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Old 08-29-2014, 03:37 PM   #1
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Thinking of Heading North to Canada

The family, for reasons I cannot begin to comprehend, just does not seem to be that interested in a big trip out west. My younger son (13) would rather stay home next summer so he can spend a week at scout camp here in Pennsylvania than take a big trip out to Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks. My older son (15) does not want to miss cross-country practice in July and August. My wife does not want to drive that far (about 5,000 miles round trip). This is all up to them because I will be at work and cannot go the entire time. Makes no sense to me - I would be gone the day school was out next summer if I was them.

Anyhow, my older son says to me this morning - what about going north to Canada? Apart from Labatt and Molson beer, I never think about Canada.

So, has anyone been around in Canada directly north of the states of Pennsylvania and New York? I see that Algonquin Provincial Park is about 350 miles from where I am at in northwestern Pennsylvania. Has anyone done the RV trip up that way?

How about you Canadian folks? Is there good camping up Ontario province way?

Thanks!
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Old 08-29-2014, 04:39 PM   #2
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Ontario is a pretty big place. Must be some camping there somewhere; thinking of going east from BC to visit with the TT next summer.

Will eavesdrop on the responses you get, if you don't mind.
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Old 08-29-2014, 04:55 PM   #3
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I used to tent camp in Algonquin park when I was younger. I remember a vast park, great scenery, countless lakes, trails, wildlife, Northern lights, bugs but I don't remember looking to see what the RV sites were like. Sorry.
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Old 08-29-2014, 05:45 PM   #4
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Haven't been to Ontario but there are amazing camping locations in Canada. National parks are spectacular.

There are more lakes in Canada than the rest of the world combined....we are outdoors up here
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Old 08-29-2014, 06:15 PM   #5
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Ontario is a beautiful province with the Great Lakes and such... Never camped there as I have family to stay with but am planning to camp that way in June 2015.... There's the Toronto zoo, marine land, Chanda's wonderland Niigata falls and the list goes on and on of attractions...... Northern Ontario is very beautiful with tons of trees and the lakes as well.... Hopefully this is somewhat helpful i tend to just use google.... You can also check out your local AAA and see if they have any campground guides as well as maps
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Old 08-29-2014, 06:54 PM   #6
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If you like camping in State Parks, you will probably like camping in the Ontario Provincial Parks. Check out this web site;
http://www.ontarioparks.com/
Go to the section for reserving on-line, and you can look at maps for each campground. Enter your size criteria for your rig, to see which sites you would fit into. You can also view pictures of each campsite, one by one. Be advised, the popular parks book up quickly for weekends in July-August. They always keep a few sites as non-reservable for those who just show up at the entrance.
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Old 08-29-2014, 07:31 PM   #7
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I live in Ontario Canada and we only stay at the ontario parks (see above post). Love them. Never had an issue. Clean, spacious sites and lots to do. But like the about post said you need to book early to get into the best ones. Lots of pictures on their sites for each individual parks and also the big map shows all of them so you can see locations closest to you. Algonquin Park is amazing but is about 4 1/2 hours from the Buffalo NY border. And once you reach the highway heading north out of Toronto you will need to take into account that you are heading towards cottage country and the highway gets very busy and slow.

Sandbanks is another popular ontario park and is one of the fastest filling parks on the eastern shores of Lake Ontario.

Happy Camping.
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Old 08-29-2014, 08:02 PM   #8
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Canada has an abundance of beautiful parks. Come up and enjoy it.
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Old 08-29-2014, 08:50 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RUSSELL5000 View Post
The family, for reasons I cannot begin to comprehend, just does not seem to be that interested in a big trip out west. My younger son (13) would rather stay home next summer so he can spend a week at scout camp here in Pennsylvania than take a big trip out to Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks. My older son (15) does not want to miss cross-country practice in July and August. My wife does not want to drive that far (about 5,000 miles round trip). This is all up to them because I will be at work and cannot go the entire time. Makes no sense to me - I would be gone the day school was out next summer if I was them.
I can't offer anything constructive about Canada -- only been to Vancouver and Montreal on fly/hotel trips. Loved them both.

