The best camping in Bon Echo Provincial Park, ON

Known for its 260 Indigenous pictographs on the cliffs of Mazinaw Rock, Bon Echo Provincial Park is set in central Ontario, between Toronto and Ottawa. In this forested park, you can go canoeing on Mazinaw Lake or take a boat tour to Mazinaw Rock to see the pictographs or hike the Cliff Top Trail above the lake. Swim at three sand beaches, including Main Beach on Lower Mazinaw Lake, South Beach in the day-use area, and North Beach in Sawmill Bay Campground. Campers can choose from more than 500 car camping or walk-in sites (about 200 have electrical hookups) in several areas with comfort stations. Other options for campers include yurts, rustic cabins, and 30 canoe-in or hike-in backcountry campsites.

• Best for tent campers: Sawmill Bay Campground
• Best for families: Fairway Campground
• Best for forest camping: Hardwood Hill Campground

1. Reservations for campsites at Ontario’s provincial parks become available five months in advance. Book online through the Ontario Parks online reservations service. The booking site opens at 7am, so get up early for the best choice of campsites.
2. July and August are the busiest months for campers, particularly on weekends. You’ll often find better availability in the spring or the fall. While reservations are always recommended, cancellations do occur, so you can sometimes find last-minute openings.

Bon Echo opens in mid-May and closes in mid-October after Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Autumn colors can be striking in this part of Ontario, which makes late September and early October good times to visit—just bring warmer clothes, as the weather can begin to turn cool. For the warmest temperatures, come during the busy summer months of July and August. The park is usually less crowded between Sunday and Thursday than it is on the weekends.

• Bon Echo Provincial Park is outside the village of Cloyne, which has a small market. There’s a larger grocery store in Northbrook about 20 minutes south of the park. The park has a book and gift shop, but no food concessions, so bring whatever you need.
• You can only see the Bon Echo pictographs from the water, either on a boat tour or by paddling across Mazinaw Lake. The park rents canoes and kayaks. 
• If you’d like to canoe to your campsite, opt for one of the canoe-in sites on Joeperry or Pearson Lakes. There’s a 500-meter portage from the parking lot to the Joeperry Lake shore.