Must-visit Ontario parks for your summer camping adventure

Looking to camp in Ontario this summer? You’ll find lots to explore! Within just a few hours of bustling Toronto, you’ll find pristine Canadian wilderness. Ontario is home to six national parks and 330 (seriously!) provincial parks.

Imagine the rugged coastline of Lake Superior and the rolling hills of the Niagara Escarpment. Love to play in the water? Thousands of lakes, rivers, streams, and waterways await you! Although it’s impossible to truly say which parks you’ll love the most, here are a few of Campnab’s picks:

Algonquin Provincial Park

Three hours north of Toronto, between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River, is the world-famous Algonquin Provincial Park. Southern Ontario’s largest park measures 7,653 square kilometers and is part of the Canadian Shield (pink rock).

Named after the Algonquin First Nation, who historically inhabited the region. The Anishinaabe have lived and hunted in the area for thousands of years. Established in 1893, Algonquin Provincial Park was created to protect the headwaters of five major rivers that flow into the Ottawa River. Resource extraction in the area was phased out in the 1950s.

As a protected area, Algonquin is a habitat for several plant (Algonquin’s fall colours are spectacular!) and animal species. Bears, moose, wolves, and beavers all hang out in the area. You can fish in many of Algonquin’s waters, which are renowned for their Brook and Lake Trout.

Fish aren’t the only ones in Algonquin’s 2,400 lakes and 1,200 kilometers of streams and rivers. Canoe camping at Algonquin is second-to-none, with over 2,000 kilometres of canoe routes. (Admittedly, portaging still sucks.) One other bummer about Algonquin is that it tends to book up quickly, but given the park’s beauty that’s to be expected.

Helpful links:

• Ontario Parks’ Algonquin Provincial Park page
• The Official Website of the Friends of Algonquin Park
• Reserve a campsite at Algonquin Provincial Park
• Algonquin Backcountry on Campnab
• Scan the Algonquin backcountry for cancellations

Bruce Peninsula National Park

You’ll reach the Bruce Peninsula National Park by travelling 3.5 – 4 hours (longer if you’re going by roller-skate) northwest of Toronto. This land mass is sandwiched between Lake Huron on one side and Georgian Bay on the other.

The traditional home of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, Bruce Peninsula National Park covers 156 square kilometers. Bruce Peninsula National Park was designated as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 1990. Parks Canada has been acquiring new land areas to expand the park and protect at-risk species in the area. Did you know that fossils from over 400,000,000 years ago have been found here?

The limestone cliffs and caves may be the park’s most notable features. Visitors often come to explore the Grotto (a naturally occurring cave with clear water) but it can get busy at times. The park also contains wetlands and forests. Southern Ontario’s largest remaining area of intact forest lies within this park. These areas are home to black bears, foxes, otters, wolves, skinks, over 200 bird species, and some (nearly extinct) rattlesnakes.

If you’ve got some time, you can walk the Bruce Trail. At 900 km long, though, you might like to pack a lunch. There are shorter hikes in the area as well. You might relax on the beach or explore the emerald-green waters by boat, canoe, or kayak. (Keep your eyes open for a shipwreck.) Park staff also offer interpretive programs on site.

Helpful links:

• Parks Canada’s Bruce Peninsula National Park page
• Bruce Peninsula National Park on Wikipedia
• Reserve a campsite at Bruce Peninsula National Park
• The Bruce Trail Conservancy
• Bruce Peninsula National Park on Campnab
• Scan Bruce Peninsula National Park for cancellations

Lake Superior Provincial Park

Spread over ~1,550 square kilometers, Lake Superior Provincial Park borders the shore of Lake Superior—the world’s largest freshwater lake. Who would have thunk it, right? The Park is a heck of a long drive from Toronto, so download some podcasts before you go. (I recommend CBC’s The Debaters.)

Although established as a park in 1944, Indigenous people have inhabited the area for a bit longer… like 9,000 years or so. Ancient Agawa rock pictographs can be seen in the park. In the 17th century, fur trading occurred in the area. There was also some logging in the region until the 1960s.

The rolling hills you drive through offer spectacular viewpoints. As you near Lake Superior’s edge, you’ll witness more rugged terrain including rocky shorelines and granite outcrops. The park is on a large area of exposed igneous and metamorphic rocks known as the Canadian Shield. Forests contain sugar maples and white pines. Anthophiles will see trilliums, lady slippers, cattails, and marsh marigolds in the park.

