Camping gives you the chance to get up close and personal with the diverse natural environments, wildlife, birds and fish found throughout South Eastern Ontario. There’s no shortage of places to camp along The Great Waterway, either. Campgrounds and nature preserves along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River offer unique experiences in the outdoors. It could be a carefree afternoon among the dunes of Sandbanks Provincial Park, canoeing along Charleston Lake, or hiking to a remote glen in Frontenac Provincial Park. Whatever you’re in the mood for, there’s a campsite waiting for you to begin your next camping adventure.
Sandbanks Provincial Park in Prince Edward County brings together golden sand beaches and giant sand dunes to form two of the largest bay mouth sandbars in the world on the shores of Lake Ontario. Miles of massive sand dunes and shallow waters make Sandbanks camping a great option for the kids. The campground features 549 campsites spread out over five giant areas. Each campsite comes with a picnic table and fireplace grill for those family cookouts by the water. If you want to get out on the lake, kayaks, canoe and paddleboat rentals are within easy reach. While you’re near the Bay of Quinte, enjoy a picnic alongside the crystal clear fresh waters and countryside of Lake on the Mountain. After lunch, paddle your kayak or canoe for a closer look at the shoreline from the water.
Charleston Lake and Frontenac Provincial Park provide great camping – Not far from Kingston and Gananoque in the 1000 Islands region is Charleston Lake, one of the finest campgrounds in Ontario for swimming and paddling. Charleston Lake Campground offers all the amenities – electric sites, flush toilets and showers – you need for car camping or RVing. Two groomed sandy beaches a short walk away from your campsite slope gently into shallow clear water, making it a great place for the kids to splash around. Canoe rentals allow you to get out on the water and explore the hidden coves, caves and rocky outcroppings along Charleston Lake’s shoreline and islands.
The area is also popular with anglers, who fish these waters for pike, lake trout and smallmouth bass. A more back-to-basics camping experience can be had at Frontenac Provincial Park’s remote backcountry campsites – which can’t be accessed by cars. This makes the park a perfect place to hike, canoe, fish for bass and pike and take in your natural surroundings. A series of challenging hiking trails are found in the rugged terrain featuring granite outcrops, mixed forests, bogs and wetlands. Keep your eyes peeled along the way for white tailed deer, black bears and river otters.
The Parks of the St. Lawrence offer a number of favourite family camping destinations at their beautifully wooded 8 riverside campgrounds and 6 day-use beach areas along the St. Lawrence River in the Great Waterway.
Spend time at any one of their exceptional campgrounds which include the Glengarry Campground, Long Sault Parkway, Farran Park, Riverside-Cedar Campground, Ivy Lea Campground and the Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary Campground (Nairne Island Site). Their day use beach areas are at Glengarry, Mille Roches, Woodlands, Farran or Brown’s Bay.
There are many places in The Great Waterway to camp. Please see a detailed listing below and do not hesitate to contact them to confirm vacancy.
Bay of Quinte Beaches + Overnight Stay
Robin’s Roost Treehouse Experience
UNESCO Discovery Tour
Aquatarium Adventure + Overnight Stay
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