Anyway, you first paragraph is one of my greatest fears. A colleague of mine has been encouraging me to plan a couple summers, several years out, for the type of big trip you mentioned before my kids get to old. He didn't, and when he tried his kids were about your's age and it just never happened because the kids didn't have interest due to their involvement in their own activities. He has told me, and I think he's pretty accurate, that around 14ish kids begin having "real responsibility" and "commitments" that make planning multi-week trips nearly impossible. Even when I was growing I started full time summer jobs in the grain mill once I turned 14.

Right now my kids are 8, 6, 2...thinking for us the summers 2018 and 2019 the oldest won't be too old and the youngest will hopefully be just old enough were I can take a leave if absence and take a couple slow wandering extended trips throughout the US.
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Old 08-29-2014, 09:00 PM   #10
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Come to Canada. Enjoy some real wilderness and real beer.

Lots of great camping up here. Where would you go? It's the second largest country in the world, so be a little more specific.
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Old 08-29-2014, 09:14 PM   #11
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If you want to give them a "great" experience look up the Polar Bear Express out of Cochrane. The train will take you to Mossinee which is on the Southern end of James Bay. The only way to get there is on the train and Mossinee is still very quaint, to say the least.
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Old 08-29-2014, 09:40 PM   #12
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After Salsa03's bad experience with the Ovens National Park in NovaScotia I'm afraid to chime in with a recommendation but since I have been to a good majority I will. Keep in mind all Provincial parks are into conservatism which includes not cutting trees, no burning of fallen limbs and most everything is overgrown along shorelines so having visibility of water can be a challenge.
All have decent hiking trails, onsite stores and are very well kept with clean, mostly modern facilities. Sites for the most part are very large and have a good canopy of trees for shade but not all.

Wood, As in the US you can't bring any in but you can buy it locally or from the park itself. Bags cost between 5 - 7 Bucks CDN. I can use two bags a night for my burns..and that's for about 4 - 5 hours.

Fitzroy Harbor if you can get one of sites 252, 255 or 265 in the two rivers section it will give you a view of the Ottawa River. There is a Dam across the river so occasionally you can hear the rush of water when they open up the gates. Fitzroy is a large campground with a multitude of sites and terrain to choose from. I like the water views but if you like to be a little more secluded then something up in the Pinegrove Section might be more to your liking.
** It's also about 30 Minutes from Downtown Ottawa so if you were interested in checking out the Nations Capital / Parliament buildings your in a good spot. You could also visit the Rideau Canal, National Arts Center and even take a quick trip to Quebec for some Beer Froid (Cold)

Bonnechere - I was just there and can't wait to go back. You have a choice of Lakeside, and by that I mean a two minute walk to a gorgeous beach on the Lake. Or if you like a little river that winds and bends around campsites it's perfect for a kayak or canoe adventurer. Again, Sites are good size but driving around the campground when pulling in or leaving can be a bit tight.

Sharbot Lake - Another favorite of mine but it's close to a road so you do get traffic noise. Otherwise nice CG, big sites and has a nice beach area.

Charleston Lake - Nice campground with big sites. You can get sites adjacent to water but the overgrowth knocks it down a few notches for me now.

Lake St Peter, I went once and got stuck beside a Septic Bed Vent. Was good most of the time but every now and then...phewy. Otherwise It was ok but I don't think I'll go back. Sites seemed to be crammed together in areas or back in sites provided challenges dodging posts or trees.

SandBanks - I have not been there yet but there are lot's of people rave about this park. It has a bit of everything including Sand Dunes along Lake Ontario.

Presquile - I'm heading there Sept 29th for a 3 night stay on the bluff looking out over Lake Ontario. It will be my first visit so I'm excited as I hear a lot of good things about it.

Turkey Point - Large sites, lot's of poison Ivy so you have to be careful but it gives you access to the Beach area which you have to hike to or just take the car.

