What is Loon Bay Recreation Site
Loon Bay Recreation Site is a pay campground from May to September. The cost is $18 per night and managed by Recreation Sites and Trails BC. It is free however during the off season which is when I chose to visit. This campground is one of 8 recreation sites within 2-5 km of each other on Lower Campbell Lake.
It is a very popular campground with the locals from Campbell River. I met a couple of guys who were finished cutting firewood and stopped by Loon Bay Rec Site to look things over. Nice enough fellows who told me how popular it is during the summer months.
There were a couple of winter residents there also that greeted me every morning I woke up. A male and female Canada Geese loved to feed on the grass growing new the lakes shoreline. The male was super protective so I assumed the female was pregnant and gave them their space. Took some photos and videos which they were happy to oblige.
Where is Loon Bay Recreation Site
Loon Bay Recreation Site is located on the north side of Lower Campbell Lake. Roughly 10.5km on Campbell Lake Main. Its a small road into the campground through a forested area.
Like all the other campgrounds in the Campbell Lake area you drive to Duncan Bay Road about 10km north of Campbell River towards Sayward. Due to the work on the John Hart Dam this is the alternate route to get there. The Iron River Road just a few km’s further down the highway is another way to get there.
Turn left onto Iron River Road then right on Snowden Forest Service Road. Eventually you will come to the Brewster Main and Loveland Road junction. Stay straight and the road turns into Campbell Main.
When I was there the grader was working diligently on both roads so it was a lot smoother than when I was at Fry Lake Campground a couple weeks earlier.
There are 7 campsites, picnic tables, fire rings, boat launch and 2 pit toilets.
Use the form below to find out how to get to the campground from your starting point using Google Maps.
Tidbits
Walkthru Video of Campsites At Loon Bay Campground
Fishing At Loon Bay Campround
As with all the campsites on Lower Campbell Lake fishing is very good for Cutthroat Trout and Rainbow Trout. You’ll have to venture out into deeper water for Rainbows but Cutty’s can be caught closer to shore. I caught and released a couple Cutthroat Trout from shore but was too lazy to take my boat off the camper to try my luck off shore.
I caught my fish using a mosquito and black fly imitation on a float line. Waited to see them rising and landed my fly just in front of where they were surfacing and let it sit until a strike. If I didn’t get a strike after a couple of minutes or longer I would cast to another spot.
Summing Up My Stay At Loon Bay Recreation Site
All in all I had a very enjoyable time at Loon Bay Recreation Site. The weather held for me and the wildlife was great. Fishing was okay after I stopped using a worm/bobber and switched to my fly fishing gear.
The area is very beautiful and I took a lot of pictures and a couple videos. The site was very clean and I didn’t have to remove any garbage like I did from other campgrounds I have visited recently.
The picnic tables, pit toilets and fire rings were well maintained also. Someone even left me a few sticks of firewood so I reciprocated when I left. I do this every time I leave a campsite usually.
I watched an Eagle try to take a Canada Goose but didn’t succeed. I thought to myself “What is he going to do if he catches it?” “Pretty heavy prey to try and get off the water and he was a long way out so swimming back to shore was out of the question.” A last minute maneuver to a lower altitude was all it took for the Goose to escape as the Eagle was too tired by then and gave up.
If you get a chance to get a campsite here you won’t be disappointed. Probably better chances if you try during the off season. Although there are many other recreation sites nearby to check out. Sites like Fry Lake, Dogwood Bay, Fir Grove, Petite Gosling, Gosling Bay and Burnt Beach are only a hop, skip and jump away.
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