Nettleton Lake

N 46°11.443’ W 082°47.949’            

46.19071 -82.79915

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A small, 12 hectare lake attached to the St. Kateri Outdoor Learning Centre and signs saying private property…so beautiful its worth trespassing on. It’s a sin not to. I met a guy who’d been up in Sault Ste. Marie for a few months exploring, and he showed me his favorite spot. The lake is set high up as you seem to drive uphill for miles but in return, the drive down offers some spectacular views. Fed by East Davignon Creek there’s a few buildings at the one end and some chutes farther along. There’s a small stage area beside the lake, surrounded by trees, for some of the outdoor classes and presentations if I was to guess. The hiking trails round this tiny lake are all well worn and not even moderately difficult. The white blazes on some of them are part of a larger Voyageur Hiking Trail following the creek out by a beaver pond. While there I never did try camping over, but I did visit it more than just a few times. Just for the beauty of the autumn colours and getting high. I also used this spot as one of the three backgrounds in my workout video. Oddly, I’ve never swum in the dark waters but what great spot to take my kayak out. That actually wound up being one of my main reasons for returning so often. If you’re passing time in Sault Ste. Marie, this would be my number one destination to visit if I was searching for tranquility. Some inner quiet. Sitting beside this lake idly mulling the universe would not be a waste of that day. As trivia, the attached learning centre used to be called Camp Korah and I found a few references that it may even be haunted. Something to dwell on late at night lying in the darkness if you do go with guerilla camping.