Point Farms - Another Nice campground on the Shores of Lake Huron. Beach is really nice but again it's a fair hike to the beach or you just drive to the parking lot, LOL. The Hike involves going down a huge set of stairs to get up and down the bluff. Dam near killed me so I decided to drive after one attempt.

Algonquin Park CG's

Achary, Love this place. Enjoyed numerous camping trips when I was younger but there is no electricity. That said, lot's of hiking trails in the area and around the park itself. Very peaceful. I have not been to any others in Algonquin but I'm sure the same could probably be said for any and all CG's in Algonquin park.


As mentioned above, go to the Ontario Parks website and use the map to look at the sites. They give you Site Dimensions, distance to Electricity, shade/sun, privacy rating, soil type etc.. Pictures do help a bit.

https://reservations.ontarioparks.com/OntarioParks?Map

Here is the site for our National Parks.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/progs/pn-np/index.aspx

If you should in fact visit, have a good trip.
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Old 09-03-2014, 01:58 PM   #13
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Thanks for the replies.

clubhouse - regarding your observations with the kids - based on my experience, if you want to do something with your kids then do it now. I simply cannot believe my kids don't want to do some things. Very disappointing. So, my advice is not to wait.

Dagwood - thanks for all the information. I did some looking and exploring on the website for the Ontario provincial parks and it does appear there is a wealth of possibilities within an eight hour drive of where I am. I note a couple of things that are different for me, coming from the United States.

(1) I note that the campgrounds have radio-free and dog-free areas. I assume this is for people that don't like being around dogs or having people play music. I am not a long-time camper and have not encountered that before.

(2) I don't understand the campgrounds regarding dump stations. In this regard, there do not appear to be any dump stations. I look at the campground maps and there are sites with electricity, and there are stations with flush toilets, showers, and laundries, but there do not appear to be any dump stations. I only saw one dump station for all of Algonquin provincial park - which is huge. I don't know that dumping would be a concern for me for a weekend stay, but if you are going for consecutive weeks this is a real obstacle. What are you supposed to do? Why are there no dump stations?

(3) I note that the site descriptions on the reservation website lists the distance to electrical hookup - in meters! They seem to be 15, 18, 20, 22 meters away. That is a long way. Is that correct?

Thanks much.
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Old 09-04-2014, 09:56 AM   #14
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Algonquin Park

http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/visit...nquin-park.php

According to this website there is a trailer dumping station at marker 35.6 and in Rock Lake 40.3

I put the campground markers numbers below. The markers are the kilometers from the WEST Gate.

Electricity (dump station only at 35.6)

Canisbay Lake Campground .................. 23.1
Lake of Two Rivers Campground ........... 31.8
Mew Lake Campground ....................... 30.6
Pog Lake Campground ........................ 36.9


Electricity (dump and fill station at campground location)

Rock Lake Campground ...................... 40.3


Hope this helps.
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Old 09-04-2014, 10:13 AM   #15
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Ontario Provincial Parks


Park Dump Stations

I agree this is a problem with Ontario Parks Website I can never find quick info on the dump and fill stations either. I've always had to go to the map of the campground to see this information. On the map you can see a picture of a trailer with a box underneath it, or a arrow pointing into a box. I have yet to come across a park with out both dumping and filling. If in doubt I either use google maps or call the park to verify.


Electricity

This is another issue with their site. I find sometimes that its listed as metres but looking at pictures it is definetly in imperial. I gage it by if the site size seems reasonable for metric or for imperial. I also look at the campsites pictures and see if I can spot the electrical post to verify its position. I've also looked at the campsites attached to mine to verify its position. 90% of the time I can see the post is right there where I would park and not the 15 m away that is says. If in doubt I call the park.
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Old 09-04-2014, 11:28 AM   #16
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We only go to provincial parks and I have only seen listings in metres. One meter(3 feet approx). We carry a 25 and 50 foot extension cord since rarely are the posts over 30 metres At the parks that have posts further then that they usually loan out cords for a small deposit witch you get back. It is common to have the post 20 to 30 foot range. I believe all prov parks with camping have dump stations.
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Old 09-04-2014, 02:40 PM   #17
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Raspberry: Thanks for the replies. I am not all that experienced a camper, and have spent all of my camping either at a KOA or Good Sam park with full hookups or at state parks n New York, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia. I had never come across a campground in any of the places I have stayed that did not have a dump station right at that campground. If I understand you correctly, there are two dump station in Algonquin Provincial Park and from the website I see there are hundreds of sites and none f the sites have sewer hookups. That seemed odd to me: it seems you have to drive miles to dump if you at four of the five campgrounds in Algonquin. That seems inadequate for that number of campers to me. I realize my perception is colored by my experience; I was just surprised is all.

