Notes from the host
Remote Wilderness Island with Comforts of Home
Beautiful 2.2 acre Westshore Island is a place to escape the modern world, set 20 miles by boat amidst a vast maze of wilderness islands between Kenora and Sioux Narrows, Ontario. There’s a buoyed track leading from either town but once you’re out there, you’re totally on your own, with a cozy off-the-grid cabin and many of the comforts of home, surrounded by prime fishing waters, wildlife and a magnificent landscape filled with countless things to do: canoeing, camping, photography, painting, swimming, water sports and more.
Aside from a few scattered neighbors and periodic passing boats, it offers profound solitude, a place for a respite where you can become one with the flow of nature around you.
You need some navigation and boating skills to reach Westshore Island, but once you get there, we have you covered. Our rustic, but comfortable cabin boasts hot water, shower, composting toilet, generator-backed solar power, gas fridge, stove and oven, cell service and satellite Internet/WiFi. The more primitive boathouse has no AC power or running water, but has beds for four people (just above the waves) and a bathroom with a composting toilet. There is enough dock space for several boats and a generator cords to recharge trolling batteries.
Overall, the sleeping accommodations include three bedrooms with seven beds: a king in the cabin master bedroom, a futon in the living room, a queen and two twins in the boathouse bedroom and two twins in the boathouse bunk room. There are also beautiful tent sites scattered across the island and the facilities are big enough to feed and serve up to ten people, including a well-provisioned kitchen, spacious living room with a hearty wood stove, generator-powered AC power outlets, outdoor fire pit & big screened porch.
We try to have the cabin turnkey ready but there isn’t an onsite person to warm things up and you might have to re-ignite pilot lights or troubleshoot something else. We make it easy with a detailed user’s guide that walks you through all of the systems in use on the island and you can always reach out to us with questions. We also have a handyman standing by in Kenora if you need him.
We hope you’ll come and stay awhile. It takes time to unwind and you’ll have more fun if you stay at least two weeks, a month or even the whole summer. We prefer longer visits, too, and offer big discounts and preferential early booking for more extended stays.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY - Westshore Island is not for Everyone.
A visit to our island is a rare opportunity to stay in a genuine wilderness environment with many of the comforts of home. Time here can be relaxing, peaceful and adventurous, with little evidence of the modern world except for occasional passing boats. However, it's very remote and important to be well-prepared, self-reliant and know exactly what you are getting into before you embark. We provide guests with a detailed users guide but a few things to be aware of before you book:
The island is very remote and accessible only by water! You must have or rent your own boat and be comfortable navigating a buoyed track through a maze of islands. Even if you are familiar with the area, detailed marine charts are essential and GPS is recommended.
We highly recommend that visitors have previous experience with camping and backcountry safety. Guests need to be well-prepared, self-reliant and recognize that they will be on their own with no on-site caretaker standing by to help if things break or something else goes wrong. Please don’t come if you are afraid of seeing a bear.
Although it has seldom happened, there is a possibility that severe weather, waves and wind could temporarily make it dangerous to return to town. Come prepared for the possibility that you might not be able to get home on schedule.
Tap water is filtered after being pumped up from the lake but it is not treated and must be boiled before drinking. We provide several 5-gallon jugs of commercially bottled water to each group.
The camp is swept and stocked after each group, but it is a family-built wilderness cabin that’s 50 years old. There is some ground-in dirt from years of use.
Camp internet is a satellite connection that can be very slow at times and stop working entirely during bad weather. It is intended for basic communications, reading the news and other simple online chores like booking travel plans but it doesn’t have the bandwidth for video streaming, gaming or large file transfers. There is also workable cell service on the island and we highly recommend you use your mobile phone as a hot spot if possible. It's both faster and more reliable.
There is AC power and running water in the cabin but NOT in the boathouse bedroom, bunk room or bath. We do provide a collection of solar and battery lanterns for use there, as well as pitchers and basins for simple washing up.
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Hosted byGordon or Ben Wiltsie
