Nice campground, well maintained and now if the rain would hold off for another day! Solid place,…read moreI'd come back.

If you're going to go camping in Northern Ontario, this is a good starting point…read more I'm surprised that there's a lack of representation for camping sites and Ontario Provincial parks on Yelp. There's so much to do and see out there, and the quality of my recent camping trip to the Georgian Bay area was stellar. You would expect there to be a lot of reviews written about these places, considering some of them have the capacity to host hundreds of campers at any given time. My group ended up opting for Sturgeon Bay, a bit of a "starter park" located just off Hwy 529. It may not be the biggest or flashiest park around, but it makes up for it with a lower risk of encountering animals and a lower noise level. After getting our permit from the head office (from the park warden, who looked like he stepped off the set of a park forestry commercial), we settled into our site, a decent-sized area near the back of the park. The benefit to this location is that we didn't have to deal with a lot of the noise of other areas (and got up to our own shenanigans with a nearby group on the final night we were there). If there was a downside to the weekend we went, it's that it gets extremely cold extremely quick, even at the beginning of September. We were sitting outside on the first night grilling hot dogs, and I was wrapped up in my sleeping bag trying to keep warm. If you are going to come up to the park in August/September, make sure you pack a coat. The park amenities are decent. There are plenty of washrooms throughout the site, each with their own separate sink and soap receptacle. There are cabins located across the street from the park, along with the showers. If there's something the staff need to work on, it's adding more showers. There are only two of them, causing lineups nearly every time you go. Not to mention that (if my friend's account is any indication) the warm water runs out extremely fast, especially if you're using the laundry room next door. There's a nice beach in the middle of the park that looks out into Georgian Bay, but we were unable to go swimming due to algae in the water. Apparently, this is the first time in a while that algae levels had been that high. If there are bears in the park, I didn't encounter them. In fact, some of the people we met at the site were so nonchalant that they apparently slept with their tents open, not caring about mosquitoes. That's not... something I would have recommended, because I did hear something outside my tent swatting at a bag of garbage the first night I was there. That said, t would recommend Sturgeon Bay for those who want to get into camping. The service is decent, the sites are clean and well-monitored and the experience was fantastic. Can't ask for much more than that.

My BF and I have been camping since we started dating and this year we decided to branch out from…read moreour car camping. I picked a new location, The Massasauga Provincial Park and we set to our adventure. Here is a breakdown of the weekend: 1. Arrive at the information point and mention that we have a site. The girl there gives me a map of the access point and sends me on my way. 45 minutes later we find out that at the information point is where we get our Canoe (BTW- no one told me I was strapping a canoe to my car!) and register... back to the information office. 2, 1.5 hours later we get in the canoe and head to our site. there were 5 portages, 1 of which wasn't labelled accurately and there wasn't a defined trail, another didn't even have the sign up!. Anyways, we finally arrive at our very isolated site, only to find that it was a site on a rock surrounded by marsh (site 108 if you ever care to go). 3. We high tailed it back to the last site we saw that looked vacant (Site 107) - it was 45 minutes away from 108 and we set up camp as the sun went down. This site was brilliant. On a beautiful isolated lake. We never saw another human the entire time. Brilliant location. 4. On our return, there was another portage that wasn't labeled that also led us to the labeled exit which wasn't actually an exit. We have to go thru the beaver trees to get over to the other lake. The reason why I am giving this park an A-Ok is because although we went thru absolute intensity to get to our site, it was the most beautiful site and most beautiful lake I have seen. Ontario has some incredible landscape and this was no exception. I highly recommend you check out the sites on Massasauga and perhaps only endure 1 or 2 portages. all of the sites were fabulous minus 108.

Beautiful paddling in Georgian Bay area! You will see lots of cottages, though. Most campsites…read moreare generous and well maintained, though popular ones will often show signs of use. Knowledge of your route before you go in is important. Most kayakers access through Pete's place because there are fewer portages to surrounding campsites. Canoe rentals also seem to happen at Pete's Place. There is also an access point at 3 Legged Lake. Be cautious if you are planning on bringing a canoe out into the more open water of Georgian Bay.

