The following information has been assembled from publications from the Ontario government, and from our family's experiences camping throughout Ontario.
The information is somewhat slanted towards camping with an RV of some sort, as that is our preferred mode of camping (we have a 27 ft. fifth wheel unit). From personal experience, there is a lack of information available to RV'ers about the suitability of specific campgrounds for recreational vehicles, and in fact, the personnel at the parks themselves are somewhat unfamiliar with what type of RV can be placed on what site. This can lead to problems with overhead or side clearances that could result in costly RV repairs!!
Ontario's Provincial Parks are maintained by the Ministry of Natural Resources, who are creating a new organization called "Parks Ontario". With our new Conservative government in power, other changes can be expected as the government looks for ways of decreasing the budget deficit. Hopefully, the excellent parks structure can remain intact, even if we have to pay a higher cost for the services.
Ontario has a total of 267 provincial parks (as at 1995), comprising 87 natural reserve parks, 8 wilderness parks, 66 natural environment parks, 4 historical parks, 29 waterway parks and 73 recreation parks. The natural environment and recreation park categories are particularly suitable for camping. Over the years, we have used approximately 40 of these parks
For publications, the following address can be used:
Ministry of Natural Resources,
Natural Resources Information Center,
Room M1-73, MacDonald Block,
900 Bay St.,
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2C1.
Phone: 1-800-667-1840
The publication that is most useful for campers is the Provincial Parks Guide (ISSN 0828-1920) That lists all the parks in Ontario, and gives detailed information on facilities, telephone numbers, operating periods etc. The guide is available at tourist information centers in the province and is also available at the parks (free of charge) The guide should be used with the provincial road map, available at the same locations.
For campsite vacancy reports, a recorded tape is available from Victoria Day (May 24th) to Labour Day (1st Monday in September) by calling:
1-800-668-2746.
Ontario has an extensive campsite reservation system for most of the parks in the province. For visitors to southern Ontario (and us lazy residents who do not plan ahead!), the reservation system can prevent a visitor from getting into a park, as up to 80% of most parks can be reserved.
Southern Ontario parks are very busy in the summer, and combined with the fact that all given areas of a park (i.e.: the electrical sites suitable for RV's) can be reserved, means that a visitor with a larger RV may be out of luck when he or she arrives on a Friday afternoon. A word to the wise - reserve early, particularly on long weekends! Northern Ontario parks generally require no reservations because of reduced demand.
Most parks have comfort stations (which have flush toilets and sinks with hot and cold water).Many also have showers attached to the comfort stations. All have running water.
A number of the parks have electrical hook ups (30 amp) for connecting to your RV. The trend is to install more electrical outlets in the parks as there is always a demand in excess of the actual number of sites with electricity. It is a good idea to bring a long (100 ft.) extension cord, as most plugs are a distance away from where the RV is parked. The power outlets service two camp sites (each site has a 30 amp and a 15 amp service to choose from). All the parks that we have used have had sewage disposal facilities that are clean and easily used.
For 1995, the fees were as follows (all fees in $CDN., all taxes included):
Electrical site: $18.25
Non electrical site: $15.25 (for a park with showers)
Non electrical site: $13.75 (for a park with no showers)
Firewood is available at most parks (sold by a concession). The above rates are for the use of a site, and no additional per person costs are applied.
For a listing of my favourite Southern Ontario Provincial Parks, See: Southern Ontario Parks
Edited on Jan 1/96