My Big Trip in a Tiny Trailer as I call it has become an annual autumn outing for me, each one getting longer in distance and/or duration. This year, the fourth, was 26 days and 2800km—about the same distance as last year though almost a week longer, the difference being that I stayed two or more often three nights at each camp stop. I really enjoyed that pace and found it to be a good balance between the touring variety of several destinations and actually experiencing the parks. It is nice to settle in place and not feel always in-transit and on the move.
I set out on the BTTT with intentions… some broad geographic area I’d like to explore and a bunch of possible camp stops… but no fixed itinerary or plans I am tied to. In general, for both convenience and site quality (more about that in a future post) I like to reserve campsites before I arrive, but I only tend to book one park ahead, next from wherever I am currently staying. The flexibility means sometimes I will shorten or lengthen a stay.
September is a great time for travel camping in much of southern Canada. It tends to feel more like an extension of summer than the beginning of fall, the numbers of other travellers go down once kids return to school, and bugs are minimal. This year was far more unsettled weather than past BTTT’s, as if summer and fall were battling for dominance. While sometimes challenging to manage, it was good because I worked out logistics I never had to deal with much the past 3 years. My pop-up shelter, a screen tent with additional wind/rain panels, got a lot of use and sure proved the value of something I can erect or pack up in just a couple minutes.
I create the majority of content for this blog during winter (it’s a nice motivational task while the Teardrop is in storage and camping season seems far off) and I’ll be writing about some of this year’s BTTT experiences and destinations in due course. But I put together this brief overview, and if you’re feeling down at the notion of winterizing your camper perhaps one or two of these spots will get you scheming your Teardrop meanders for next year 😉 And to help with that, I’ve included primo site recommendations for many of the parks!
ONTARIO – NORTHEAST
Restoule Provincial Park
I visited here 20 years ago, when my child was young and I would plan several tent camping outings at Ontario Parks for us each summer. It’s a great family park, with a good quality campground, multiple beaches, and a relatively large land mass with several nice hiking trails that are back-countryish enough to feel adventurous… reminds me a bit of Arrowhead Prov Park but without the traffic noise.
Restoule Lake, what the campgrounds border, is moderately developed with cottages but Stormy Lake to the north has sparse development and seems remote, a bit like Temagami. You can feel like you’re in “the north” without having to go too far away. There are quite a few campsites with view and/or trail to the lakefront.
I stopped, along the fire tower trail, and took a photo of Luna just ahead of the exact spot I took one of Mere and our dog Christie back in 2005.
Algonquin Provincial Park (Kiosk & Brent campgrounds)
The north side of Algonquin has always seemed mysterious to me, and I have long wanted to visit and see what it’s like. Both these campgrounds are at the dead end of long roads in from Highway 17 and sit on the edge of undeveloped lakes surrounded by wilderness. Both lakes have low horsepower limits for boats, which keeps things peaceful, and paddler-friendly.
Kiosk (locally pronounced “kye-osk” I learned) campground is a 30km drive in from Hwy 17 along a paved road through the bush which I found easy to traverse with my car and teardrop trailer. At the end of that road is a small campground with just 20ish car camping sites, a beautiful northern lake, and that’s about it. There are no trails, and really nothing to do but admire the view, or go paddling/fishing if you are so equipped. I found it super-peaceful and an awesome spot to chill-out, do some reading and relaxing.
There are quite a few great sites right on the lake. I lucked-out with #17, which offered space, privacy, lake-view, shore wind protection and direct water access. But pretty much any site 11 –> 17 are great. There are a few sites back from the water (e.g., 18 –> 22) which, for my likes, wouldn’t have been a great experience seeing as The Lake is the main attraction.
Brent has a handful more car camping sites than Kiosk but is more spread out, has a couple small hiking trails, and felt a bit more active than the sleepy vibe of Kiosk. It is a 40km drive in from Hwy 17 along gravel road which gets progressively rougher and narrower as you head southward to the campground. I was not particularly at-ease pulling the teardrop with my car and its Class 1 hitch. It’s a slow go along this road but it sure does build up the feeling of being “out there”.
I was fascinated by the trail walking around the Brent Crater, a 4 km wide impression made 450 million years ago when an asteroid only around 150m wide whacked into the earth there. It is worthwhile picking up the interpretive trail guide from the park office just south of Hwy 17 on your way in otherwise the trail may just feel like a nice but unremarkable walk in the woods.
Like Kiosk, The Lake is the main attraction (though not the only one) at Brent and campsite location will affect the experience. I was on #23 one night, which was a fairly standard woodland site but had a short trail to a bench on the shore. The next night I was on #24 (on the other side of a private cottage settlement which pre-existed historically and remains in place) which was a stunning waterfront site with its own private beach (pictured below) though it is a “semi” with #25 and unfortunately my neighbours were awful. But overall any site 24 -> 30 is great. A few sites (15,16,17) look on the map like they’re by the water, which they kind-of are, but completely out in the open and bordering on a parking area.
Kap-Kig-Iwan Provincial Park
It doesn’t much matter which site you’re on at this campground near Englehart, they’re all basic, zero-privacy sites pretty horrible for Teardrop camping (since we don’t function inside our trailers the way folks with larger rigs do) and with dated facilities. BUT a mere 10 minute hike from the unassuming campground will take you to a series of waterfalls, cascades and rapids that is of stunning beauty and truly breathtaking to the senses.
