nice in the fall, not too many people there then.

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