Strawhouse

I visited Ferris PP during Thanksgiving 2020. Unserviced Site 86 in Bedrock Campground. Although there was shade, it had enough sun to charge my solar.

Ferris PP has two very campgrounds:
Bedrock located in a mixed forest with easy access to the gorge trail loop that takes you along the Trent River to nearby Campbellford. There is a swing pedestrian bridge that crosses the river. Although the Park website indicated that it was closed due to Covid, it was open when I was there on the 2020 Thanksgiving weekend. It should be noted that the campground was almost full, and the trail was busy; however, everyone was wearing masks and maintaining prescribed social distances.

Valleyview campground is located at a higher elevation in a mainly hardwood forest. There is access to both the gorge trail and another trail through the forest.

There are several interconnecting trails in the park. The gorge trail loop that takes you along the Trent River to nearby Campbellford. There is a swing pedestrian bridge that crosses the river. Although the Park website indicated that it was closed due to Covid, it was open when I was there on the 2020 Thanksgiving weekend. It should be noted that the campground was almost full, and the trail was busy; however, everyone was wearing masks and maintaining prescribed social distances.

The Drumlin trail system takes you into the mixed forest and wetlands.

Note: The $31/night rate was the Senior rate for an unserviced. This rate does not include HST or the online reservation fee. The total cost was $118.09 for 3 nights.

I was staying at the campground on the way home from a long trip. I wanted to check it our for a camping organization (30 trailers) for the fall of 2023. Other members of my group had stayed there a few weeks earlier, and said they wouldn’t use the bathrooms or showers.
When I camped there, only 2 of the 3 showers, plus family shower, were open.The bathroom floors and baseboard area need a good scrubbing, as did the showers. There were old cobwebs in the corners near the door.
I explained to Crystal in the office that I wanted to bring a group, but I was concerned about the bathrooms and showers. She said they are cleaned daily. I went back to check 3 hours later. The bathroom had been tidied, but the cobwebs in the showers were still there. When I dropped in to the office afterwards, Crystal said that they had been cleaned. I told her that the cobwebs by the door were still there. Apparently, no one was going to put in the effort to make the showers presentable. She obviously isn’t interested in the $6000 min that we would have brought to the campground in late September 2023.
It’s a shame, since the campground is beautiful and otherwise well maintained.

The

My rate was a senior rate.

Charleston Lake is a beautiful place to paddle. Motorboats are prohibited in the bay adjacent to the park. They started a new guided canoe/kayak program this year. Two knowledgeable staff members led our group on an informative tour around part of the bay. I certainly hope that this program continues at Charleston Lake and is expanded to other Provincial Parks.

It should be noted that there is no park store for groceries, but there is a small private campground store just south of the park and a chain store in nearby Landsdowne (don’t let the exterior mislead you. It is larger inside than it appears for the street).

As with other Ontario Provincial Parks, it is often difficult to get a reservation—particularly on long weekends. I was meeting a group of friends from PopupPortal. We were arriving on the Monday prior to the Civic Holiday in August. Three of us were on messenger before 7am on the day that reservations were to open. Only 1 of us was able to get a reservation at that time. I ended up with a non-electric site. It was quite apparent that people book 23 days prior to their intended camping days and cancel the extra days. Eventually, 6 families were
able to get reservations due to cancellations, but 2 were not. This happened to another group I camped with at Arrowhead on the July 1st weekend. SO frustrating!

I stayed for 1 night enroute to Maryland.
The campground is made up of 10 campsites in each of 5 cul de sacs that are grouped around a comfort station.
The expansive day use/beach area is beautiful! The staff obviously take great pride in keeping the park well-maintained!

Arrowhead is a beautiful park. There are 3 large campgrounds and a recently added RV area with drive-thru sites.

Arrowhead has a relatively new Visitors Centre with limited groceries (condiments, etc. And a good selection of souvenirs. Canoe/kayak rentals are available.

The beaches are clean. However, the nearest washroom to the Roe campground beach is at least a 7min walk for amp adult. This makes it difficult for families with young children. Imagine one adult with young kids! A vault toilet is really needed.

It should be noted that $34.20 is the seniors’ rate.

