Things to see, Looking for suggestions

Hi All,

I follow the page almost daily from work and really appreciate all the great conversations.

I've been traveling to Lake Nipissing my entire life, and now coming from Texas, it's an annual adventure for my wife, friends and I. We have a family cabin down in Meadow Bay on the South Shore. If anyone has been around long enough, it is down close to old Swackhammer's place, or the bay with the big white boat, the "Stormy Weather," beached on the shore.

It's funny that in my 35 years of going to the lake I have never been across to North Bay. Typically it is straight to the marina (formerly used Hunters Bay, now we use Fish Bay) and out to the cabin from there. Well, this year we're looking for an adventure and I thought I'd check in to see if you had any suggestions of land features to see on the lake or places to pull up to in North Bay. Of course we'll be careful with the wind forecast if we're traveling across the lake.

If not North Bay, how about the French River? I've only found it through a minutes worth of Google research, but I'm thinking about a trip down to the French as far as Dokis marina for a refill on gas and maybe a bite to eat, and then headed back to the cabin.

I'd love to hear your suggestions on other things/places to see that are boat accessible.

Thanks!

Well if you can ditch the women for an afternoon there is always Fanny's in North Bay

On the more serious side though there is a nice steakhouse in North Bay called Churchill's that is worth checking out.

what if she's into it? ha! Thanks

Suggestion - To get your better half on the water in very enjoyable surroundings, try the Commanda II tour boat out of North Bay. It goes to the Manitou Islands on Lake Nipissing. Great way to spend some time on the water. It would be a nice way for you to introduce her to the Lake.
Of course, next time on the lake take your own boat and fishing rods....

My wife & I took the boat tour out of North Bay over 40yrs ago (I assume it was Commanda I) and was quite enjoyable. My reason was to introduced my new wife to the Lake and area.... didn't work though. Still in Mississauga...haha.


Cheers,

The Chief Commanda cruise is a prety good time. I took it 20 years ago from North Bay down the French River. They offer a few different packages for different prices. Might be worth checking out. You could hit Fanny's after...

Thanks! The Mrs enjoys the lake plenty already. She has her own kayak too and out fishes me plenty. That boat does look like a sweet ride though.

Check out some hiking trails around French River!

As you know already a Big boat is required to go far on the lake like the french as She can turn on you.The Commanda cruize is a good excuse to finally visit the Bay.

I am not aware of many attractions that you can boat to on the lake but you may be able to dock at the north bay marina and have lunch or dinner next door at The Boat. It is the original Chief Commanda that has been turned into a restaurant. I have never been but there is some decent reviews and it looks like they have a nice patio area. Shad fly season can probably make a mess of that place though so beware of that. You can contact them and ask about water access to the restaurant.
http://www.theboatnorthbay.com

There is also supposed to be a beach that people boat to near the mouth of the French River and anchor off it. Not sure exactly where this is but it isn't far from you.

As others have said it can be pretty wild out there so check forecasts and keep an eye on the sky. I'm sure you have had a fun ride or two heading up the shore line to your place though.

As you have read the water is really high. You may have docking issues when you get there.

Neil

If you're going as far as Dokis, you will pass a lot of scenic spots along the way. I think the beach mentioned above is on the south side of Campbell's Bay. You can't miss the white dot on the rock, usually boats anchored weekend nights, empty most week days.

There is a pretty neat creek that empties into Frank's Bay that you can boat into, there is a waterfall at the end that is probably really going now considering all of the rain. I don't know when your trip is, but if it is soon, the water level may make navigation a bit tricky, there are some old dock pilings that are likely submerged, but probably close enough to the surface to be a problem for your prop.

A bit further down, Satchel's bay is a cool spot to explore, a calm bay off the river that is quite scenic. Again, as mentioned above, keep an eye on the weather. I've spent hours trolling the endless coves of the bay only to find the weather kicked up making the trip back to camp a bit more white-knuckle on the river and main lake.

Awesome reply jchizmar. It made me realize that in the almost 60 years I have been coming to Lake Nipissing I really have not explored that much. I have mainly gone fishing. I did a little exploring as a youngster heading down places like south river to the small water fall at Chapman's Chute and have enjoyed kayaking around the islands of south bay but evidently from your post there is a lot more natural sights to see on Nipissing.
Thanks again for waking me up to this!
Also while I have been out to the Goose Islands and down the French River a ways I did not know about the Stormy Weather. I think I see it on Google maps and will have to check it out.
Cool!

Neil

I guess it is just putting together memories from trips I've taken and the crazy memory I have of some things. We stay at a camp not far from the places I mentioned. Most of the spots (other than the beach) we went looking for fish. Granted, water temp and weed development make a big difference in the fishing vs the views.

I like to look at the map and see if there is a cove or passage that we haven't fished before and check it out. I find it fascinating how the shore like and lake depth change so dramatically around the islands at the start of the French.

I arrive in a week for another trip. I'll make not of any place I may have forgotten to mention.

Great stuff. Thank you!