BOOTLEGGERS BAY

N 46°11.443’ W 082°47.949’ 

46.1907 -82.7991

 

Turn down Highway 538, only a 5.6 km long highway and part of the Great Lakes Trail. A beautiful little out of the way beach, I’ve stopped in a few times now for lunch, or just to smoke a joint. Quietly with nothing but the sounds of waves and wind in the trees for company. The actual beach is posted as no camping by the Ministry of Natural Resources. A quick look around and there are lots of places you could camp over in the immediate vicinity, like a hydro trail right across from the entrance to the beach. It is secluded enough you could camp right out on the beach and no one would be the wiser. No flashlights or fire, you know…guerrilla style camping. If you do get grabbed up and fined by the ministry, it's on you though, not me. Clearly, the bay deserved its name during Prohibition. In the 1920s, Algoma Mills was a booming port town. Ships travelling through the North Channel would stop in with coal and coke from the United States, along with their crews. Someone realized there was money to be made, and it soon the little bay became the perfect place to deliver cases of alcohol, and any other cargos the crews would want to avoid fees and duties on. If the criminals thought it was secluded enough from the authorities...Its far enough from the beaten path you’ll probably be there alone most of the time. I’ve only ever met one couple hanging out, and a few people walking dogs in all of my visits, so I’ll assume that’s normal for weekdays. There are enough trees and brush, that even if there were other people around you would still be able to maintain a sense of privacy. Like so much of the Great Lakes shoreline, beautiful. Last visited in 2020.