Remote Wilderness Island with Comfy Fishing Cabin
Westshore Island
Lake of the Woods
Ontario, Canada
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.
Remote & Wild
Aside from a few scattered neighbors and periodic passing boats, Westshore Island offers profound solitude, a place for a respite where you can become one with the flow of nature around you.
The Cabin & Boathouse
You’ll need some basic navigations skills just 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 generator cords to recharge trolling batteries.
Latest News
Our Location
How to Get there:
Fly into Winnipeg
Drive to Kenora
Boat from Kenora to Island
Please read carefully
Westshore Island is Not for Everyone.
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 guest room or bath above the boathouse. We do provide a collection of solar and battery lanterns for use there, as well as pitchers and basins for simple washing up.
To avoid pests and wildlife getting in, we keep limited food in the cabin. You will need to bring everything with you, but there is a convenient Safeway with docks in Kenora and a smaller store in Sioux Narrows. We do have adequate refrigerator, freezer and cooler space for most groups, but it is finite and you need to plan carefully to use this space wisely. It is difficult to go more than a week without a resupply trip to Kenora or Sioux Narrows. We have a suggested shopping list and are happy to help you plan out your stay.
We try to have the cabin turnkey ready but things do happen. In case something isn’t working we provide a detailed user’s guide that walks you through how to troubleshoot 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.
More information about the Cabin & the Boathouse
Reviews
(We have no reviews from 2020 or 2021 because the island was closed due to Covid)
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Susan - August 2022
We have stayed at the cabin twice - it's a relaxing, peaceful spot in a beautiful and remote location. The owner is very responsive and helpful and gives useful information in advance about what to expect in an off the grid cabin.
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Jason - August 2022
We love the remote location which is very quiet, peaceful, and beautiful. Ben is a helpful and responsive host.
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Brant - August 2022
Great, remote location for fishing or outdoor getaway! Host was helpful and accommodating. Had all the amenities we needed!
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Jason - August 2022
So glad to be back in this beautiful paradise! Cabin was the perfect base camp for our fishing and island adventures.
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Brant - July 2022
Great remote place on the lake. Perfect for fishing or wilderness get away!
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Nate - Aug 2019
This place is way better than advertised!!! Prime location, beautiful scenery and great fishing very close. Will most certainly come back to stay in the future. Ben was very responsive and provided a manual that answered every question you could think of about the property.
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John - Oct 2018
Great isolated place in prime fishing area.
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Brant - July 2018
Awesome place, remote a nice get away.
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Jason - Aug 2018
The location and cabin are spectacular!!! Love the wildlife and scenery everywhere you look. Would go back again and again!
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John Sept 2017
Perfect location for fishing. Better have a good map for the lake, reliable boat and navigation skills to get there. House was very comfortable and kitchen was good size. Great views!
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Sheri - Aug 2017
The Island cabin was wonderful and exactly as expected thanks to Ben's communication. Sunsets were spectacular. Knowledge of the lake is essential.
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Martin - June 2017
This place is incredible! We had a fantastic time on the island, it's gorgeous and serene out so far on the lake, and the fishing is amazing. … We had an incredible experience and wish we had spent longer out there!
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Rod - September 2023
This is a nostalgic lake cabin located in a fantastic location! Beautiful views of all the islands. Great sunsets. We had great fishing nearby. We truly wished we could have stayed longer, and hope to return sometime. The photos of the cabin and boathouse are accurate. It is a great set up for a remote location. The owners have done a lot of updating with the solar panels and generator. Everything worked great. The owners are very forthright in their description of the interior of the cabin being rustic and having some ground in dirt from being 50 years old. We were completely ok with this, some people might not be .
Overall it is just such a cool property! If you like this type of destination, you will love it here.
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Kevin - September 2023
It was a awesome location, quick responses and help us make the trip easy! We loved hanging out one the docks in front of the boat house just relaxing
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Brant -
3rd time here for our group. Excellent location and cabin.