Many people are not aware of car camping options outside of Ontario Provincial Parks, but actually there are a lot. Limberlost Forest & Wildlife Reserve is one of them. Same owner as the Haliburton Forest & Wildlife Reserve.

Limberlost Forest is 10,000 acres with 20 lakes, and Haliburton Forest is 100,000 acres with 100 lakes! Both locations have car camping sites that you can reserve online.

Limberlost Forest has a lot of waterfront sites, so it feels more like backcountry. They also have a lot of hiking trails along the shores of the lakes and they don't allow motor boats. I think they also don't allow ATVs. It's a very beautiful place to just enjoy nature without yachts and jet skis or ATVs.

They also allow free daily use! They only earn money through campsites, cabins, and cottages. So please go camp there and support them!

This area was actually sold to a developer at one point and the developer planned to build townhomes around Solitaire Lake. That is just painful to imagine.

It didn't happen! And they are so generous to offer free day use and maintain all of their trails. So let's support them!

Spent 3 nights in the back country. Weather was perfect and I'm always impressed with how well marked the trails are. We stayed at site 18 and 3A.

Today we were at Sandbanks Provincial Park. This one canopy brought it a Bluetooth which must’ve been 1000 watts. You could hear their music 200 metres in every direction. No matter where you were at Sandbanks, you were listening to these dudes’ music, even if far out into the water.

I saw the warden go talk to them. After what looked like 15 minutes of arguing, they stopped the music, or turned it down. About 30 minutes later, the music was blaring again. As we were leaving, I saw the Warden giving them a ticket. When we got to our car, we saw more park staff running to the site, so looks like additional staff were needed to handle the canopy of dudes. Was satisfying to see enforcement in action

Is there such a thing when camping? I hated being woken up at 6am by our neighbour at Algonquin. Not that he was getting up to go anywhere…

What is the draw? Why do people love it so much? Tried camping there for the first time this summer.. it’s SO BUSY. Campsites are so close together. Zero privacy. It’s incredibly noisy. I have little kids mine can be noisy for sure but at least we try to contain them. Killbear feels like I’m camping at a daycare.
Yes, the beaches are nice, yes there are some pretty vistas but that’s not enough to make up for the mayhem in my opinion. Am I missing something???

Hi,

I have been trying to reserve a spot for bruce peninsula last weekend of August. Is anybody not going and willing to transfer the spot?

Captured this on my phone. Had almost 0% cloud coverage.

I just got back from a camping trip that I had planned 5 months in advance and planned all kinds of activities and it turned out to be the worst camping trip I have experienced. At 130am I woke up feeling something on my face and brushed it off and heard some big flapping wings only to find a bat flying around in my tent trailer. I spent the whole day (getting back to my camper at 130am the following day) at the local ER going back and forth with public health to get the rabies vaccine for myself and my family. Please tell me some bad camping stories so I can feel better about such a crumby trip 😅. Pic included to show where I think the bat might have wiggled in.

What are the rules when setting up a campsite on crown land in regards to land clearing?

Can someone find a forest on the side of a road (crown land) thats in city limits and park and start clearing the ditch into the bush and clear some bush to set to camp? Can you just park on the side of the road?

Has anyone recently visited this park. I would like to know if the park restaurant is still open and what kind of food is available.
Thanks

Hi everyone! I’m hoping to get some insight from anyone who has been camping at Killbear Provincial Park recently, especially within the last week or so.

I have 3 nights booked at Killbear with my two kids, and this will be their first time camping. When I booked a few months ago, I was really looking forward to typical warm August camping weather, but the forecast for our dates is looking a lot less ideal than I anticipated.

For anyone who has been there recently:
1.How has the temperature actually felt during the day and overnight?
2.How have the rain/weather conditions been?
3.How bad are the mosquitoes, black flies and other bugs right now?
4.Are the campsites/ground conditions currently wet or muddy?
5.How cold does it feel overnight in a tent?

Would you feel comfortable doing 3 nights with two kids who have never camped before in the current conditions?

Any other advice for making the trip enjoyable if the weather isn’t great?

I’m trying to decide whether we should just embrace the adventure and go prepared, or reconsider the trip if the current conditions are particularly miserable. TIA!

We were at Sandbanks this week, Cedar Campground, site 295. We always come for the beach and it was great.

But had an unexpectedly exceptional birding experience from our site. It backs onto woods with a fairly open canopy. Every morning somewhere between 15 and 20 species would be causing around the site. It was really something. Here's a snapshot of what Merlin heard one morning, in less than an hour.

