Cottonwood Beach Recreation Site (Mabel Lake)

Cottonwood Beach is the Lumby side of Mabel Lake: 49 forest campsites behind a sandy swimming beach on the quieter east shore, reached by a good gravel road that turns off the Mabel Lake Forest Service Road at the 27-kilometre mark. It is a little smaller and a little calmer than Noisy Creek across the lake, with the same clear, cold water and room to launch a boat if you have all-wheel drive. No reservations, no services — bring firewood, water and everything you plan to eat.