Explore the parks’ 240 km of trail to see the locals in their natural habitat. Look to the sky and you might spot a bald eagle or a peregrine falcon. Lynx, wolves, bears, and moose are stuck traveling the park on foot. Keep your eyes peeled for painted turtles, spring peepers, and American toads. Anglers fish for trout and walleye in the lake and catch steelhead and salmon in the rivers in spring and fall.

Helpful links:

• Ontario Parks’ Lake Superior Provincial Park page
• Lake Superior Provincial Park on Wikipedia
• Reserve a campsite at Lake Superior Provincial Park
• Lake Superior Provincial Park on Campnab
• Scan Lake Superior Provincial Park for cancellations

Georgian Bay Islands National Park

A couple of hours' drive from Toronto brings you to the eastern shore of Georgian Bay, and Georgian Bay Islands National Park. The park contains more than 60 islands and islets and is part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. This park is scenic, diverse, and rich in Indigenous history.

Dating back to 1929, the park was created to protect Beausoleil Island. It later expanded to include additional islands. Georgian Bay Islands National Park contains the world’s largest freshwater archipelago, which is part of the Canadian Shield. The area contains rugged terrain and ancient rock formations.

White-tailed deer and black bears frequent the area. There are also hundreds of bird species (keep an eye out for the rare Cerulean Warbler). 33 species of amphibians and reptiles including the Blanding’s turtle can also be found in the park. They’re surrounded by 20 types of ferns and orchids, rare Eastern White Cedar, and carnivorous plants like the sundew and pitcher plants (they’re carnivorous).

Love the water? Bring your canoe or kayak and explore the island networks. Prefer your feet on the ground? Check out the park’s trails or participate in historical and Indigenous cultural programs. Wintertime already? Try snowshoeing or cross-country skiing in the park.

Some folks note their dislike of some biting insects in the park. Such people may do better at an indoor shopping mall than at a Canadian park. Am I right? 😉

Helpful links:

• Parks Canada’s Georgian Bay Islands National Park page
• Georgian Bay Islands National Park on Wikipedia
• Reserve a campsite at Georgian Bay Islands National Park
• Georgian Bay Islands National Park on Campnab
• Scan Georgian Bay Islands National Park for cancellations

Killarney Provincial Park

Familiar with the famous Canadian landscape painters the Group of Seven? Alongside local conservationists, they helped create Killarney Provincial Park, which was established in 1964. The park has since expanded to 645 square kilometers to protect more land. It was the first provincial park in Ontario to ban logging for conservation purposes. The park is 50 kilometers south of Sudbury, along the northern shore of Georgian Bay.

Shaped by ancient glaciers, it’s no wonder why those painters were inspired by this park. Stunning white quartzite hills (they’re over 2 billion years old and still aren’t able to collect CPP), sapphire-blue lakes, the La Cloche Mountains (some of the Earth’s oldest rock formations), and its cliffs are just a few notable features in the area. Killarney contains historical sites, pictographs, and settlements. The Ojibwe have lived in the region for thousands of years.

As a proper Canadian park, Killarney is home to black bears, beavers, otters, and moose. You might also spot a white-tailed deer or red-shouldered hawk in the park. The forests are filled with jack and white pine, with a floor of mosses, sedges, and ferns topped by lady slipper orchids and other wildflowers. Unique lichen can also be found on the park’s quartzite rocks. The maple and oak trees contribute to vibrant autumns in the park.

Low light pollution makes Killarney an exceptional place to stargaze. (The park offers guided astronomy programs.) Need to work up a sweat first? Consider hiking part of the La Cloche Silhouette Trail. You might also take in the pictographs at O.S.A. Lake.

Helpful links:

• Ontario Parks’ Killarney Provincial Park page
• Killarney Provincial Park on Wikipedia
• Reserve a campsite at Killarney Provincial Park
• Killarney Provincial Park on Campnab
• Scan Killarney Provincial Park for cancellations

So, those are our picks for the Ontario parks you ought to visit. What do you think? Did we miss some parks that ought to be here? Did we slip on a point? Are we omitting some useful information about one of the above parks? If so, we’d love to hear from you! Drop a comment in our Facebook post about Ontario’s must-visit parks.

Back to Blog index