So I'm headed into Quetico for the first time. I'm a little confused on campsites. I see camps noted on the maps. Some are rated and some are marked closed. Do you HAVE to camp is a site that is marked on a map? Or can you pick your site when you see it? Like I'm used to here in CA. "Oh look, this place looks nice, I found my campsite" I understand that if it's marked "closed" it's probably for a good reason and I would move on. But if I studied the Topo maps and found a good place to settle in, Is that okay?

There are no designated campsites in Quetico - you’re allowed to camp anywhere you find suitable. However, there are many established campsites, and nearly everyone camps in sites that have already been established. Most areas that are suitable for camping have long been established as campsites, and so it’s rare to ever be in a situation to need to establish a new site or to find it advantageous to do so.

Campsites are obviously campsites! If it’s not obviously a campsite you messed up or weather forced you into a spot!

Rules wise you can camp wherever but it’s highly frowned upon to make a new campsite.

It pays to know where campsites are and add them onto maps since they are not all marked on the maps for Quetico.

Ryan

As pointed out, you are permitted to camp anywhere but you can't clear trees and bushes, which makes it difficult. You will find many sites that are rarely used, trees in fire rings and such.

Good campsites are found, not made.

I'm unaware of any 'closed' campsites in the Q, with the exception of a few at the east end of Kawa Bay that were closed by the Park out of respect for the First Nations community/history.

A campsite may have may have been 'closed' by time & disuse, but you can in theory camp anywhere.

I've enjoyed camping in some zero-to-one star sites while solo. Needs of a minimalist traveler are so different from a big group.

Several years ago we stopped on the Burke Lake island across from the portage out of Bayley Bay and found the site marked "Closed for Rehabilitation" or something to that effect.

TZ

If in a position of having to camp along the shore in a non-campsite, do your best to leave no trace. No campfire... no clearing of brush. Just find a spot to place your tent, stay there that night, then move on. Quetico has over 2,000 campsites spread over 1 million acres. They don't want any more (and that's from park management).

It's actually no fun having to make a campsite from scratch.
I was up at St. Raphael Park (80 miles north of Quetico) and had to make a site from scratch. It's not pleasant to stand in thick moss up to your calf and try to make a spot for a tent. Shoreline is essentially impossible to fish from and so on.


when I was younger I always wanted to have to make a campsite.
Now I always want to find an established campsite..

Depending on the maps you have, many real nice sites are not marked. You often just stumble on them. Sometimes you see a fantastic spot that should be a campsite and see it's never been one.

I don't think it's highly frowned on to make a campsite, it might not be encouraged to do so, but it's not very practical unless you are forced into it.
Tom

Agree with Tumblehome, you can legally camp anywhere but in practicality you will want to camp in semi-established sites.

Also many sites are not on maps…many sites on maps don’t exist…that’s the fun of the Q.

T

Thanks.
I'm not planning to make a new site or do "improvements". 1) too much work when we could otherwise be fishing.. 2) serious LNT violation.
I guess I'm more asking if you come across a "site", can you use it even though it's not marked on the map? Sounds like you can. It also sounds like not all sites are marked on maps. SO if I find a site that looks great and is obviously a site that has been used, I'll probably use it.
I'm more used to the National Forests around here out west with lots of clearings and wide open spaces. I was surprised when I first saw your forests with dense packed trees and bushes, uneven ground with sharp rocks, and swampiness. Made me even more happier traveling by canoe

This thread reminds me of a funny memory from last year.

I was on the north part of Sturgeon and there are at least several campsites on the maps in the area. I was looking for a site and could see a few open ones so I was paddling around looking for something nice that would suit my needs.

As I paddle around this island I came upon a trio of campers, Mom, Dad and young daughter, camped up on a rocky hill maybe 40’ from shore. Their spot was not a campsite in any sense and I wondered if Dad wanted to bushwhack a new spot at the expense of the happiness and comfort of the ladies.

The site was nothing at all conducive to a comfortable site. No easy access up the rocky hill, the tent didn’t even look level and I’m sure the young girl was in for a long miserable experience in the bush. Just a short distance away was a nice established site and unoccupied by anyone. It had a nice rocky point, flat tent pad and a fire ring.

I sort of shook my head and thought to myself ‘what are you doing up there??’.
I just I waved hello and paddled by…

Tom