Algonquin Adventures / Little Eagle May 26th-29th

**Posted by vanslyke** 5/31/2017 8:11 am

It is always hard for me to rank my trips into the park but this one was a top 3 for sure. Every season my old college friends and I try to get to the park for one or two trips. This is now our 6th or 7th.
On the way in to the Magnetawan access point we saw a large 2-3 year old female moose walk acroos the road infront of our cars. First one of the trip already! We were pumped! After a quick paddle on magnetawan to the portage to Little Eagle we soon discovered that even though the portage is short, it is a tricky one. Especially this time of year. Not a good beach or launch area for loading and unloading canoes. And the portage itself is a steep uphill climb for most of it. After all the rain the last while it was very muddy also. With bug jackets on for the swarms of black flies we quickly got through it and were on Little Eagle on the way to our site for the weekend.
Black flies, black flies, and more black flies awaited us at the site, thankfully we all had bug jackets and could still be outside and not going crazy. I have personally never seen them so bad, it was astonishing at times how many there were.
We loved the site on Little Eagle and quickly made it our home away from home. The little kitchen area with the shelves and tables is great and so handy and the fire pit is a good one. The view from the site is amazing and we were treated to unreal AP sunsets and were even lucky enough to see the northern lights on saturday night. What a show!
We saw two more moose throughout the trip and got some really really great pics. The wildlife around little eagle is amazing. Eagles, moose, snapping turtles, snakes, loons, and lots of chipmunks and birds.
The weather turned out perfectly for us, the only rain we had was sunday night in the middle of the night while we were sleeping. That meant we had to pack up wet tents and tarps but oh well! Thats par for the course sometimes.
All in all it was one of the best trips my group has been on and we would reccommend Little Eagle for all groups of 6 or leas. We had 6 people and it was a perfect size. There were a couple possible tent pads for our one 4 man tent, and there is a huge tent area that was perfect for my 17x10 giant tent. It's a great site and basically your own private lake. We didn't see a single person for 4 days.

**Posted by Peek** 6/05/2017 11:22 am

I've always wondered about Little Eagle - then when I look at the online reservation system and see it's pretty much booked solid for the entire season, I wonder more about the condition of the site by the time September rolls around. It seems it's always in use.

Thanks for the mini report and site description, one day I hope to get out there for a quick overnighter or two, but it seems as though I need to have that planned 5 months in advance.

How was the water clarity on Little Eagle? Clear like Hambone, or tannin-stained?

**Posted by vanslyke** 6/05/2017 11:27 am

Peek wrote:
I've always wondered about Little Eagle - then when I look at the online reservation system and see it's pretty much booked solid for the entire season, I wonder more about the condition of the site by the time September rolls around. It seems it's always in use.

Thanks for the mini report and site description, one day I hope to get out there for a quick overnighter or two, but it seems as though I need to have that planned 5 months in advance.

How was the water clarity on Little Eagle? Clear like Hambone, or tannin-stained?

Ya it's a great site and surprisingly there was a lot of firewood to be found.
The lake itself is fairly stained.
And yes we booked it 4.5 months in advance. If you want to try it start looking early. Its a great site for a family also especially in the summer once the water goes down a bit there would be a great beach and swimming area.

**Posted by Peek** 6/05/2017 11:30 am

cool! thanks! I forgot to ask about swimming opportunities but you were one step ahead of me.

thanks for the info.

http://www.youtube.com/user/kayakcamper · **Posted by Uppa** 6/05/2017 12:28 pm

I spent a night on Little Eagle in the heart of bug season a few years back. I remember getting out of my tent in the middle of the night to relieve myself. It was pitch black, I didn't bother with a light, and I was wearing nothing but my underwear. The feeling of what must have been hundreds of bugs quickly engulfing my body was one I'll never forget. I'm reliving it right now just writing this.

Other than that it was a nice site and a decent enough lake. With only one campsite and no routes that pass through it, you're pretty much guaranteed to have complete privacy.

**Posted by Methye** 6/06/2017 9:12 pm

Stayed there on May 16th. I booked it one week in advance. No problem! Guess i just lucked out.

**Posted by AlgonquinLakes** 6/08/2017 2:33 pm

Thanks for the write up. Like Peek I've wondered about Little Eagle. Bugs aside, sounds like early spring is a good time to visit.