Campers! Help! Ontario Camp Grounds????

[SandraC]

Hi all! Well, my tent is out and pot and pans are washed! We MIGHT (looks chilly) go camping this weekend. My kids and dh are ready to goooooo! I am a little nervous taking a 2 year old camping ~ how will he ever sleep in a tent all night????

So where do you camp? It's been years since we camped and we'd love to get back into it!

I am even considering a tent trailer in years to come if we love this! Thanks! S

 

[mickey65]

When I was a kid we spent summers camping around Lake Superior. It was fantastic! That is a bit far for you to go camping though!

I have camped a bit at Sand Banks near Trenton/Bellville. It is beautiful there! the sites are large and private and the beach is very nice too!

HOpe you have fun where ever you go!

 

[SandraC]

We have been to Sandbanks for the day, the beach is gorgeous! My friends camp there all the time, they say it fills up fast! I think we'll try Sandbanks this summer! THX S

 

[Baboo]

Hi Sandra! We've been camping in a tent since Ginny was 2 and just love it! By the end of the day they're usually so tired that they just crash.
We love the Provincial parks. They are always clean and well looked after. Here is the web site for them. http://www.ontarioparks.com/
It has a lot of great info in it. You can read up on each park and then you can go into Reservations, log yourself in and check out the availability of sites in each park for the dates you want. You click on any spot that's available, and it will give you a brief description of the site. If you find what you want, you can reserve it right away with your credit card.
One of our favourites is Emily park. It would be about a 1-1/2 hour drive for you from home which isn't too bad. It has 2 nice swimming areas and playgrounds for the kids.
Sandbanks is a great park, but you are unlikely to get last minute reservations there.
I hope that your family enjoys their time camping as much as ours does. If you have any questions let me know.
Kathy

 

[TimNDansMom]

Thanks for the info on the provincial parks camping, Kathy. We're thinking of hauling out our camping equipment this summer! It's been years but we also used to camp when the kids were small and they were just fine. All that fresh air and they slept like logs!

 

[SandraC]

HUMMMMMM! Do I hear Camping DISmeet Summer 2003???? We were really hoping to go camping this weekend, but so many things came up that I think we'll wait until the following weekend, weather permitting. We are thinking Bronte Creek since it's so close to home. Emily sounds great too since I have an Emily who would love that! My girlfriends mom lives in Picton and says Sandbanks packs up on the weekends and in the summer. We spent a day there and it was gorgeous! Gary is looking into Rockwood, it's part of the Grand Valley Conservation Area. I am ready to go! Chat soon! S

 

[maryliz]

Hi Sandra ! We love to go to Port Burwell Provincial Park on Lake Erie. It is extremely well kept, bathrooms are clean, sites are big and very private. You have to drive to the beach, but only takes about 2 minutes. There are change rooms/washrooms at the beach, as well as a great french fry wagon !!! The beach there is beautiful, but can have some undertoes if the water is rough. We first took our dd camping when she was 2 and she loved it. We took our ds last year (he was only 16 mths old). After the first night of not being able to get him to sleep, we discovered the secret ... we got him ready for bed and took him for a bike ride. He was asleep in his bike seat within about 5 minutes ! We had the kids sleeping feet to feet on an airbed, but he was too little and kept falling off onto the tent floor. We have borrowed a huge tent for this year to try out and see if we are going to just buy a bigger tent or possibly look into a tent trailer for next year. We looked at some last summer but weren't willing to give up our early Sept trip to ASMu and AKL to pay for it (lol). At least we can take our playpen for him to sleep in with the bigger tent. Our biggest concern about ds this year is that we have to ensure he understands the "don't go near the fire" rule. Last year it was easy ... we just strapped him into a stroller.

 

[SandraC]

THANKS! I would like a tent trailer, but where to keep it and the cost! I have a couple friends who lucked out and bought inexpensive tent trailers from friends. If you hear of a cheap one, let me know! THX S

 

[katypop]

hi sandra,
this brings back happy memories of many family camping trips from the time my ds was 3. we "tented" it too. two favorites of ours are the Pinery and Bon Echo. hope you fit in a trip or two this summer.

kathe

 

[SandraC]

Thanks Kathe! This weekend looks cold and rainy, so we'll look at next weekend ~ nothing planned yet. THX S

 

[tigercat]

Our family has camped ever since my dh & I got married. All our kids still love to camp although my dh & I graduated to a tent trailer 5 yrs ago. My back couldn't take the tent anymore. We actually just got back from a week of camping. We however go north to camp. We go to Pancake Bay. It is a provincial park that is an hour north west of Sault Ste. Marie. It is wonderful. Our one daughter went camping when she was 2 1/2 months old. We love it. Will be going camping again in late September.
tigercat