This is an amazing spot to camp. Located about 3hrs from Toronto, it makes it a pretty accessible…read moredrive. Plenty of sites to book, they also have cabins/yurts to rent. There is also a small store in case you've forgotten essentials, or just want an ice cream! Check in was easy, the routes to the sites are marked clearly and plenty of space between sites. Washrooms are decently cleaned and throughout the park. Plenty of activities to do - rent kayaks/canoes (including life jackets) and enjoy a fun day on the water while trying to catch the pictographs! Lots of trails to take in the views, some beach areas for the kids to splash and play as well. The park rangers do a good job of patrolling to make sure no issues.

Would love to rate this but unfortunately my family missed our boat tour time which was almost the…read moreentire reason for our trip. We did not realize we had to drive through the park to a parking lot and then find our way to the company/gift shop beside the visitor centre. By time we found where to go, we were about 15-20 minutes past our time. Colour me shocked when they would not even entertain the idea of letting us go on another boat if there were empty seats available. 10 minutes in advance of this is not enough time. It should be clear for those who have never visited Bon Echo that you should plan a half hour in advance by time you pay your park entrance fee, park and give yourself enough time to hike the many trails around the park if you get turned around and go to the wrong place (we went to the canoe rentals first by accident, then the visitor centre, and then the boat company's gift shop who own the tour). I am disgusted that they would not even try to work with us. We weren't asking to displace anyone else or block other last minute people from purchasing tickets. It was just to fill seats that were going to be empty. Their response was, "sure, you can go later this afternoon but you have to pay again". So ultimately we drove 5 hours from Hamilton to give you $160 for nothing. I should make this extremely clear that this is in no way Bon Echo's fault, it is the private tour company operator.

I was looking for a new place to hike less than 1 hour away from Ottawa, this was about 40 min…read moredrive and based on the description seemed perfect..and it was. The park is filled with wildlife, we only saw a few deer, turtles, frogs and snakes but we were also with a bunch of very loud kids. The trials are very well marked both by marks you can spot so you won't get lost but the different trails are also color coded (and the marks) which makes everything easier. The trails are not long around 1-3 km so you can combine a few and the place is just magical filled with viewpoints, places to go into the river to cool down, swim or fish. BTW the trails are covered by the trees so its perfect even on a hot day. At the entrance, there is a parking lot (3$ a day self-paid machine), toilets and a couple of picnic tables. I highly recommend this place for kids or a short nature relaxation hike.

This is just a beautiful lake with many lovely sights. 2 Osprey nest- great viewing, beaver dams,…read moretwo types of water turtles, Loons- love their calls, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, boating. We stayed a week at Serenity House B & B on Buck Lake (check out my yelp review on them) and had a relaxing grand time and met some lovely locals. Great community!

I love going to Pink Lake during Autumn! My favorite season. The park is simply stunning…read more It's extremely busy on the weekend, so I do recommend going during the week if you can, otherwise it's a big struggle finding a parking space.

I absolutely love this trail! The views are gorgeous, the water is Crystal blue especially on sunny…read moredays. Very doable for any body type or age group (beginner or advanced) it's roughly 5km! Enjoy!!

Nice campground. Lake is accessible…read more No pet beach, but we managed with 2 dogs. Staffing is low, but the place is clean. Store has a great selection of gifts and snacks. We're coming back for sure

