I was wondering if there are any viable options for camping near Blue Mountain the first week of April?

At Ontario Parks - weekends are pretty much gone: 2 open on Nov 6–8, none on Nov 13–15 or Nov 20–22.

But Sunday to Thursday is wide open:

Silent Lake: 7 yurts and camp cabins free Nov 8–12
MacGregor Point: 6 cabins on Lake Huron, same dates
Arrowhead: 7 of 9 cabins free Nov 1–5
Killarney and Pinery: a few yurts left

Good to know before you book: Ontario Parks has a 2-night minimum on yurts and cabins (about $160 a night), and Sandbanks' cottages only rent Saturday to Friday.

I wrote up the full tables, what's inside a yurt vs. a cabin, and when the first snow usually arrives at each park here

Hi Everyone,

Just just one month to go, some exciting new workshops and activities have been added to the Freezing Woman 8 schedule. Check them out, and how to sign up, here:
https://portal.ripplesandleaves.ca/activities/freezing-woman-8

There's a choose-your own adventure menu of workshops, activities, crafts, and presentations.

Hey Team Ontariocamping, I have a question. Does anyone know if these bags get a second life?

Decided to make a video on my 3 day paddleboard trip into Algonquin, since I've been binge-ing a bunch of canoe camping videos, but it seems like nobody's made a paddleboard camping video yet, and I wasn't sure how feasible a paddleboard would be in Algonquin-sized lakes. Short answer is, weather dependent, but very feasible!

Full video's on youtube, I'm trying to make a chill-vibes-in-the-background style of camping video. Would be happy to answer any questions about the trip :)

Last week at Bon Echo Provincial Park. I thought this would be my second last camping trip before the season ends but then the frost advisory scared me so I ended up cancelling my actual last camping trip... So I guess Bon Echo was our last.. maybe.

We stayed at site 121 at the Sawmill Campground. It always helps to have an electric site during the fall season to help with our portable heater. I like that most of the sites at this Campground are close enough to the main comfort station but the water tap was on the trail below which was a little difficult to grab especially because the way down to the trail from our site was steep. Regardless, it was a beautiful site and had some great views of the lake. I really wanted to hike the clifftop Trail but unfortunately the boats stopped operating after Thanksgiving so we missed out on that. It's a beautiful park and we definitely have to come back for that trail.

Fall camping is such a mood! It's definitely been my favorite time to camp.. less crowds and hardly any bugs!! Let me know where is your favorite park is to camp at during the fall season.

We had some visitors wander through our site at Fitzroy Provincial Park this morning.

Hi, thinking of heading north to Pukaskwa next summer, and to my surprise I learned they don’t take campsite reservations. This stresses me out a bit, as, although I am an experienced boondocker, this place is fairly remote/a 10+ hour drive for no guarantee.

Can anyone share their experiences from visiting there? Is it worth booking an oTENTik cabin just to ensure we have a spot? We’d be looking at arriving mid July, so very much not off-peak. Should we Boondock nearby and arrive into the park in the morning for a better chance at a spot?

Any advice on this, as well as info about your experience at the park would be welcomed and appreciated. I have been up that way and camped around Superior before, but haven’t camped in the park proper.

Thanks!

I am looking to camp on Lake Erie with some friends for a few nights but want to bring my laser pico with me. It is a small boat - 11.5 feet and can fit in the back of my truck without needing a trailer. However, it is a pain to drag long distances so somewhere with beach access parking during the day would be better. Any advice/suggestions are appreciated!

Hey everyone! 😊
I’m heading to Brent Campground this weekend and I’d love to hear from anyone who has camped there before!
I’ve been doing some research, but I’d love to hear firsthand experiences from people who know the area!

Up in the Algonquin Highlands for a week of chasing bucks, stars, tranquility, and sitting in a tree all day freezing my buns off. 10/10 would recommend!

Many Ontario Parks campgrounds shut after Thanksgiving, however, there are still options:

**Winter car camping:** Algonquin (Mew Lake), Arrowhead, Killbear, MacGregor Point, Pinery, Quetico, Silent Lake, Sleeping Giant

**Yurts:** Algonquin (Mew Lake), Killarney, MacGregor Point, Pinery, Silent Lake, Windy Lake

**Rustic cabins:** most of the above, plus Arrowhead, Quetico and Sleeping Giant

**Winter backcountry:** Algonquin, Frontenac, Killarney, Kawartha Highlands, Quetico, Sleeping Giant, Wabakimi, Woodland Caribou

A few tips:

- Killarney's frontcountry tent campground was closed last winter, but its yurts and cabins were open. Check before you plan around it.

