Nature’s Playground: Unlocking 8 Amazing Adventures in Grundy Provincial Park

Hari Om Dubey
Hari Om Dubey Things to Do
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Canada is second in landmass among countries, with a surface area of 9.98 million square kilometers.

The country comes second only to Russia in terms of size. However, despite being so grand, ninety percent of the Canadian population still lives within 100 miles of the American border.

These low population levels have led to the development of many provincial and national parks. The vast scale of nature scenery has given Canadians and foreign tourists alike multiple adventure avenues.

The many parks in Canada include Yoho National Park, Port Burwell Provincial Park, Banff National Park, and Grundy Provincial Park, to name a few.

serene kayak grundy lake park
Image Source: ontariopark.com

1. About Grundy Provincial Park

The Grundy Provincial Park is located south of the most populated Canadian province, Ontario. The park was set up in 1959 to serve as a natural environment park, attracting tourists and conserving flora.

The park is a part of the larger Ontario parks system and is located near Britt. It is easily accessible from Highway 69 and Highway 522. It is located on the route of the trans-Canada highway near northern Georgian Bay.

Grundy Provincial Park is named after Grundy Lake. Grundy Lake is south of the French River as you move to northern Ontario.

However, countless other inland lakes exist in the park grounds area, including Gurd Lake, Gut Lake, and Clear Lake.

The Grundy Provincial Park has nine campgrounds on its campus. Moreover, over four hundred different camping spots are across the nine campgrounds.

2. Things to Do in Grundy Provincial Park

This park has various things to do, making it a real gem.

2.1. Hiking

Grundy Provincial Park is a great site for hiking into the wild. Three hiking trails guide you in the park. These are the Gut Lake trail, Swan Lake trail, and Beaver Dams trail.

While the Swan Lake trail encircles Swan Lake, it is not quite long, just nearly two kilometers long.

The Gut Lake trail is the second longest hiking trail, which helps cover a distance of about 2.5 kilometers in about an hour.

On the other hand, the Beaver Dams trail is the largest, covering more than 3.6 kilometers.

Hiking in the park allows you to view nature in its actual state. You might like to take up walking in the early morning or evening as the sun would be directly overhead in the afternoon.

A hike in the park would reveal the gorgeous beauty of nature, coupled with diverse wildlife, including beavers and deer.

2.1.1 Best Campground for Hiking

White Spruce Campground is the best camping site for getting out for hiking. This campground has easy access to the hiking trails and is the quietest. Also, the Gurd Lake Trail starts from this campground, making it easy to go out for hiking.

With just about thirty-two camping sites, this is the smallest campground. This campground is near Gut Lake and has three premium campsites. This will certainly help in getting the best experience of the trip.

However, the White Spruce has neither any waterfront or electrical sites. Also, the park is not fit for more than thirty-two-foot trailers.

2.2. Canoeing

Biking, Hiking, Canoeing and Camping at Grundy Lake Provincial Park!

Many small lakes are apart from the big ones in Grundy Provincial Park. The lakes in the provincial park are a great place for paddlers.

Canoeing in Grundy presents an adventurous task along with the mesmerizing settings of the lake and nearby beaches and campgrounds.

For starters, Grundy Lake is your ideal place for canoeing. You do not need to worry much about safety, as the lake does not let you venture much into the wild.

However, if you are an adrenaline junkie, you can go into the difficult waters of Clear Lake and Gut Lake.

Water can easily reach all nine campgrounds in the provincial park. Hence, irrespective of the choice of the campground, you can always venture far from it and easily navigate back to it.

2.2.1 Best Campground for Canoeing

Although most lakes are well connected with all campgrounds, the Red Maple Campground is the best site to camp in if you are here for canoeing purposes.

Apart from 36 regular camping sites, this campground has nine campsites adjacent to the lakes. Hence, the Red Maple campground is the best site for camping if you wish to reach the lake quickly.

However, all the campsites in this campground are non-serviced, which might be less comfortable for you, especially with your family.

