The Cobb Island Gallery is a collection of images from stay there in late August 2012. By some standards the weather was perfect, 30C heat, low winds. After a few days of that, it actually gets a little stressful, as the shallow water quickly heats up. Soon there is no escape.
In my search for a new cottage property I stumbled upon the concept of Crown Land as a camping area. I’ve heard the term, but never really connected the dots. You can identify which is which on a this government website or this government website.
The general rules for crown land camping can be found here.
Generally no parcel information means crown land. There are some areas along the shores of Georgian Bay that have been designated conservation areas. What that means for usage varies from area to area, so additional research is required. Many of the conservation areas up north are designated so as to prevent further development.
In the south, a conservation area is a day use only park like environment, with roads, parking lots, cut grass, and more. Very civilized.
The area I camped in is localized to Cobb Island, which is north west of Sandy Island in the Parry Sound area. By what lucky roll of the dice this area was not bought up, down to the last square foot is a mystery. It might have something to do with the shallow waters in that area. Some of the local cottagers and fisher men have the routes figured out, and can be seen boat along as they’re late for dinner. Me, going very slowly, nearly ran the boat onto a few shoals. Even kayaking, I managed to get hung up a couple of times.