Inside Okeechobee Lodge and More

For many years, we have boated past Okeechobee Lodge at the entrance to Baie Fine. This year we found out that you could book a slip at Okeechobee on their website. The site said no amenities, but you could get cell signal. We thought it would be fun and the cell signal would be useful for Cam to work.

First, we spent a night on anchor in Nichols Bay, the horseshoe shaped bay at the far east end of Fraser Bay, before heading to Okeechobee. We met Ted, Jill and Sam there from Nice Aft, another looping boat that we would run into several times during our loop. It turns out that we both started our loops at Beacon Bay Marina in Penetanguishene. Cam has created a video of our anchorage at Nichols Bay, but we call it Heather's Cove. It's a long story.

When we arrived at Okeechobee Lodge, we were greeted by the owners, Glenn and Laurel, and their dog Eaton. They were very welcoming and Glenn even walked us half way on a hike of the Okeechobee Trail to make sure we found our way and told us the history of the area. It started as a high end fishing camp that was built in 1940 and opened in 1945. The original owner had ties to Lake Okeechobee in Florida so

that's where the name came from. Okeechobee means "Big Water" so the name was fitting for the lodge. They boast that three sitting American presidents once stayed there, and one Canadian Prime Minister. In the main lodge there is a great selection of photos and memorabilia from years past that Glenn and Laurel shared. It was like a trip back in time!

The lodge had most of it's original art including a numbered print from A.J. Casson, a founding member of the Group of Seven, and an original Evinrude motor. The Evinrude family owns a cottage at the far east end of Baie Fine.

We enjoyed a great hike, walks on the property, time working in the Okeechobee Lodge dining room where we got the best cell signal, time visiting with Glenn and Laurel in the Lodge, and then the Northern Lights over our boat! They really know how to put on a show!

Next we went to the Pool at the end of Baie Fine where there was no cell signal and we couldn't even get a weather broadcast. There we found ourselves beside the first Looper boat, Out of the Blue with Pam and Bob, who we met previously in Shotgun Bay in the Massassauga Region. We enjoyed docktails with them after a dinghy explore of the area. Who knew that this would be the start to such a long lasting friendship.

The next day we did the well known Lake Topaz hike which did not disappoint. Someone suggested that we follow a trail just to the right of Lake Topaz as you leave to get a lookout down to the Pool. It was a spectacular view.

On our last day, we blazed a trail to find Artists Lake. We had been there before by dinghy, but the run was too weedy and our props could not take it. So we embarked on the first part of the Lake Topaz hike, but turned right at the first crossroads. We followed that to the stream and then followed the stream to Artists Lake. We were overrun with mosquitoes, but it was worth it!

There was a turtle that we saw at the entrance to the narrows, and then at least one other that kept visiting our boat. Watch our video called More than Fine in Baie Fine to see our turtle and more.