This is a cute KOA that has a heated pool, mini golf. We found it to be quiet and there was a lot…read moreof kids! There were lots of people With ATVs as the trails can be accessed fro The park!

The staff was very gracious, which is the only reason I gave this two stars. This campground is in…read morethe middle of a bog and the mosquitoes are horrendous (you should expect this, but we came in the dark). Additionally, it is right beside a very busy rail line. We experienced six freight trains in one night and they blow the whistle at every crossing. Terrible location for a campground.

My husband and I stayed at Georgian Bay Park for 9 nights in September. The park is immaculate, the…read morewashrooms and showers are new and clean. I found the owner very approachable and friendly. Also contacted the Camp host and he was very helpful. I would stay here again definitely. Situated in a beautiful area of a beach resort community and close to Barrie, Collingwood and other major centers as well.

My family and I were there for 4 nights and we had an amazing time. We chose to RV this trip and…read morethe sites were beautiful, they included electricity, water, and sewage. The owner Don would drive by the sites every day and make sure everything was okay. Along with Don, the staff there is very friendly and always willing to help! Beautiful trails and scenery along with a watchtower looking over the water. If I could rate this park 6 stars I would, highly recommend for you and your family.

Absolute hands down my favourite provincial park I've camped at- so much so that I have been there…read moreat least 5 years, and always between the same 2 sites. Ok, let's get the cons out the way, but first you have to know typically when I camp, I want NOTHING to do with humanity, at least as much as possible. Peace and QUIET is what I camp for with the occasional spattering of cottage-goer type activity. So those cons? 1. The train tracks are DIRECTLY across the road from the entrance to this exceptionally small park and are used frequently, sometimes late at night. Tracks so close that your tent, if not properly pegged down, may rumble off your site! not quite that bad - not *quite*. You can't get away from the sound. It's quite peaceful when it starts off in the distance... and when it honks it's horn right as it rumbles along side the park... let's just say I've jumped once or twice from it 2. The highway across the lake... it sounds like it's much closer than that. The nice part of the highway is it eventually blends into the background. And that friends, is the end of the cons There are a ton of activities at this park - a hiking trail that begins beside the tracks across the road and leads all the way to Georgian Bay, passes a marsh with lookouts and continues through the forest. Canoes, paddle boats and SUP (I think) can all be rented from the store and the lake is small enough you can paddle most of it in an afternoon. Swimming is incredible at this park and if you're not anti social as I am, there is a wonderfully large beach on the west side of the park where you can walk out for a couple hundred feet or so before you can't touch the bottom. And the best part... there is cliff jumping!! My sister faces the cliff for jumping from, which I have doomed many times- but not from the highest jump #toonervous Seriously, if you want to experience camping with your own piece of paradise that has private waterfront access, and has almost all the amenities that cottaging does... YOU'VE FOUND YOUR CAMPGROUND!!

