Making some time for yourself and your family out of the busy, monotonous routine is essential for a healthy life. To make camping more fun, put away your phone and hop on hiking, and indulge in group activities like cooking, collecting firewood, or fetching water. And you should also explore the area you are camping in. Maybe the area is well-known as a bird-watching spot or there might be lakes around where you can enjoy water activities. Here are the top 12 famous campgrounds in Toronto.
1. Top 12 Famous Campgrounds in Toronto
Toronto is known to have quite a few campgrounds where you can spend your time. Campgrounds near Toronto have ample amenities and attractions like swimming pools, sandy beaches, hiking trails, and a lot more. A few camping sites at the provincial parks might also have small amphitheatres to watch movies in the evening.
Most of the camping sites at the provincial parks in Toronto require pre-booking by visiting their official website. So do not forget to reserve a spot, especially during the peak months.
1.1 Indian Line Campground
If you are looking for a perfect urban campground in Toronto, Indian Line Campground is the perfect match for you that is open from April to October. Located in downtown Toronto, the campground offers a camping area for tents, trailers, and RV sites.
The campground has several amenities like dumping stations, playing areas for children, a saltwater swimming pool, washrooms, on-site paid laundry, showers, and ice and fire for sale. Moreover, pets are also allowed here provided they are on a leash. In addition, the campground is close to many biking and walking trails, a golf court, and Claireville Conservation Area.
Reservations are required that can be done by visiting the campground’s official website. The charges per night for an unserviced site is about $47 and a serviced campsite’s price starts from $54.
1.2. Albion Hills Campground
Albion Hills Campground is a beautiful campground with 234 serviced and unserviced campsites and a few RV pull-through sites. Some of the facilities available at the campground include a campground store, showers, washrooms, fire pits, dumping stations, and children’s play areas.
You can enjoy biking or hiking near this campground too. The price per night for an unserviced campsite is $42 while that for a serviced campsite is $49. You can check in here from mid-May to the end of October and the best part is you can bring in your pets with you too.
1.3. Silent Lake Provincial Park
Located north of Peterborough, Silent Lake Provincial Park is about 2 hours away from Toronto and is open for year-round camping. The park has a whooping 19 km of hiking trails and about 17 km of biking trails. For winter sports, the Silent Lake Provincial Park has about 34 km of cross-country ski trails.
Two sandy beaches are also at this Park. The lake offers many water activities like canoeing, fishing, swimming, and kayaking. A few amenities include a store, showers, toilets, dump stations, and a laundromat.
A total of 160 campsites are available out of which 40 are electrical and 35 are walk-in campsites. Along with this, 10 roofed accommodations are also available where you will find a queen bed and a double bunk bed. Furthermore, it also has a kitchenette equipped with a microwave, kettle, mini fridge, and dining table and chairs.
1.4. Bronte Creek Provincial Park
It is located in an urban setting but the area is quite quaint and perfect for camping. Bronte Creek Provincial Park has a total of 140 campsites and is open from May to October for overnight camping. The area is quite large and has RV sites for parking as well.
There are a lot of options to explore near Bronte Creek Provincial Park. If you love hiking, this park won’t disappoint you, it has over 10 km of 5 different hiking trails. Twelve Mile Creek is also only a few minutes away from the park. The Bronte Creek Ravine is about 50 meters deep where you can enjoy swimming, boating, and canoeing.
This park offers a lot of facilities like comfort stations, group BBQ, onsite laundry, play areas, pet play areas, a park store, and many more. Furthermore, the park also organizes some amazing interpretive programs like Maple Syrup Festival in March, and Ghost Walks in August. Therefore, Bronte Creek Provincial Park is one of the best campgrounds near downtown Toronto.
1.5. Darlington Provincial Park
A perfect campground beside the shore of Lake Ontario, Darlington Provincial Park is one of the most beautiful campgrounds near Toronto. The long stretch of sandy beach gives a lot of space to the campers. Finally, you can sleep to the sound of waves and enjoy sunrises and sunsets.
Darlington Provincial Park offers three camping sites: Hillside, Lakeside, and Cliffside. The sites are also filled with canopies of trees and offer amazing views. The campsite is open from January to December every year and pre-booking is required.
A few of the many amenities available at this park include an amphitheatre, radio-free campsites, and RV pull-throughs. It also has 4 comfort stations, a laundromat, a park store, 3 picnic shelters, and many more.
If you are wondering what else can you do besides camping here, don’t worry there are a lot of activities. You can enjoy boating, canoeing, fishing, and swimming in Lake Ontario. And you can enjoy the scenery of the beautiful beach in the evening.
During winter, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and sledging options are available too. The camp fee for each site usually starts from $20 per night.
1.6. Awenda Provincial Park
Set in a large area of over 2900 hectares along the Georgian Bay, Awenda Provincial Park is another serene campground near Toronto. With an impressive 31 km of hiking trails, you can easily explore the beauty of the place.
Pre-booking can be done for the 333 campsites by visiting their official website and the price per night is around $20. There are shaded campsites for RV parking, car camping, and radio-free camping. You can enjoy tent camping at this provincial park too.
