North Milne Lake (Temagami)

This year’s adventures began with our first stop at North Milne Lake in Temagami, a town in northeastern Ontario. We stayed here for a week from May 22 – May 29, 2026 and were able to go canoeing, fishing, paddleboarding, and enjoyed some time in the sun!

Getting There

We found this spot on iOverlander last year and had saved it on our map, but never ended up staying there until this year. To access it, you just head down Wilson Lake Rd. off Hwy 11 – it’s quite easy to spot from this road, even without the GPS coordinates. The road there is a dirt road, and it super simple to get to. While this is confirmed General Use crown land, there is an OFSC trail that runs through this area, so I suspect snowmobilers likely use this spot in the winter and the area might be busier then.

The majority of the land surrounding the lake is Crown Land, however, there is at least one spot that is confirmed private land according to the CLUPA. During our fishing and paddling adventures, we found what appears to be a private camp or cabin of sorts. It didn’t look like anyone had been there in quite some time – perhaps used for ice fishing or something. So, if you’re going to hit the shore along the lake, just make sure you know where the private land is!

Nearby Amenities

As this is a Crown Land site, there’s of course no common amenities like a washroom, however, the town of Temagami is only about 10 minutes away and has everything you need from an LCBO and a weed shop to grocery stores, a trading post, and even a train station!

The Site

The site itself has a boat launch that is unpaved but easy to access even with a boat trailer. There are multiple existing campfire rings, and a smaller site off the left when you pull in if the ‘main site’ is taken already.

We parked our trailer parallel to the water, so we had a nice water-front view when we stepped out. We set up both our Starlink and our solar panels and had no major issues, though depending on how close you park to the tree line or how long your solar wires are, you may experience partial sun. Unfortunately, I cannot recall if there was cell service.

Activities

While here, we went canoeing, fishing, and paddleboarding. The lake was very calm and there were tons of Northern Pike. Our lucky lure for pike and bass is a Cotton Cordell Big O Crankbait in the color “Pearl Red Eye” from Bass Pro Shops and never fails us!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

This spot was absolutely wonderful for a first stop on our journey, however it is certainly not the most private. What is lacks in privacy, however, it makes up for in beauty, fish, sunshine… and ticks. So many ticks. During our weeklong stay here I think we pulled 3-4 ticks off our poor doggo.