Virtual Saskatchewan - Nesslin Lake

by Dave Yanko

Nesslin Lake is one of those places spilling with memories. Not my memories; I've only been there twice, once for just half a day. Other peoples' memories.

I sense them as I peer into the front window of the little store—closed while the owner runs errands—at the mustard coloured card table with its hand painted border of "five of diamonds" fishhooks. I imagine the laughter and discourse that varnish the bent wood furniture sitting beside it.

One of the wood carvings by the store. That's the beach in the background.

I feel them at the campsites that rim the other end of the beach. Comfortable old blue jeans campsites where teenage boys run one to the next, marshalling friends for an early morning dip. And I picture perfect August nights with crimson faces, electric skies and the aurora borealis twinkle-toeing south across the Milky Way. Nights similar to our first one at Nesslin, come to think of it.

My musings are charged by a bit of knowledge about Nesslin. I know, for instance, that the Ness Creek Festival takes place each July just 10 or 15 minutes back up the road. I know that when I was here with my spouse on a hot day a few weeks ago, two people with a guitar entertained themselves on their own little piece of the expansive beach. And I know that people who care about this place paired up with like-minded souls in Costa Rica to safeguard their natural inheritance from over development. You might say Nesslin's a bit of a throwback to the '60s.

Room to play the guitar out of earshot.

It's the latter part of August when my daughter Kira and I visit. We camp, not just above the beach, but in the more traditional (and more sheltered) "double loop" campground a little further to the east. There are about 50 sites in this area.

The campground is a very pleasant, mixed-wood facility with some unique, elevated sites on the perimeter. Be forewarned, though: In spite of the fact Nesslin Lake Campground is designated a provincial recreation site, there are no service centres or other "fancy" amenities. That means no showers, no sinks and no flush toilets. As long-time campers, we managed well with water heated at our campsite. We spent a fair bit of time in the water, too. If the weather's pleasant, it's hard not to.

Great beach; big drop-off.

Nesslin Lake beach is one of the most impressive I've seen anywhere. It seems more like ocean than a lake beach. Its steep grade, length, depth and curvature make you feel like you're sitting in an amphitheatre watching the summer play out below. On a hot day, the lake is abuzz with anglers, skiers, tubers and pleasure boaters. In fact my first impression, several weeks earlier, was that the entire beach shoreline was given over to boats and boaters. But the friendly beach keeper in a tie-dye t-shirt pointed out two very large swimming areas not immediately apparent to this newcomer. Sure enough, the bouys that first appeared randomly placed hither and yon were actually delineating two large swimming areas.

The steep grade foretells another primary feature of this exceptional beach; there's an abrupt drop-off just a few metres from shore. This is not one of those heralded Saskatchewan beaches where you can walk out for a block.

Boating's big at Nesslin Lake.

In fact, Mr. Tie-Dye informed us Nesslin is one of the deepest lakes in the area (if you're an angler, you're no doubt thinking lake trout. And you're right). Because of its depth, he says, it's the last lake in the area to freeze and thaw. From the air, he adds, Nesslin's even a different colour than neighbouring water bodies.

Nesslin Lake lies at the end of a logging road about 30-40 minutes northeast of the town of Bodmin, located on Hwy #55 about an hour northwest of Shellbrook—it sits just outside the west boundary of Prince Albert National Park about the same distance north as Waskesiu. Pay attention to red flags you encounter on the main logging road that leads to the Ness Lake/Nesslin Lake turnoff—there are a few rough spots. And as with all logging roads in the North, watch out for big rocks and rain, which can quickly make for more adventure than you may have been seeking. But I have to add here that, if you avoid all gravel roads, you'll miss an awful lot of Saskatchewan.

Nesslin Lake lies 13 kms off this main logging road on a smaller road that was in better shape than the main one—the "Zig Zag Campgroud" (sic) sign attached to the provincial one refers to a facility at Delaronde Lake located a few minutes further up the main road. Curiously, signs on the Nesslin Lake road warning of abrupt turns and curves exist only for outbound motorists already familiar with it.

Zig-zagging Ness Creek, and straight Kira.

Just a minute or two in on the Nesslin road will bring you to the Ness Creek Festival site. We toured around it one sunny afternoon and Kira noted the signage and layout were reminiscent of the Shambala festival she attended weeks earlier in Nelson, BC. Although neither of us has experienced the festivities at Ness Creek, Kira said a couple of Shambala patrons she met were well familiar with the Saskatchewan festival. "Ness" gets a five-star rating by a reviewer on the "Hippy Havens" section of hippy.com, which quotes from Abbie Hoffman's Steal this Book on its homepage (not to split hairs, but I think Abbie was actually a yippie).

The Ness site is fastidiously clean a month or so after the annual event. And we're mightily impressed with the beautiful views it affords of Ness Creek, which appears like a zig-zagging line of bog and marsh down below the festival site. In a camping area adjacent to the creek there's a sign that warns of a steep drop-off. Tumbling down that hillside at night surely must be a shared memory for many a festival goer.

During "Ness", which typically takes place over a weekend in mid July, just about every campsite here, and at Nesslin Lake and nearby Ness Lake, are filled. If you're not a music fan fond of music fans, it's likely not a good time to visit.

The sign on the store says: "Hippies use back door -- no exceptions".

On the other hand, if you are, I'm told one visit will seal your fate as a regular.

The contractor operating Nesslin Lake Campground can, with a little lead-time, arrange for a number of wilderness guiding services, including: forest ecology walks; canoe, cycle or horseback trips; wilderness survival expeditions; and photography shoots. Here's more information on Nesslin Lake and area. And here's Kira's story about the festival, which she attended after this story was posted.