Our site here was beautiful. There are a couple of site right along the lake, and there's nothing…read morebetter than being able to jump in the lake right from your temporary home. (Tip: 129,130,131 and there are few on the other side) Sites however, are pretty close together, and some in the oddest of places which remained empty all weekend. Between sites, are barely a few trees, if you're lucky enough, so if you're looking for something more private, I would avoid this park. I saw some sites where you're dining with your neighbour the entire time. I think there must be more trees in my neighbourhood at back in the city. I was also shocked and annoyed by the freight train that rumbles and honks its horn very loudly. Friday night, it was happening almost every hour until past 12am, less on the weekend, but unavoidable. Everytime it happened, it reminded me that I'm not secluded in the woods and that I will have to back to the city. It was great when it was quiet. They also had some weird rule about having only 1 car parked at your site, even though in most cases, there clearly was enough space. I don't know if this was just a cash grab of $12 a night, but highly inconvenient. This was the first place I've seen with non-outhouse toilets scattered about. They were even cleaner than the comfort stations (area with showers). That was nice for someone like me. There's not much to do here really, and it is perfect for those who want to just relax and not do much. Swim in the lake and enjoy being outdoors. For hiking, you'll have to drive 30mins to Seguin park as there are no trails here. They have canoe rentals (with ridiculous policies, more on that later), but really can go just around the lake and not much to see. There's a beach, but it's not big, and the sand was damp with tire marks. It seemed like the type of place you would stay, but during the day venture out to do other things. There was even movie times posted in the office for Parry Sound, and wondering if that is an activity people do here. Do not trust the signage in the office. For some reason they are wrong and are not updated. The girls in there, would give conflicting information and was extremely confused the more questions we asked. It was frustrating. Our canoe rental experience here has prompted us to go and purchase our own, as this was probably most convoluted process I've experienced. They state in the newspaper and signs that a full day rental $42, 4 hours $25. Apparently a full day means 8am-4pm, and not overnight. The canoe has to be returned at 3pm or 3:30pm (depends who you ask) as the office closes at 4pm. We had assumed that full day meant an overnight rental (we also called to confirm) so Saturday morning we weren't in a rush to go get the canoe or use it. most other parks have this policy. When we got to the office around 1pm, we were told we had to return the canoe at 4pm or be charged a penalty of $42. We only had the option of renting it at $25. Now if they just had stated an overnight rental would be $67.... After checking if there was other places to rent a canoe, we decided on the now 3 hours of canoe. But then filling out the paper work (she was so slow!) and then going out to check the scratches on the canoe so thoroughly like rental car ate into our paid canoeing time at least 30mins. And we were the only ones renting, so what was the fuss. There was also a $500 deposit. Upon returning the canoe she almost forgot that we rented 2 canoes, and therefore should be owed $1000 back. I wasn't impressed by the whole thing more infuriated by the consistent information given to us by the office. The area is great, but probably would only come back to this park wiser, with our own canoe, and stay longer (so that going out to excursions wouldn't seem like it was so wasteful) just to have access to the beautiful lake.

Absolutely amazing park, by far the most beautiful place in Ontario. We stayed at Lake George…read morecampground and did 3 hikes incl. the famous "Crack" and then rented a canoe for a day and went all the way to OSA lake and back. If you want to visit the park, plan far in advance, especially for summer months. Most sites are booked 6 months in advance. Bring sturdy hiking boots, especially for the "Crack" hike, there is a lot of climbing and jumping from rock to rock. Also, bring your own firewood, the one they sell in the park is wet and rotten, cut from the fallen trees. The only place you can buy dry firewood nearby is Killarney outfitters but it costs a ridiculous $16+tax for the bag of firewood that will last you for 2-3 hours.

Beautiful grounds and a slice of Canadiana about 4 hours north of the city (expect shoddy wifi)…read more Stayed two night on the campgrounds steps from the lake where you can star faze in the evening after a late night dinner on the BBQ. You also have several options for hiking, we went to Granite Ridge across the highway where yoynare rewarded with splendid views of landscapes and vista's of Georgian Bay. Definately a great option away for the city, but don't forget to reserve your spot early! -Zuk

This is a review for day-use only, as the park is actually closed for camping during this time of…read morethe year. There are a couple of day-use lots on the outside of the actual park for locals to use, I don't believe you can drive into the park proper to use it for day use. At the time we visited, Orillia was close to peak color, so it was a fantastic time. It was a nice day for a hike, and there were quite a few other people using the park as well -- there's a little beach area in the day use part as well as a playground and places for taking your dog on leash. We went and followed the trails in the park, there seems to be a few that can be used, one in the treeline and one along the lake. You can make a decent little loop of a couple of kilometers. There's nothing incredibly challenging about this little hike, to be honest, but the tree colors make for some gorgeous photos. I'll definitely want to come back and visit here and go camping during the season. A really lovely provincial park!