Going with 4 stars on this one because that's what it deserves, but honestly for me it was a 3 star…read moreexperience. If you DO have a dog (and u r bringing ur furchild with u) and/or if u DONT have a boat...then likely u will find this a 3 star experience as well, if not less. Location: 4h from Montreal, a super easy drive straight through Ottawa to the end of the 417 then off on some county roads. Easy peasey. Once you get to the county roads it's beautiful hills of forests with lakes and ponds that appear out of nowhere. Quite pretty. This campground is not even 1 hour away from Algonquin Provincial Park so that's why we chose it (Algonquin was fully booked, this was our 2nd choice). Campsites: Oh boy. Warning: objects in photos on the reservation site appear larger than they are in real life! We chose site 62 thinking its' marsh led into Bonnechere River, this was not the case. The marshes do NOT lead to the river so if you want a water front site (which I highly recommend) you're going to have to pick one that specifies RIVER ACCESS. (Basically you want sites: 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 79, 81, 83, 85, 87, 88, 89, 91, 93, 95, 97 or 99. Only some of these options are perfect, but hey, for direct river access it's worth it). The campsites are large enough for tents and/or trailer combinations with shelters, have 2 picnic tables which are movable and a decent short iron firepit with grill. You'll be pitching your tent on sand, so easy to peg. Scenery: the beautiful lake at this campground was stunning! Typical Ontario forestry in the valley of the mountains. The variety of trees at our campsite alone was awesome. Weather: It rained for a whole day and night but other than that we were pretty lucky, not too cold. Weather is more predictable here than other mountainous territory, so using your weather app is a good idea to prepare. Build a rain shelter stat. You'll thank me. Commodities/Accommodations: - DOGS ALLOWED! ***However you cannot bring your dog anywhere close to the gorgeous beach. That sucks and severely limits the areas you can enjoy if you don't have a waterfront site. (We spent all our time fishing off a boat launch area in between sites 91 and 93 'cuz that's as close as we could get to the water with Irie). - Several comfort stations all with flush toilets and showers, a few with laundry machines too. - Dry vaults with sinks to wash your hands, evenly spaced in the loops, quite stinky but did the trick. - Park store with variety of food, supplies, wood (2/12$, 5$ kindling), ice (3.50$), worms(4$), gifts etc. They even have wagons you can borrow to trek your wood to your car. - Kayaks and canoes rental (35$/d 8$/h) - A few rustic cabins to rent off in the trails with river access at some of them - The only sites with electrical access do not have access to the river (which is fine for me but I mention it for those who require outlets) - Very VERY well kept clean park with amazing friendly staff (even reimbursed 100% of one of our nights due to a family emergency) Activities: The "FIT trail" at Bonnechere Campground is much, much smaller than it looks on the map and while it's pretty and simple, if you don't happen to do this trail while here, trust me it's no big deal. GO TO ALGONQUIN PROVINCIAL PARK! Not an option, you cannot come to this campground and not go take advantage of the hiking trails at Algonquin for 17$ for everyone in your car to have access. It's an hour away down the 60 and my gawd! You have to do this! Wildlife: apparently there was an "Active Bear in Campground" for most of the days we stayed but we never ran into him/her. Plenty of adorable, obviously hand fed, chipmunks (they came right up to our feet without anything in our hand to offer them). Even saw some kool turtles basking on the fallen logs in the marsh behind our site. Plenty of different birds, friendly blue jays, even saw a Pied King Fisher!! Also saw a coupla turkey vultures chilling on posts on the roads. Tons of frogs and toads of all sizes. Caught plenty and plenty of pumpkinseed sunfish, someone else caught a pike n someone else caught a large mouth bass. Overall if your goal is Algonquin and you waited too long to book your site there...go ahead and come here but still plan your days to go to Algonquin. Otherwise, if you have a boat or don't have a dog you will seriously love this place!

At the end April 2022, my husband and I went to Black Rapids Park in hopes of having a picnic…read morethere. Unfortunately, they still had the picnic tables all in a pile and chained up, so we couldn't use them. The park was covered in goose poop, so we didn't want to eat on the grass and ended up eating in the car, lol. Parking is not free at this park, you have to pay. The parking lot is owned by Indigo Parking and it's $1.25 an hour with a 4 hour maximum. The parking lot is also fairly small, so it fills up quickly. If the parking lot is full, there really isn't anywhere else you can park so you'd be out of luck. The turn to get into the parking lot and thus the park is marked, but the road is small, not even 2 full car widths, so it's easy to miss. I missed it first time around and had to double back. Also since the road in is narrow, if someone is coming in and someone else is coming out, the person coming out has to back up. I don't know who designed this place, but I'm not all that impressed with the entrance/exit layout. So as you can see, this park and I did not start off on the right foot, lol. It is pretty, if you disregard all the goose poop and the loud geese walking around. The rapids are cool and there are sections of the park that are picturesque. I personally would be reluctant to bring small kids here because I feel that it's pretty dangerous there if you are not careful. You can fall in the water. Not all sections are adequately fenced off for my comfort level. However, I am a stickler for safety. But I realize that nature is inherently dangerous, so I guess there is some risk to experience its beauty. Glad I got to see the park and the rapids, but I likely won't be back.

