Ontario Provincial Parks you need to visit this summer

It might seem far away still but summer will be here before you know it! Many Canadians are thinking about what they can do on their vacations this summer and where they will go.

Everyone is looking forward to breaking up the monotony, especially after the long, pandemic-restriction-filled winter. Probably one of the safest activities that can be enjoyed this summer is camping, hiking, or paddling in the great outdoors.

(Photo by Tegan Mierle on Unsplash)

Join us as we take a look at some of the most incredible and most beautiful provincial parks in Ontario so you can plan your summer adventures!

Sandbanks Provincial Park is one of the most beautiful parks in Ontario, and it boasts an impressive 600 campsites. If you are a beach lover, this is THE park for you! Located on Lake Ontario, near the small town of Picton, Ontario, this campsite is just a hop, skip and jump away for Torontonians.

(Photo by Mathew Ingram)

If you miss the ocean and long sandy beaches, you definitely will want to check out the Sandbanks. It is home to the world's largest freshwater sandbar and dune system and boasts three different beaches: Outlet Beach, Dunes Beach, and Lakeshore Beach. Given the vast size of Lake Ontario combined with the sandbars, you can find some pretty gnarly waves at some of the beaches, which are so much fun for watersport enthusiasts.

(Photo by: Mathew Ingram)

Algonquin Provincial Park has something for nearly everyone, which isn't surprising given its massive size: 7,653 square kilometers. Located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River, the park is relatively close to Toronto and Ottawa, making it very popular. Algonquin is a great place to explore by canoe or kayak whether you are an avid canoer or inexperienced paddler. There are over 2,400 lakes and 1,200 kilometres of rivers and streams located within the park. If you really want to escape, try out some of the canoe camping routes in the park, which allow you to truly appreciate the pristine wilderness of the park.

Algonquin Park is located in an area that is the transition between northern coniferous forest and southern deciduous forest, which allows for a massive variety of flora and fauna not found in other parks in Ontario. If you are an animal lover or bird watcher, Algonquin is a great place to catch some of Canada's most famous animals in action: moose, black bears, beavers, red foxes, Canadian jays, and great grey owls all call the park home.

(Photo by: Ptrbnsn at en.wikipedia)

Driftwood Provincial Park is located on the south shore of the Ottawa River, not far from the town of Deep River, Ontario. The park is popular among campers because it is possible to snag a campsite right on the shore of the Ottawa River and essentially have your own little piece of beach during your stay. The park owes its name to the sheltered bay it sits on that collects beautiful driftwood.

(Photo: by Mackenzie Cooper Upsplash)

Campers at Driftwood can enjoy hiking trails that offer amazing views of the Laurentian Mountains and Quebec across the Ottawa River. Paddlers can take canoe or kayak trips along the Ottawa or even cross over to the Quebec side and do a little exploring. The fishing in the area is also superb, with waters filled with northern pike, yellow pickerel, and smallmouth bass. Driftwood is the place to be if you are looking for a peaceful campground to reconnect with nature.

Bon Echo Provincial Park is home to the Mazinaw native pictographs (pictured) located on Mazinaw Rock, designated a 'National Historic Site of Canada' in 1982. The park is located in southeastern Ontario, north of the towns of Kaladar and Cloyne. Bon Echo also has several lakes within it, including Mazinaw Lake, which is among the deepest lakes in the province of Ontario.

(Photo: By D. Gordon E. Robertson)

Apart from hiking, camping, and canoeing, many visit Bon Echo for a chance to climb the 100m tall Mazinaw Rock (pictured), making it a popular destination with rock climbers who live in southern Ontario. Learning about indigenous culture and the chance to study the 260 pictographs (which are rock paintings) found in the area make Bon Echo a truly unique provincial park to visit.

(Photo: By Mhsheikholeslami)

Despite its scary name, Killbear Provincial Park is a great park to explore with the family! The combination of sandy beaches and the dense forest of the Canadian Shield makes for great days relaxing at the beach and hiking in the shady woods. The park can be found in the Parry Sound District of Ontario off of Georgian Bay, not far from the town of Nobel.

(Photo by GBBR)

Killbear Park is home to a wide variety of shorelines, landscapes, and wetlands where one can observe a variety of turtles and may even spot the endangered massasauga rattlesnake. The park is located within the larger Georgian Bay landscape, which boasts an astonishing 30,000 islands, making it the world's largest freshwater archipelago.

(Photo: By Jennifer Aitkens)

Killarney Provincial Park is found in central Ontario on the north shore of Georgian Bay and straddles the La Cloche quartzite hills. The park contains many lakes, and it is mainly a wilderness park, although it does have one campground located at the George Lake entrance. Much like Algonquin Park, Killarney is an ideal park for those that love canoe camping in the backcountry. However, the campground at George Lake also has heated yurts with electricity and bunk beds, so if setting up a tent and sleeping on the ground isn't your cup of tea, you can still enjoy this beautiful park.

(Photo by Mrspaceweb)

Killarney Provincial Park is within the Eastern boreal-forest transition ecoregion, which means there is a huge variety of flora within the park. Animals lovers and bird watchers will also enjoy hiking about to spot animals such as moose, deer, martens, beavers, more than 20 kinds of reptiles and amphibians, or the over 100 species of birds found within the park.
Pictured: a female yellow-bellied sapsucker in Killarney Provincial Park.

(Photo by Mykola Swarnyk)

Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park spans five square kilometres and surrounds the Kakabeka Falls. The breathtaking waterfalls have a 40 metre drop and are located on the Kaministiquia River, just west of Thunder Bay. The name 'Kakabeka' comes from the Ojibwe word 'gakaabikaa', which means "waterfall over a cliff". The size of the falls has earned them the nickname "Niagara of the North."

(Photo by Jeandre1794)

Apart from seeing the impressive waterfalls, there is plenty to enjoy if you visit Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park. The park has six hiking trails which total nearly 200 km in length, the Natural Heritage Education Program in the summertime, which includes daily guided hikes and nature programs for children. The visitors centre is also interesting to learn about the local flora and fauna.

(Photo: Instagram @troyzpaintdesign)

Lake Superior is the largest of the great lakes, so you must check out Lake Superior Provincial Park if you are interested in some world-class paddling. Parts of the park are straightforward to access, which is excellent for those with young children or mobility issues. However, there are also more remote sections of the park that require more effort to visit for those seeking to escape the masses. Another feature of the park is the Agawa Rock Pictographs, one of the few pictograph sites in Ontario that can be accessed by foot, open from May to September.

The scenery in Lake Superior Provincial Park is stunning and diverse, with everything from cliffs, beaches, river valleys, waterfalls, lakes to the Algoma Hills. There are plenty of hiking trails, an excellent Visitor Centre and some fantastic fishing as well. Finally, the park boasts two campgrounds with service for both tent campers and RVs, which really makes it a park that everyone can enjoy.

(Photo by The Cut - Lake Superior Provincial Park - Ontario)