Another downside of this site is that no pet animals are allowed, and you will not be allowed loud music here. You must limit your noise and leave your pets at home.

2.3. Swimming

Cliff Jumping at Grundy Lake Provincial Park | How to find where to jump at Grundy

Nothing soothes and relaxes better than swimming on a warm, sunny afternoon. Swimming in Grundy Lake Provincial Park is helpful because of the shallow and warm water in the lake. Apart from Grundy Lake, Clear Lake and Gut Lake are also safe zones for swimming.

In the Grundy Provincial Park, there are a total of six natural sand beaches that are distributed across the lakes.

The Main Beach is the largest in this park. It is situated near Grundy Lake. The Main beach is also best in terms of gradual drop-off.

However, a significant drawback of swimming at the lakes of this park is the absence of deployment of lifeguards.

This would require you to pay extra attention to your kids and pets. The absence of lifeguards stops people from going as carefree as they would like to.

2.3.1 Best Campground for Swimming

You should go to Poplar campground if you have to go swimming. This campground is the ideal place to go swimming.

While adjacent to the main lakes, it also has a beach volleyball court, which adds to the park’s attractions.

Poplar Campground is the largest campground in the Grundy, PP. It has nearly seventy campsites, with 14 of them located near Gurd lake.

These 14 sites are premium, offering all the comforts and facilities that make launching to the lake for swimming easier.

Apart from these 14, there are also more than 40 electrical campsites to facilitate appropriate facilities.

In addition, Poplar is a pet-friendly site, meaning you are free to bring your pets along on the trip.

Also, the campground can accommodate RVs and has stations for laundry. It also has flush toilets and showers to aid the tourists and give them a premium experience.

2.4. Cliff Jumping

Grundy Provincial Park falls in the Appalachian trail section. As a result, there are large weathering rocks reminiscent of the past mountains. Many of these rocks are near a water body like a lake or lagoon.

As stated earlier, there are eight beaches in this provincial park. Although many of their shorelines are sandy, an almost equal proportion of the beaches are rocky.

Such conditions provide an ideal condition for cliff jumping. Gurd Lake, with its rocky shores, is considered the best site for this purpose. People coming to this park to seek adventure must go cliff jumping.

2.4.1 Best Campground for Cliff Jumping

Hemlock Campground is the perfect site to camp if you are adventurous. This campground is south of Gurd Lake. Camping here enables you to be in proximity to the jumping rocks.

This campground has a premium waterfront site with the availability of electricity. However, a few campsites here do not have access to water. Hence, be sure to check for it if you are camping here.

The Hemlock campground can house trailers within 32 ft. Also, it generally has a level surface with associated facilities such as showers and flush toilets.

2.5. Fishing

Fishing is a central activity in Canadian picnics. Canadian lakes are generally rich in marine life, making them great fishing places.

Grundy Provincial Park is not averse to this phenomenon, and visitors find a particular thrill in fishing in the quiet lakes.

You can go boating or stay on the shores to catch fish. Boating enables people from deep sections of the lake.

Fishes can be easily found here as the number of fishes in these portions is high. Also, fish found here are better quality than those caught on the shores.

While fishing here, you can catch northern pike, trout, walleye, and bass. Other species of fish, like crappie and panfish, can also be found, although they are comparatively fewer in number.

However, fishing is not permitted in all the lakes of the park. In several small lakes, such as Swan Lake, fishing is restricted. Hence, you must check out the lakes which allow fishing.

2.5.1 Best Campground for Fishing

White Birch Campground is the best camping ground for fishing and boating purposes. This campground is located west of the biggest lake in Grundy Park, Grundy Lake.

This offers seven waterfront camping sites with electric supply and two other ones without.

Keeping the tourist needs in mind, all these sites are available with premium services. Apart from these nine premium sites, there are 28 regular and 21 electrical campsites.

Tourists here can have easy access to two beaches in two directions. The main beach lies on the southern side of the ground, while a smaller one is on the northern side.

The White Birch campground also has several items required in fishing, like anglers and baits. A person interested in fishing can buy them from the vendors.