It's a beautiful day to spend at Awenda Provincial Park!…read more We walked while others were biking the trails enjoying the outdoors while not having to wear a mask but social distancing when encountering others. Remember to pay and display your park use permit on your vehicle dash; strictly enforced or you can pay a $30 parking ticket. The machine accepts cash or credit card. It was a $15.50 charge for day use since the machine didn't allow an hourly selection. Gorgeous and tranquil nature along the shores of Georgian Bay.

I pulled a 'walk in' at Awenda park last weekend (July 1st long weekend). Have never been to Awenda…read morebefore, but read stellar reviews so my friends and I thought we'd give it a try. I knew we could only get walk in, but I didn't realize that if they have sites available, you can only have it for one night. They keep approx 60 sites each night for walk ins. Since we wanted to stay for two nights, we had to put our name on a 'roll call' list for the 2nd night. We also had to be at the office for 1pm SHARP and if our name was called, we got a 2nd night. I don't understand how, if they have 60 sites on Friday, they don't have 60 sites on Sat, since you can only stay for one night without getting on the list. But the next day they only had 5 sites available. Luckily we got there early enough and we got 2nd on the list, and got a site across the road (still in Turtle). A short move. The park itself is huge. There are 5 campgrounds in the park I believe. We chose Turtle. There are also 4 beaches, one dedicated to the fury friends. YOU WILL NEED TO DRIVE TO ALL THE BEACHES. If you try and walk, be ready for 45 minor 1.5 hr walk. They are not close. If you have bikes, the ride is nice, but also a bit far... and there's a steep hill on the way to the beaches so be ready to walk or I hope you're cardio is good :) I can only speak for Turtle... it was lovely, sites spaced far apart and heavily shielded above from the sun. Large, tall hardwood trees cover the park. There is warning of lots of poison ivy. Even though they have a plant at the office, I still couldn't spot it in the forest. Thankfully I didn't run into any. Bathrooms were relatively clean, till of course the next morning when there's flies and moths flying about. They close the bathrooms from 11:50-12:10 daily to clean them. The beaches are ROCKY. VERY VERY ROCKY. On beach 1 there is a sandy part on the FAR left (when looking at the water) that has been cleaned up a bit so you can walk on the sand. Otherwise, if you try to walk out in the middle, you will be stepping on rocks and it friggin hurts. Ladies: do not get a pedicure before you go to the beach. You'll be severly p-o'd if you did. I never do, but just a word of advice. I would definitely go back, try the other campgrounds. I hear there are some nice trails for hiking... the road to the beach is a hike itself.. It's nice and only 2hrs from Toronto. Great getaway!

Had a great stay. Sites were big and clean and very well spaced apart. Didn't see the neighbors if…read moreyou didn't want to.

Only $30CAN per night! Rolled up on a beautiful Thursday at 9pm, just trying to get a bite and…read moresome smoked salmon/trout for breakfast the next morning, but the place was so nice, we rested our bones there instead of the other campsite we had planned to stay at. For $30 we got a spot 10' off the lake! Tons of room. Enough space for 3 tents. Had a table and fire pit built in. People seemed cool. Only there one night, and something bear-ish definitely crept past our tent and went for a midnight swim (loudly). The fishing was STRAIGHT. Caught a walleye after only 4 casts. Shoulda' ate it... The skeeters are why I have to withhold a star. Those Canadian mosquitoes are easily the most aggressive insects I've ever encountered. They didn't always bite you or leave you itching, but when they swarm, mahfucka's will LAND ON YOUR EYEBALL. No joke. I definitely huffed a few while smoking a jack too... The food at the front of the campsite (we got fish and chips) was only OK. The poutine style fries (covered in gravy and shredded cheese) were only OK too. The general store sold fishing/camping gear as well as limited groceries and such. Well, they also sold the best smoked salmon I've ever had. I bought rainbow trout, coho salmon, and atlantic salmon. The atlantic salmon, probably caught nearby and dated only 3 days prior, was drip down your forearm oily (which is a good thing when dealing with an oily fish-and besides, fish oil is about the healthiest thing in the world outside of blueberries). The coho and trout were tasty but nearly as good.