So I am curious. Our trip is planned and I have info regarding the campsites, 5 star and otherwise. In some cases, we will pass by ostensibly "lesser" sites before we reach the 5 star designation. Recognizing that the 5 star site may be unavailable when you arrive and possibly miles down the lake, what do people do. We are going to Brent for example and I would like to camp near the portages to Conmee and Suzanette but we will pass 3 other nice sites (portaging into Brent from Argo) before we reach that midlake site which I gather is pretty popular. Should we stop if the other nice sites are available or take our chances. Survey says............

this last trip really drove home this point to us....one persons five star can be a 2.5 to you. some live up to their rep, many do not. if you hit a campsite that would work for your group id take it and stop chasing "the perfect".

That is always the question isn't it. THere is an awesome site right there by the Brent to Conmee portage How do I know--my friend Maverick has stayed there severla times and tells me how great it is...Myself I have passed up other sites 3-4x to head to that site and has been taken everytime :) and I have stuck on a fosaken rock of a campsite each time.

So you won't know until ya get there....

BTW---I had a great time everytime either way.


T

doesn't matter to me much...I don't stay still long anyway

Dilemma inside an enigma inside a conundrum. Follow your hearts desire. I have been on "five stars" and enjoyed them as well I have been on five stars" and found them lacking. I often find sites others rate as "3 stars" to be very nice. Usually sites others rate as "1star" turn out to be poor so if that is the alternative I keep moving. I easily settle for good vs. ideal but I never settle for poor unless weather forces my hand.

If you are talking about the Brent site near the portage to Suzanette, we stayed there in 2005. We thought it was nice but overused. It sits up on a nob of granite, has great views...it's OK but if you are looking for pine duff....it's all gone. Here are some pics.

+1 with other posters. I would not back myself into a campsite corner late in the day with no other viable options on a chance and end up on a crap hole rock campsite very wind exposed for the night. Been there done that. No thanks. Good Luck.

I say go for the 5-star. I've never been there so if it's a long ways down the lake from other sites, then maybe not. If you do go for it, don't drive yourself crazy hoping that it will be open. Last summer, I was really looking forward to staying at a 5-star site that I heard great things about and I was very disappointed, the site was nice but it didn't live up to the hype.

That's the problem with advertising great sites--they tend to get pounded, and soon, they are not so great anymore.

A bird in the hand...

I'd say it depends on how much time you plan to spend at the site. If you're basecamping, a nice site is...well...nice. If you get to camp, set up, head out fishing, and get back at dusk, only to eat a quick meal and then go to bed, the nice site probably doesn't matter as much.

I would say: No, not really, which includes most of the elements noted by others. But...my trip is not about the campsite(s). If it's acceptable, I take it. I have stayed at so-called 5-star campsites and 1-star campsites.

Good info. I guess it begs the question what people consider the most important attribute of the sites the choose. If we can walk around the site and find multiple places to cast and catch fish i am a happy clam. Everything else I can deal with, but being able to fish off the site when you are windblown is my biggest issue.

Think of it like a statistician - this is a problem of sample size. How many reviews are there on that 5-star site? Because in my experience with PCD, many sites have only one or two reviews. That means two things. One, that rating by itself has little meaning. Two, if you want to get something out of it, read the actual site reviews and see if they said WHY they made it a 5-star site. That tells you more than the one or to 5.0 ratings.

Same logic applies looking at, say, Trip Advisor for hotels. 5 star reviews, but only 2 reviews? Be skeptical, read the actual reviews, take with grain of salt. 5 star reviews on 100 reviews? Probably a pretty good spot.

There are many many 5 star sites. I would never post a new site to pcd. . Find a site, take a look and determine for yourself. There are jewels all around.

I think it depends a bit on what you are doing. If it is late in the day and you are getting up and moving again the next morning, then no I would say that take a campsite that is available. If however, you are planning a to stay there for a couple of days, then, yes I would push to get to a 5 star site! Even if that meant I had to backtrack after finding it occupied.

I'll take a 5 star site any day over a 1-2 star. In the BW it's probably a 50/50 shot. North of the border. I would think the odds are slightly more in your favor.

Most of what I've seen rated as 5 star I consider "trampled into submission".

quote Banksiana: "Most of what I've seen rated as 5 star I consider "trampled into submission"."

thats a good way to put it.

quote kanoes: "this last trip really drove home this point to us....one persons five star can be a 2.5 to you. some live up to their rep, many do not. if you hit a campsite that would work for your group id take it and stop chasing "the perfect"."

You said it. Lots of 5 star sites are not 5 star in my book. There are very very few 5 star campsites........

I want good pads, good fire pit, good landings, good bug defense, etc, etc. You rarely get all you want on a singular site. When you find all the good, it is generally a solid site.

The McIntyre site on the Island is rated 4 or 5 stars.....I think more like 3 stars. I will be applying ratings where possible.

Later,

Geo

If you are targeting site "JM" on Brent, the closest alternative -- just before it -- would be "J8," a small, functional site in red pines. I would doubt if both JM and J8 would be taken. (If they were, you'd have to paddle further East where there are at least 3 decent choices.) If you're talking about some other site, please disregard this. =) --Goose

Unfortunately, more of that will be on tap as pressre increases over time. Thi is the best it will ever be.

quote arctic: "That's the problem with advertising great sites--they tend to get pounded, and soon, they are not so great anymore."

+1-- I will tell you about the sites imho are 5* in person (no problems)-- but really - REALLY struggle posting about them on the maps page. A lot like fishing spots -- but campsites don't move.

Ratings are personal and the many variables are well discussed here. I also fully validate what is one persons ideal may not meet my needs or interests even closely and have visited sites highly rated and found them pounded like artic and others have noted.

What does help me are photos. Reviewing trip reports pictures and photos on the maps page has helped in planning, often more what to avoid.

And in the end when it is time to find a site what is open and within range is what is most important. If you do use the ratings system or any other planning, remember alternatives.

I guess my problems with the 5 star sites are that they do seem overused for the most part. What does that really matter? Harder to find firewood if that is a concern to you, and more land mines if you are in the Quetico. The "good sites" are often sprawling and contain several tent pads and even several firepits, in Quetico, and are often located amongst a lot of big pines.

What I find interesting is that in BWCA, when a site starts to get to the point that some 5-star sites in Quetico have become, they get closed!

To answer your question, I would probably pass on any 1 or 2s but all 3 star and above deserve attention. Take the first reasonably good one to fit your needs and avoid the potential disappointment that will occur if you have your heart set on a 5 star, only to find it occupied.

I'd rather find a poor site with good bank fishing than a great site with poor bank fishing...but either case is an oxymoron in my rating system!
Joe