2.6. Gazing at Sunrise and Sunset

One of the perks of being in the lap of nature like these parks is that we get to see the pristine beauty of nature in all its glory.

This scintillating beauty of the environment is at its best at sunrise and sunset. Grundy Provincial Park offers majestic and awesome sunset and sunrise views.

If you have been to Grundy Provincial Park but did not care enough to capture photos of these breathtaking views, you have certainly been at a loss.

The perfect location to capture sunrise and sunset photos is the edge of campgrounds near lakes.

Once you get to the right campsite, you can view sunset and sunrise from the coziness of your sleeping bag.

You can view the rising or setting sun from here, painting the trees golden brown. When this view gets reflected in the mirror of the lake’s clear water, it looks serene.

2.6.1 Best Campground for Gazing at Sunrise and Sunset

Balsam Campground is a great place to watch sunrise and sunset. This campground does not entertain much crowd and is quiet and calm.

In addition to that, Balsam campground is situated near Clear Lake, which helps provide a good view.

This campground has five premium campsites, which are in proximity to the lake. These campsites are in the premium regular category. There are also canoe and kayak launch facilities for the best experience.

Balsam Campground also offers water stations, showers, and toilets. Due to the presence of all these facilities, this campground is also referred to as the gem of the Grundy Lake Provincial Park.

However, you cannot set up tents and campers which are more than 25 ft.

2.7. Biking

Biking is another wonderful activity that you can indulge in Grundy Provincial Park. Biking is an amazing opportunity in the park to view its diverse wildlife and natural scenery at ease. You can also say that biking here would help you to see great views while exercising!

However, biking trails are not clearly defined and demarcated at Grundy. You will have to rely on regular campground roads for biking.

Pakeshkag Lake Trail can be of use in this regard. This trail offers some amazing views of backcountry sites and the birds and animals of the park. It can take approximately an hour to complete biking on this trail.

2.7.1 Best Campground for Biking

Trailer campground is certainly a wonderful campground for biking. This camp is specially set up to facilitate the accommodation of large trailers. From here, the campground derives its name, ‘trailer campground.’

The Pakeshkag trail is not far from here. In addition, tourists are allowed to have generators, but you should be mindful of not disturbing the peace and calm of the park.

This campground is near the Poplar campground and lies near Lake Gurd. The campground has necessary amenities like electricity and toilets.

2.8. Bird Watching

It is only obvious that in the lap of nature like these, bird watching will be a common thing to do. Grundy Provincial Park serves as a home to a plethora of native and migratory birds. These birds attract many bird lovers to the park every year.

Frequently found birds at this park include the Great Blue Heron, Common Loon, and other species of hawks and vultures.

However, a particular bird that excites me is the owl. Some species of owl that can be easily found here are the Great-horned owl and the Northern Saw-whet owl.

The Great Blue Heron is the star attraction at the park. You can easily find these birds at the Beaver Dams Trail. You can also see Woodpeckers and Grouse.

However, the bird species of particular interest to bird lovers is the swan. A pair of Swans pay a visit to the park every year. You need to be vigilant if you wish to see these birds here.

2.8.1 Best Campground for Bird Watching

Although birds can be easily found throughout the Grundy Provincial Park, they can be best viewed from the White Pine Campground.

This campground offers tourists several amenities, which makes it easier for them to be carefree and capture these birds with their cameras.

In addition to these amenities, this campground is south of Grundy Lake. More birds can be sighted at this lake and its surroundings than at any other location in the park.

Amenities in this campground include the availability of electrical campsites and laundry services. However, a significant drawback of camping here is that campsites are in the non-serviced category.

3. The Final Words

Camping in Grundy Provincial Park is an excellent opportunity. You get to relieve yourselves from the hustle and problems of the city while immersing in the gentle and calm atmosphere of the park.

You can have a wholesome experience of the park activities by going with your friends and family. There are many things to do here, and it would lead to long-lasting memories of bonding and friendships.

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Last Updated on by Sathi Chakraborty

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