This was my second trip to Mikisew. I was camping in my Aliner with solar power. My previous trip was car camping with my backpacking tent in Sept 2015.
Mikisew was originally a private campground that was taken over by Ontario Parks in the 60s. The sites nearest the lake are generally more private than those in the upper level. There are two comfort stations with showers and laundry and several vault toilets scattered throughout the camping loops.
There are two beaches, a fenced dog beach, and a boat launch on beautiful Eagle Lake. It should be noted that their are numerous shallow shoals—many shallow enough to run aground when canoeing or kayaking.

Note: I paid the senior rate. The regular rate for an unserviced site is $42.

Ontario Kickoff to Summer Rally May 24th Weekend 2017
This was my first visit to Inverhuron PP. There are three large camping loops in the park. I was on the Lime Kiln loop. The sites are large, well-treed and very private. There was one vault toilet and access to two comfort stations on my loop. Each comfort station was clean and well-appointed with several showers. Each of the comfort stations are shared with one of the other loops.
There is an excellent, well-maintained hiking trail along the lake shore. There are several access points to the trails from the camping loops. Dogs are allowed on all but the beach area of the lakeshore.
I had cell access to Bell 3 bars 3G.

My original review was based on my 1-night layover in 2016. I met with friends from PA and CT for a 5-night stay over the Memorial Day weekend in May 2017,
The gate staff were very welcoming and helpful. You can buy firewood sourced within the park ($5 for a good-sized bundle) and ice ($2/bag) at the park gate--in person or by phone. Either way, they will deliver it to your site at no additional charge. All proceeds go to the park programs. The delivery staff are great.

There are special programs offered throughout the camping season. During this weekend, there was a 'Strum in' of 6 bands on Sat with a firefighter BBQ, a Memorial Day service, and a Geocaching event. There are lots of well-maintained trails.

The new washrooms are very clean and well maintained. the showers operate with a push-on control. You cannot adjust the temperature. It took me 5 push cycles to get hottish water. The flow was affected by toilet flushes. There is an outdoor wash station at the back of each comfort station. However, a sign should be mounted at the front of the building to promote its use. While I was there, I saw some of the tent campers washing dishes at a water faucet in their loop.
There is a take-one/leave-one bookshelf at the washrooms for sharing reading materials.

On my first stay at Schodack Island, I was on a drive-through site in the Riverside loop. At that time, there was little ground cover between sites. I was concerned about the fragility of the sparse undergrowth. Fortunately, there has been considerable regrowth between the sites. However, some of the larger trees appear to be stressed due to sand around their trunks.
On this trip, I was in a back-in site on the Creekside loop. If you're looking for orivacy, I would recommend one of the back-in sites.

A cautionary note: One of my friends was on a drive-through site. While sitting around the campfire just before dusk, my friend noticed that there was a large vine of poison ivy (oak?) climbing one of the large trees in the middle of their site. It was evident from the debris around the trunk that the staff had recently used a weed wackier to cut it back. My friend reported the ivy to park staff who drove by. The next day, two men came to rip out the remaining vines. I suspect that they will just grow back. While geocaching, we met a woman who lives in the area. She told us that poison ivy is rampant in the park.

There was considerable traffic noise from the surrounding area--both from highways and railroads. However, after a while it just seemed like background noise to me.

On both visits to Schodack Is, I was using a Bell travel package for my cell. Unfortunately, the carrier was usually T-Mobile E, and I had no internet service. Occasionally I would get AT&T 3G.

I stayed here for a few days with a group of my U.S. camping friends (6 RVs) in early May 2024.
IMHO, it’s the perfect location for those who want a quiet camping experience nearby coastal towns.

There is one loop with back-in sites around the perimeter and 7 pull-through sites in the centre. There is a short seasonal lane extending inland from the camping loop with well-maintained units. They offer unserviced tent sites, E/W, and full service sites. I stayed in a full-service site. Almost all of the camping sites were occupied during our visit.

Another reviewer commented that the sites were close together. That is true, but it was quiet both during the day and evening.

Sue and Rick, the Campground Hosts during our visit, were friendly and gracious. Rick took great care to maintain and rake each site after a guest left to ensure that campers arrived to a tidy campsite.

I will gladly return to Wild Duck on future trips to the Maine coast.
FREE WiFi
(Visiting from Muskoka ON 🇨🇦)