Just got back from the north end of the park in a quiet 8 days.

The plan:  First trip after rehabbing a shoulder tear so the plan was for shorter days and I've covered all this territory before.  Kiosk-Manitou-further down Manitou-Lorne-Kakasamic-Fassett-Manitou-rest day-out. Overall was looking for a chance to stretch things out, relax, avoid sunburns and reduce the bug exposure.

Got an early start and was at Kiosk by 10:30.  Easy paddle to a site (14).  It's a pretty nice site with a bit of a climb, sheltered tend pad with still enough wind to keep the bugs down.  Temp: Low 30's plus humidity.  A group of camp kids next site over kept quiet...until they weren't.  Nice evening.

Camp kids woke up around 6, I went back to sleep.  Storm rolled in around 8.  When I say storm, I mean multiple shower heads worth op rain at the same time.  If the water rolling off my tarp was filling a bath, it would be overflowing in less than a minute.  Thankfully didn't last long and I had only left a pair of socks out.

Next stop - Manitou.  About 2 k of portaging.  Only 40 m or so of elevation change but again, over 30 degrees.  Despite being in decent shape, I was gassed by the end of the first chunk even though double carrying with a fairly light load.  With the heavy rain, the little swift west of the 320m was some work but I managed to get up on the first try.  Changed to hardcore mode and powered through the 1.3k portage to Manitou.

At Manitou, I interrupted a couple who may have been looking for berries but I have a feeling they were looking for a private place and didn't understand the romance between bugs and late June.

Of course the wind was funneling in to the beach and I briefly considered camping on one of the sites near the beach but I had my mind set on the little island site (#11) which after the storm that morning and the bug situation, felt like a good plan.

For any who haven't been, the island is small enough that the campsite icon on the map covers it entirely and is pretty much flat.  The fire pit has a nice large rock blocking with and a nice view in every direction but the NW which was blocked by a thing group of trees.  Firewood would be a problem for anyone wanting to cook dinner on the fire but there was a nice pile left behind (by the rangers?).  Only issue the site could have is in storms as there is nothing to slow the wind down but with the storm that morning, that energy was probably used up.

Did I tell you about that storm that night?  Sustained wind for about 25 minutes howling down for the north.  Gave me something to do as I had to reconnect my tarp twice and had a small tear as one of the side pullouts decided to disconnect.  Once the wind died down, I listed to the thunder which sounded that it was passing to the north.  And then it wasn't.  The next 45 minutes found me lying on the ground under my hammock, watching lighting strike all around and questioning my life choices.  spoiler: I survived.

Next night was planned for Manitou again but with the experience the night before and still being crazy hot and humid, I felt it was a good idea to move.  With the wind still coming from the SW, I figure done of the sites in the bay with the 3-mile portage would be a good plan.  Ended up at site 22 which was pretty great.  Pebble beach with sandy bottom a few meters out, part of the site open to the wind, part of it sheltered.  Good furniture around the fire.  With the wind from the direction it was and the funneling effect of the bay, had a solid bug fighting breeze the whole time.  Only down side would be site 23 being just around the corner.

The next morning my knee problems weren't going away so change of plans for a rest day. Swimming, rinsing out clothes, napping, ...

Still not better the next morning so time for a new plan.  Campsite survey of Manitou.  A couple caveats: I don't take pictures generally, didn't take notes, and just looked from the water (maybe I'm hiding a gem or two :D).

Sites 16-21: Nothing special. All of them seemed workable

26 looked like a site.  It had lots of grass growing but looked like it could be okay.  Seems it doesn't get used but only because it doesn't get used.
27 was solid at the front but looked like it was quickly uphill after that.

From a distance 28 looked promising with a large flattish patio rock with afternoon sun.  Upon getting closer, that looked about all there was.  A decent campfire, a small tent pad before that was about it.  For a single or couple it would be great.

29 - interesting site.  Might be a bit buggy but otherwise...
30 - I guess it was a site.  Might have been some more space behind a big pine.  Not on my list.
33 - stayed there before.  Okay site.
34 - up a bit of a climb.  Chose not to stay there before and can't remember why.
35 - A climb up some stairs to the site but  looked okay.
36/37 - little beach with two sites on top of each other.  36 barely looked like a site.  37 was a bit better.  Can't see staying at either.
38 and 39 both had little beaches (and felt closer together than they appear on the map).  Tucked up out of the wind with some buggy looking ground behind it.
15 - Solid looking site.  A bit steep
40 - had a big rock out front.  Looked okay 
43a - nice beach site
43, 44 were also solid (with the downside is you can assume 43a will be used)
1 would be passable, 2 looked better if the wind required you top stay. 
4 looked nice.  Large rock facing the afternoon sun.  Didn't get too close as people were staying there every time I passed (which is likely a sign it's good.


Ended up at site 6.  Either the island is too high or the water is.  There is no way to land without getting wet (same with the site at the back).  Steep set of stairs to an open fire pit.  More of a climb to the tent pads. Plenty of room and a nice site other than the up and down.  I'd happily stay there again.

After enough relaxation, headed out with headwinds the whole way.

Took a quick look at the rapids site 2 which looked like a nice place for before or after bug season.

As for the kiosk sites I passed, I would rank them from best:
15, 14, 13, 10, 16, 12, and pulling up the bottom 11.
10 would be a good site for a family starting out their camping experiences.  15 seems to be the most popular.