I also have never seen an electric pedestal that far away; again, just a matter of my experience, and was surprised.

bigbird: I guess I better look into an extension cord!
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Old 09-04-2014, 04:01 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RUSSELL5000 View Post
Thanks for the replies.


(1) I note that the campgrounds have radio-free and dog-free areas. I assume this is for people that don't like being around dogs or having people play music. I am not a long-time camper and have not encountered that before.
Yes radio free means no outdoor speakers or radios. Some folks just love to listen to nothing but nature and or freeways, LOL

Dog free areas are just that but each provincial campground does provide areas for Dogs to swim or areas to walk them We have a dog and have no problem with these rules.

Quote:
(2) I don't understand the campgrounds regarding dump stations. In this regard, there do not appear to be any dump stations. I look at the campground maps and there are sites with electricity, and there are stations with flush toilets, showers, and laundries, but there do not appear to be any dump stations. I only saw one dump station for all of Algonquin provincial park - which is huge. I don't know that dumping would be a concern for me for a weekend stay, but if you are going for consecutive weeks this is a real obstacle. What are you supposed to do? Why are there no dump stations?
Each park has a dump station, usually at the exit as you leave. each has a flush hose and clean water fill about 30-40 feet away but I'd never fill my freash water from them just because of proximity.

Quote:

(3) I note that the site descriptions on the reservation website lists the distance to electrical hookup - in meters! They seem to be 15, 18, 20, 22 meters away. That is a long way. Is that correct?

Thanks much.
Yep, DW and I just camped in Turkey Point..post must have been 80 ft away, took 3 extensions to reach it but that is definetly not the norm. Usually they are within reach but always carry an extra 25 or 50 ft cord to be sure. As mentioned by another poster...some will rent you the cord if needed.

There are no full service sites in the Provincial parks..only electric. If you use the Park reservations site, you can select your requirements and then only the sites matching those will show up as available or not.

Ie:
Dates (length of stay)
Length of TT
Electric and as well non electric site.
Barrier free
Number of vehicles etc.

Lastly, Showers and Flush toilets are available on all CG's. You can even choose the Outhouse style if you need to get there quick but I will say all the facilities are very well kept with the odd exception.

I'm heading to Presquille Sept 29th for 3 nights to close out the Camp season. And just a FYI, after the "Canadian" thanksgiving weekend, most Provincial Parks close for the season so don't wait to long.

As for being American, Would you be crossing in Ogdensburg NY or Alexandria? In either case, Presquille, Sandbanks and/or Charleston lake are not far from the crossings.
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Old 09-04-2014, 04:03 PM   #19
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I don't believe there are any provincial parks with full hook-ups and I thought state parks had that in common although I have never camped state side. We are planning a trip to see Algonquin park next year but are going to camp at Arrowhead provincial park witch is only 1/2 hour away to visit. We have yet to see either park and my decision to camp at arrowhead is from good reviews on tripadviser. A lot of people prefer Arrowhead over Algonquin because of the sites being more private. Don't know for sure but we'll check both out.
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Old 09-04-2014, 04:25 PM   #20
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To add to what Dagwood has to say in regards to radio free music my thoughts are that if you can stand at the entrance to your campsite witch is about the same distance from your neighbour and barely hear your radio you should have no problem. It is a great tool that the park can use to stop people from blasting radios. We've camped in both radio and radio free areas and have never heard loud music like you could years ago. Us baby boomers are all grown up now and the parks are filled with mostly families.
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