Some of the facilities at Awenda Provincial Park include comfort stations, on-site laundry, dumping stations, and many more. There are grassy picnic areas where you can enjoy some relaxing time.
Wondering about more fun things to do here? Well, the park does not disappoint us. You can enjoy mountain biking, boating, canoeing, and fishing at Georgian Bay too. During winter, do not miss out on its 17 km backcountry skiing and snowshoeing.
1.7. Bass Lake Provincial Park
Another popular provincial park set along the coast of Bass Lake, Bass Lake Provincial Park is quite famous for its sandy beaches. Just a 10-minute drive from Orilla, Toronto, it is an easy-access campsite. It is also an RV park along with 182 campsites and one can book the campsites from May to October.
The nearby attractions for sightseeing include Springwater Provincial Park, Discovery Harbor, and Casino Rama. Gas stations, convenience stores, and movie theatres are only a 5-minute walk away from the park.
Here, you get campsites for group camping, picnic shelters, children’s play area, and dumping stations. There are a few unserviced sites as well and a few have roofed accommodations. The fee for each site usually starts from $20 and it depends on the type of campsite you are looking for.
1.8. Glen Rouge Campground
Set right next to the Rouge River, Glen Rogue Campground is the closest campground to Toronto City. You get to explore the famous Mast Trail as well by hiking or biking. Also enjoy some time near the sandy beach by swimming, boating or simply admiring the beauty.
BBQ pits, showers, on-site laundry, children’s play area, and washrooms are also available at Glen Rouge Campground. It is simply a low-key campground in the heart of Toronto.
Before you arrive at this campground, ensure to pre-book your seats. These places stay packed from mid-year. So try to book your slots as early as possible, as a result, it will be a hassle-free camping trip for you and your family. It can be done by visiting their official website.
1.9. Niagara Falls Campground
One of the best campgrounds near Toronto, Niagara Falls is located along the gateway to the Niagara escarpment. The campground offers a variety of facilities like RV parking sites and tent sites. These camping areas are also equipped with fire pits, picnic tables, electricity, and free wireless internet. Additionally, the Niagara Falls Campground also has a convenience store, a gift shop, and a laundromat.
Moreover, pets are also allowed here provided they are on leashes all the time. Also, if you want to visit Niagara Falls, this campground can arrange a tour guide as well. The campground is open to campers from April to October every year and reservations are usually done in March.
1.10. Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area
Located at the Niagara Escarpment, the Rattlesnake Point Conservation area is just an hour’s drive from the city, as a result, it lets you enjoy hours of nature trails. Moreover, the limestone cliffs for rock climbing and fantastic sceneries will all be worth your effort and time. The famous Bruce Trail also cuts through this area.
The flora and fauna of this area will leave you in awe, and also the age-old cedar trees and the white vultures soaring high up in the skies will surely fascinate you. Besides, there are five lookout points where you can click pictures or simply enjoy the scenic beauty.
Group camping can also be done here but you have to inform the staff about your camping needs beforehand. You need to pre-book by visiting their official website.
1.11. Backcountry Camping near Toronto
Backcountry camping is also a wonderful way to explore the wilderness. It presents a more down-to-earth and rustic experience away from the big city. If you are looking for a perfect place for backcountry camping near Toronto, here is a perfect place.
1.12. Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site
Set along the waterway, this campsite offers tenting sites where you can enjoy group camping or solo camping. This campsite usually offers first-come basis lock stations for tenting to paddlers and cyclists.
Other than that there is a unique facility available that is known as oTENTik, and it also looks like a combination of a tent and a rustic cabin. This unique accommodation provides bunk-bed style beds, indoor tables and chairs, solar-powered interior lights, and enough space for 5-6 people. Additionally, washrooms, shower rooms, dumping stations, and vehicle parking sites are also available.
You can rent a paddle boat and enjoy paddle boating too or can simply enjoy swimming in the waterway.
2. Tips for Camping in One of the Campgrounds in Toronto
The campgrounds mentioned above are mostly away from the main city. So, it is important to pack the basic requirements.
- Get enough food, if you are not planning to cook something in your camp.
- Water is of the utmost essence. You must carry enough water with you before you head camping.
- Camping can often turn into a rough experience. For instance, you can get bug bites which might cause you trouble. So, carry comfortable and protective clothing layers.
- If you are heading camping especially in cold hotspots or in rainforest areas, you must take basic drugs with you.
- As for camps, you should keep checking the official websites, for open slots. As camping in the above-mentioned sites is popular, so it’s better if you book your camp beforehand.
3. Conclusion – Campgrounds in Toronto
Camping is an excellent way to utilize this free time and delve deep into nature’s beauty. It not only rejuvenates your mind and soul, and reduces stress but also helps to build a closer connection with your family. Moreover, camping teaches us the beautiful results of hard work and helps us get out of our comfort zone.
So what are you waiting for? Also, do not forget to check the official websites of your favourite campsites and book your slots. Let us know about your experience in the comments section, and check our other articles about campgrounds in Toronto for more invaluable insights.