I don’t know that I would stay more than a night or two in the campground but the park is absolutely worth visiting. In addition to the unexpected natural beauty (and friendly staff) a peculiar attribute of Kap Kig Iwan is that it is like a time warp back to the Ontario Provincial Parks you may remember—if you are of vintage similar to me—from the 1980’s. While visiting the falls, look for the old picnic shelter, abandoned BBQ fire pits, and admire the intricate stonework stairs and railings that date back to a time when form was as valued as much as function.
ONTARIO – NORTHCENTRAL
Ivanhoe Lake Provincial Park
As far as I could tell, this is a popular spot for Timmins residents to escape to some natural beauty. The lake, particularly the north end near the park, has a degree of cottage development (and regular float plane traffic) but it is nevertheless a beautiful northern lake with awesome skyscapes and a lot of loon activity. The dog beach at Ivanhoe is primo…it has a big wall of dog toys available for play (plus a photo board of canine visitors)… Luna was one happy camper!
I loved staying on site 108: nicely private, very close to shore, and with easy access to nearby hiking trails. Site 107 similar with slightly less privacy. There are waterfront sites in the non-electrical area though they are low privacy and interspersed with seasonal big-rigs.
Wakami Lake Provincial Park
This park is about as close to a backcountry experience as you can pull your little Teardrop trailer to. (I profiled this park previously after visiting on my first BTTT.) A completely undeveloped northern lake, loons and other waterfowl abound, and many quality waterfront sites to choose from. There’s a gravel road in (though good condition) and no hookups, which discourages big rigs. Though unfortunately that does mean generator use (more on that topic in a future post) but still a great place to camp for several nights feeling like you’re really away on a pristine northern lake. Can’t promise you a repeat, but I enjoyed an ethereal dance of Northern Lights one night.
Chutes Provincial Park
I profiled this park last year so won’t go into a lot of detail here. Though a few updates:
- Staff continue to be among the most friendly and welcoming I have experienced at Ontario Parks.
- Sites with most intense waterfall sound (which drowns out traffic from nearby Hwy 17) are #93 -> 95 plus they are in a radio- and generator-free loop which is bonus.
- The coffee and pastry oasis known as Little Brew Café in Massey, just 10-15 minute walk from campground, continues to delight!
ONTARIO – LAKE SUPERIOR COAST
Neys Provincial Park
This is the only park I have visited during all four BTTT so far, and one of just a few which warrant a sticker inside my Teardrop trailer, the most-fave spots I would readily return to as destination stays. Neys has a large, long, driftwood-strewn beach that looks and feels like it could be on Vancouver Island. Freight trains occasionally lumber their way past in the distance, snaking along the coastal hills to the north. And to the south is Pic Island, immortalized by Lauren Harris, a member of the 1920s-era “Group of Seven” painters. Wild blueberries to eat along the trails which include Spruce and Fir trees draped in lichen on account of the local boreal “rainforest” microclimate. Smooth, rounded rocks forming sinuous shorelines. The whole place just feels like iconic Canadiana.
Neys is also a favourite for my pup Luna. Taking a shore-walk along the rocks for a few hours has her clearly joyful… hopping into the water at will whenever she feels like a drink, her dog-brain working hard figuring out best route from here to there, and her legs making astounding leaps, all the while tail wagging in glee. And then quickly settles for a snooze—“a tired dog is a happy dog” I like to say. And humans will be happy too, as each water-side campsite in Area 3 has its own short private trail to the beach.
Lake Superior Provincial Park (Agawa Bay campground)
I stayed at this park on my first BTTT and couldn’t wait to leave the next day. It has a beautiful coastline but it’s a high-density campground, and right on Hwy 17 with 24 hour traffic noise. Fast-forward three years and after pulling out of Neys and reconnecting with cell signal I was looking at options down the road (sometimes for better, sometimes for worse, this only booking one park ahead thing I do) and saw a waterfront site available at Agawa and thought I would give it another try… maybe the lake waves would drown out the road sounds. Many of their waterfront sites are rated for tents only, so it must have been a recent cancellation to open up this site.
When I finally pulled in after a long drive, I found I had happened upon a primo site… water-front, water-view, and water-hear! And a glorious sunset beginning as I set up my teardrop camper on the edge of the beach. And it got even better, the next day I was able to extend the stay to 3 nights… right on the shore of Lake Superior. What a difference a great site can make. The lucky number, for your reference, was A144 (the neighbouring site A142 also great). Non-electrical sites A146 -> 149 are not strictly “waterfront” but have an unobstructed view and also great. If you’re going to teardrop camp at Agawa Bay these are surely some of the best spots.
QUEBEC – EAST
Opémican Parc National
I had the notion that I wanted to try out camping at park in Québec and with Opémican, on the eastern shore of Lake Temiskaming, just over the border just a couple hours from Algonquin north this was the perfect opportunity. Parcs nationaux are the highest tier of public parks in the province of Québec; there are 24 of them, this one being the most recent addition. I was super-impressed with all aspects of my stay and planning on crossing the provincial border again to visit more of them during next year’s BTTT.
Opémican Parc national is a very large land area, and the Pointe Opémican sector which contains the campground is just one of the areas your access entitles you to visit. Large old-growth trees abound in the forests, great lookouts on Lake Temiskaming, and Kippewa Falls to north are worth the excursion. The car camping sites are large and private, and even had electrical and water hookups. As in Canada’s (Federal) National Parks, you pay to camp plus a daily per-person access fee. Dogs are regulated in Parcs nationaux, not permitted on certain trails (in the interests of conservation) and only in some campground loops but I found there were still lots of experiences I could enjoy with Luna.
If you have been to any of these parks, feel free to add any suggestions or observations in the Comments box below!
Teardrop Trailer Travels 