Westwood has it right in my opinion.......The key to not getting "turned around" is to pay attention to where you are at all the time or at least until you get a feel for the scale of the park.

In practicality that means having the map visible to you at all times and charting your progress inch by inch on the map. My map is secured via shock cord on the thwart in front of me in its map case. It is a simple matter to continually refer to it as you paddle along. It will also simplify things a great deal if you follow the shoreline as opposed to cutting across the lake to where you think you need to go.