- With the 5-month booking window, New Year's and Family Day weekend (Feb 13–15) are already bookable, and the yurts go first.

- Pinery and MacGregor Point are about 3 hours from Toronto and have the most roofed units in the south.

Disclosure: I'm building Campaid (campaid.ca), a free trip planner. It checks yurt, cabin and oTENTik availability alongside regular sites and tells you whether a campground is closed for the season or just full. Happy to check a specific park and dates in the comments.

Hi, I just did my first camp last weekend and it was amazing. I have a question though.

When you stay somewhere multiple days and leave a tent in place, do you bother securing it somehow? I know I like to think that all campers are nice people, but I'd hate to come back to my tent after a day trip to find stuff missing. Obviously I'll take anything valuable with me, just wondering what the norm is? I'll probably be mainly in provincial parks.

Hello folks, just looking for some suggestions while we are starting to plan our trip towards Lake Superior next summer.

We are traveling from Ottawa and we'll be sticking to provincial parks for the duration of the trip. If our furthest park west is going to be Lake Superior (not confirmed, just a thought) does it make sense to also do Pancake Bay? Or are they too similar?

The other parks on the short list while traveling back and forth are: Grundy, Rainbow Falls and Chutes.

Any info/suggestions are welcome. If it helps at all, we like to swim, paddle and hike.

My wife and I bought a tent trailer about a month ago but we had a few tenting trips booked already for the summer so we haven't had the chance to take it out this year.

Are there any decent campgrounds open past Thanksgiving? Looking at a more private spot rather than like a KOA or something... Electricity would be nice but not necessary, we just want to take the camper out at least once this year!

Preferably within 2-3 hours of London area

On a backcountry trip to Massasauga, due to a miscommunication in our group chat, we didn’t bring enough fuel. 🤦

Vowing never to make this mistake again, my wife and I developed a group packing app where you can assign gear, see who’s bringing what, and organize group chats by item.

Northern Ontario Business recently did a story on it, which was pretty cool given that the idea came from our own camping trips here in Ontario.

It officially launches today if anyone wants to check it out:

https://packplexity.com

Article:

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/industry-news/technology/who-packed-the-propane-sudbury-developer-has-an-app-for-that-12752372

Hope this helps other campers from making similar mistakes. Would love to hear what some of your biggest packing mishaps were. Happy packing! ✌🏻

Looking for some fellow bushcrafters who like to do day trips. I'm in the KW area

Edit: Leave no trace style, no builds.

I checked live car-camping availability at 51 Ontario Parks for Saturday and Sunday night (Oct 10–11) this afternoon. Short version: it isn't sold out. Saturday is the tight night.

- **1,470 sites** are open for both nights on a single booking. There are 1,509 sites open Saturday and 2,715 Sunday.

- **40 of 51 parks** still have at least one site for the whole weekend.

**Within reach of the GTA, open both nights:**

- Presqu'ile: 121

- Mikisew: 94

- Ferris: 84

- Grundy Lake: 57

- Emily: 48

- Six Mile Lake: 45

- Bass Lake: 37

- Earl Rowe: 31

- Craigleith: 27

- Darlington: 16

**Further out with lots of room:** Voyageur 181, Rideau River 87, Silver Lake 84, Fitzroy 73, Sharbot Lake 71, Sandbanks 64.

**Basically gone on Saturday:**

- Sibbald Point, Awenda, Arrowhead, Turkey Point, Wheatley and Bronte Creek: 0 open Saturday

- Pinery: 5

- Balsam Lake: 4

- Killbear: 2

- Silent Lake: 3

If you just want Sunday night, Sibbald Point has 29 sites, Awenda 17 and Wheatley 44.

This was a snapshot around 3 pm Friday, and cancellations keep popping up. If your park shows full, check again Saturday morning.

Disclosure: I'm building Campaid (campaid.ca), a free tool that runs these per-night checks across Ontario Parks, Parks Canada and Sépaq. Happy to look up a specific park in the comments.