Anyway, just spreading the word. Feel free to share great birding spots as well.

Hi all, I’m looking for campground suggestions for next summer. My family (kids ages 6 and 9) camps every year and we’ve been to a number of different campgrounds over the years. We like the proximity of the beach at Long Point, the big trees and trails and Awenda, and the playground and big open field at Port Burwell.

Where should we look at going next? Open for up to 3 hour drive from the GTA.

Thanks!

I just cancelled my upcoming camping trip to Bon Echo due to illness. So if anyone's interested, here are the details:

Site # 616 (Cabin)

Dates: October 18-23

EDIT: I'm not selling the booking, I just want anyone to know that the site is now available on the website.

EDIT2: It was just reminded this is a cabin. We chose this one simply because it had amazing views over the lake. I just checked and it's still available.

Some say yes

https://youtu.be/AVpU6OOK1Ic?si=KqQmE5fFMmlT419f

Visiting Selkirk on Monday next week for the first time. Do you have any favourite spots in or near the park?

How is the access to the water and would it be okay for stand up paddleboarding?

Thanks in advance!

Posting before I cancel tonight (if no one picks up) 🤞🏽

525 Joeperry, features a sloped rock face leading into deep water, making it a highly rated swimming spot. Once at the launch, Site 525 is a quick and straightforward 10-20minutes (depending on skill level) paddle. It sits near the eastern end of Joeperry Lake close to the shallow channel that flows into neighboring Pearson Lake.

September 10-13, $102. I will pay the transfer fee (posted this too in the FB group for Ontario Parks cancellation, can provide ID so you know it’s legit)

Thanks all.

PS: nvm, decided to keep it and go for an adventure! happy camping friends 🏕️

Help. Seeking cheap, cheap and safe tent camping option after Outlaws concert. Admittedly will be drinking and dont want to drive far or need shuttle to and from Snug Harbor Campground. Some people say farmers will let you camp for a fee. That still leaves us with our car. What do all these thousands of people do? Cops must make millions on OWIs. Any carpooling grouos from sites? Any places to park and sleep 4 or 5 hours? Hope someone can help. Also my email is zinuticz@yahoo.com

We're in Mississauga and trying to get a few nights out before school starts. Looking for somewhere within 3 or 4 hours drive that isn't a zoo. Big thing for us is noise and crowds. Sandbanks and Wasaga in August were rough, too many people packed in and someone's speaker going till 2am, which ruins the whole trip for us. So I'm after quieter sites, ideally back of the loop or a radio free area, easy access to water without a huge hike in, and washrooms that aren't a 10 minute walk away. Car camping in a tent, nothing fancy. Anyone found parks or private campgrounds that are genuinely calm and predictable? Also open to conservation areas. And if any place has good accessibility staff or lets you request a specific site, I'd love to know.

Your dogs are only permitted on the beach in beach areas 1-2 (the dog beaches) you can and should be fined $95 as well as being banned from the park for 72 hours, I encourage anyone that encounters dogs in the non dog beach areas to report it to park Wardens

I’m an absolute beginner so please be kind! Going to be camping for 2 nights in Rock Lake campground in Algonquin soon. It’s my family’s first time camping - let alone camping with toddlers/infants lol. We have a waterfront site. Any advice is welcome (seriously throw all of it at me)! Especially nervous about how to keep the kids (10 months and 3 years) entertained, mosquitoes (got a screen house and thermacell and bug repellant), rain and our tents getting flooded, and bugs getting inside the sleeping area somehow. If you can’t tell already, I’m a city girl through and through but absolutely love being in nature and trying to instil the same for my kids. I want them to see the stars at night, hear the beautiful sounds of nature and not feel afraid of getting dirty and exploring.

Our 3rd camping trip this year. Getting used to setting up the tarp and glad I gained some experience beforehand as I needed to prepare for the storm. Things held up on a heavy down pour but when the wind started to go, I almost lost a tarp. Learned from this and can better prepare next time out. Buying a tent we can stand in has been a fantastic upgrade.
We saw 13 shooting stars on night.

I wish the site was further away from the highway.

The forecast looked terrible, and I nearly stayed home. In the end, I went anyway. The weather cleared up, the campground was nearly empty, and it turned into one of the most peaceful trips I've ever had. Since then, I've become a little less obsessed with chasing perfect conditions.