Rating:
Good Tent Pads:
3
Max Tent Pads:
5
Visit Date:
6/1/2023
We are hammock campers. There were just enough trees for 4 hammocks and a bear hang. Anything more would've been tricky.
A few things you should know about this site and Mack Lake...
1) The bugs are awful here. Like, terrible. Granted this year was an especially awful mosquito year, but of all the sites we stayed on, this was the worst. There's a swampy area on the peninsula to the west of this campsite where they probably are thriving.
2) There is a little-known outfitter named "Powell Lake Outfitters" that stores their canoes under trees just outside of this area of the Quetico. They drive their customers in all the way to the Waiwag river where they have an easy 2-hour paddle and dump into Mack Lake from the river just north of this campsite. THIS MEANS MACK LAKE IS ESSENTIALLY AN ENTRY LAKE leading to swarms of casual canoe campers with mounds of gear and very little backcountry experience or etiquette. Thus, if you do the physically taxing journey from Cache Bay, as we did, do not expect to find much solitude here. For example, the morning we departed, we had no less than 4 canoes vulturing our campsite waiting as we were packing up. One paddled up and asked us if they could set up their tents while we were tearing down camp.
2b) Because of the above, the campsite was full of trash and not well cared for. Expect to see a firepit full of trash and other debris left laying around on the site. I'd recommend dropping your deuces elsewhere on the lake because there are shallow foxholes everywhere as soon as you step out of the campsite area.
3) The fishing on this lake is ridiculous. Walleye, smallmouth, and pike are in abundance. It didn't matter where we cast, or what we fished with...we had no problem catching fish.
4) The lake in front of this campsite is shallow enough that you can comfortably swim up to 50 feet away from camp.
5) There are landings on both the east and west side of this campsite. This is nice as you have quick access to different sides of the lake.
Mack is a beautiful lake, and in spite of the crowds, I'm glad we had a couple of days on it. I would not go back just because of the crowds.
Rating:
Good Tent Pads:
2
Max Tent Pads:
3
Visit Date:
8/31/2019
Very nice site. We base camped here for several days. Terraced rock with a natural sitting area by the very nice fire pit. Good views to the east and the west. Had some issues with flies many of the mornings. Good bathing area on the east as well. Lots of huge bass in this lake.
Rating:
Good Tent Pads:
3
Max Tent Pads:
4
Visit Date:
8/18/2019
Beautiful site on the peninsula. The access on the east side is easier than the west side, which was convenient for us due to a heavy west wind battering that side of the peninsula. This isn't the most natural site anymore. People have built a substantial live well and other structures clearly meant for the fishing crowd. Still, the natural rock seating and breezy location were ideal for us.
Rating:
Good Tent Pads:
2
Max Tent Pads:
3
Visit Date:
6/2/2014
After earning our stripes on the Munro to Mack portage we got a relaxing night of fishing. This was a good site for us as it is set up for a nice cross breeze.
Rating:
Good Tent Pads:
Max Tent Pads:
Visit Date:
8/4/2015
4 star campsite located on the low spot of the peninsula with water access from both sides. Good airflow kept bugs away. Several good tent pads and a great fire area with exposed sitting rocks. Landing is better on the east side.
