Booth Lake – Campsite #12

I was aiming for island campsite, though upon finding it taken I headed over to this site across the bay, not wanting to cross back for the eastern sites on Booth. At first landing I thought “meh, I guess this will do”. A small clearing, fire pit, and bench are at the waters edge, by the canoe landing. I unloaded and after sitting for a few minutes, I figured I’d explore the back shoreline. I’m not sure if this is an island year round, but it is in spring high water. It looks like the small piece of land likely connects to the mainland at lower water levels. Anyways, walking along the back shore, with nice views of cliffs over the marshy area, lead me to the west end of the site. I starting heading back to the canoe through the middle of the island and to my surprise, I found a second fire pit, bushcraft shelf, and bench at the highest point of the island. Two sites in one! The top fire pit area has great views across the bay and down McCarthy Creek. I found the thunder box midway back down to the canoe landing. There’s a secondary canoe landing with an incline to the upper site area by the exposed granite at face of the site. And I suspect it is also used as a path up after perhaps cliff jumping from the rocks above. With a variety of great views, I ended up really liking this site. The only downsides are that there aren’t many large flat tent spots, so it maybe not be ideal for larger groups, and firewood will likely need to be sourced elsewhere. If you strike out on the Booth beach campsites (or the other island), don’t be afraid to head towards this great hidden gem of a site.