I had no idea this place existed until our photographer, Jamie from Hello Lovely Ottawa, suggested…read moreit for our maternity shoot! We were there last summer in June. We weren't the only ones there for a photoshoot either, as we saw a pregnant woman and her partner with a photographer, as well as another couple who seemed to be taking engagement photos. Great location for them! We met Jamie in the parking lot and had no idea what the park would be like, but when we walked down into the park area, it opened up to this huge green space that we didn't expect. There's lots of open green space and small hills, some picnic tables, a few paths in between the trees, and locks where a few people were fishing. It was so beautiful and peaceful at during the "golden hour" at sunset on a weekday, and no mosquitos or any other bugs really, maybe because it was a little windy. I'm not sure what it would be like on weekends during the day, when I could see a lot of families playing and picnics happening. I completely forgot about this park until now, so I can't wait to go back with our babe when the whether is nice! In the meantime, enjoy a few photos of my husband and I screwing around during our photoshoot lol (Just two weeks before our little guy decided to introduce himself to the world!)

Nice family friendly park! Sites are smallish. You really get to know your neighbor because the…read moresites are close to each other. Walking paths are so nice for the dogs!

This is a family park on the St. Lawrence River. The lower sites are right on the water, great view…read moreof Brockville, Canada, ocean going ship traffic and the best sunsets anyplace. The upper sites are in the woods and very private. Protected swimming on a sandy well maintained beach. Great fishing just off the park with boat ramp and docking right in the park. Many river attractions near by on and off the water. The park provides trail guide tours of the many trails. Try the "Beaver Walk" or ask the park staff about Bigfoot. Great park, great staff with many repeat campers from all over and both sides of the border. Very well maintained, clean bathhouses and they sell ice and firewood.

One day, I came here, to the wrong park but it was a great error. I think I was mesmerized by the…read moredocked boats and pulled in. Lots of parking. Nepean Sailing Club. I didn't go in but I don't think it's private. Well kept. Beautiful pathways. Lots of benches for sitting and gazing out at the vast water. Friendly cyclists. Lots of geese. I took my dog the whole way in a big C shape and came back. Great exercise. Loved it here and I'll return. I have to find more friends with boats...

Dick Bell Park is a beautiful park by the Ottawa River. There's a marina there and the Nepean…read moreSailing Club is there too. There's a good length walking path, lots of open green space for picnics on the grass, or they have a few actual picnic tables as well (some even have charcoal grills where you can cook your food). There is a very high concentration of commemorative park benches in this park. More than I have seen in any other park in the city. (as an aside, I looked up the commemorative park bench program in Ottawa, and for around $3500 you can purchase a commemorative park bench, chose your text on the plaque, chose it's location in any municipally-owned park, you donate it to the city, and the city will maintain it in perpetuity. I think this is a beautiful way to remember a loved one. However, Dick Bell Park is apparently full and cannot accommodate anymore commemorative benches. I guess it is a popular location). Lots of people fish at this park. It's very picturesque as it's by the water and in the summer you can see lots of boats in the water. I've never been there at sunrise or sunset, but I'm sure the view would be spectacular at those times. There's free parking on-site.

We have been renting bowriders from Len's Cove for close to 10 years now. It's always been a great…read moreexperience---the staff are friendly and helpful, and the boats are always in amazing shape. This year, we decided to transition from renters to owners, and so we bought a Mastercraft NXT20 from Len's. I've got to say---I can't imagine a better purchasing experience! The team at Len's really has this process dialed, and made it very clear and easy for my wife and I to know and understand all the steps (and the timeline of those steps) leading up to our taking possession of the boat. Everyone at Len's was so helpful and responsive, and even now that the purchase is over and done we feel a tremendous level of support from the Len's team in the continuing care and maintenance of the NXT. Len's make you feel like you're their only customer...marrying excellent customer service with professional competence. Needless to say, we are now loyal Len's customers...a loyalty and trust earned over almost a decade of great experiences. Many thanks to Sean, Dave, Fraser, Bonnie, Timmy, and everyone else at Len's for everything you do...we feel so lucky to have found you guys!

We purchased a brand new Barletta Corsa from Lens Cove in the fall of 2023 and took delivery in the…read moreSpring of 2024. We did a lot of research last summer into the type and model of Boat we wanted. When spending close to 200K, it is a big investment so we did our homework. Our new Boat was ordered through Lens Cove directly from the Factory. Throughout the process Lens Cove staff and the Barletta factory staff were very helpful and quick to answer our numerous questions. I want to extend a special thank you to Megan Malette, Dave Loney and Nathan Horsfall from Lens Cove. They both went above and beyond throughout the buying process. From the initial consultations on colour, to the back and forth on the options to the day our boat was delivered, we would not be happier. I would highly recommend both Lens Cove Marina and Barletta for your next luxury boat purchase! Denis & Ingrid Patry Ottawa