Camping season may seem like its still a while away, but now is the time to start planing. Veteran campers have likely already made their summer plans but if you're new to the summer
activity you might be confused where to begin your planing. For many,
camping is an unforgettable experience. The scenery, wildlife, fishing, canoeing, lakes, spectacular landscape, and night
skies away from the city are often worth the drive.
The first thing to consider is where you want to go. There's many private parks in Ontario, but most of them are seasonal trailer parks with limited spaces for occasional campers. A good choice is an Ontario Provincial Park and there's is many reason why.
There's many provincial parks in Ontario with a variety different environments and resources for different types of camper with the smallest tent to the largest trailers. Provincial parks accommodate a lot of people every year and have many resources available to make your trip an enjoyable one for you, your friends and family. Provincial Parks are set up and maintained by the park keepers and provide each site with a picnic table and a fire pit. For an additional fee parks also give you the choice of electric or non electric site. While most parks are surrounded by nature trails (ranging from short distance, to all day excursion ) and beautiful lakes for your enjoyment, they also offer equipment rentals such as canoes, kayaks, bicycles, fishing and camping equipment. Most importantly provincial parks provide a great sense of security, they are supervised by park staff 24/7.
There's 329 Provincial Parks in Ontario, so just about every level of camper can find what they're looking for when deciding where to go. If you're looking to get away for the weekend, you'll likely want to choose a park that isn't too far of a drive from home, but if you're considering a longer getaway, for a week or two, it's worth the longer drives to parks located in norther Ontario.
The big question is where to go? Likely one of the most popular park with visitors from all over the world is Algonquin Provincial Park. Located east of Huntsville ,ON. Algonquin has 12 separate parks most located along the 56km stretch of Highway 60. With a beautiful variety of nature trails, historic museums, Visitor Centre, camping environments, wildlife and thousand of lakes, you have an endless list of things to do and see. The only way to explore the interior of the park is by canoe.
Another great park is Killbear Provincial Park. Paradise for swimming, boating and fishing. The sandy beaches are beautiful surrounded by rocky shorelines. It's worth heading over here for the spectacular Georgian Bay sunset.
Grundy Lake Provincial Park located short driving distance from Sudbury or Parry Sound ON has a motor boat restriction, which makes it a perfect and quiet getaway for relaxing on the beach, canoing, fishing (if you can find the spot) while enjoying the beautiful scenery.
I've mentioned only a few parks, but with over 300 to choose from it comes down to what you want. Once you travel around to different parks, you'll quickly discover which ones are your favourite that you'll want to go back to year after year.
With the growing popularity to go camping, there's a great demand so you must plan ahead and make your reservation months in advance. The summer season (from July to September) is very popular, and the best camping spots in the most popular parks are often booked in advance.It's never to early to book your spots, especially when you can reserve 5 months in advance. Do not wait, It's time to prepare for your trip. So plan ahead! Grab an Ontario Parks booklet from any Tourist Information Centre or visit www.OntarioParks.com for more information.
