This trip was two years in the making. If you look up Top Five lists of Provincial Parks Bon Echo is always on it. This was a bucket list park that I have been trying to get a site at for a couple of summers. Even before the surge of people now wanting to camp because of the Covid Pandemic this was a hard park to get a site on.
This was our year! Five months to the day I was online booking our site. After a system crash and hitting refresh for the millionth time I got us a site at Fairway Campsite. This is the best campground if you want to be near the best beach and dog exercise area. As you know we never camp without our Pup so this was important to us.
With a four-hour drive from Kitchener ahead of us we got on the highway by nine. Using the new 407 extension and missing all the Toronto traffic it was smooth sailing. This was the second time this summer using the 407 all the way and yes it's expensive but I always look at how it makes the trip hassle-free and that is worth something too. We needed to make a stop for lunch and a quick walk for Pup. When I was mapping it all out I saw we would be in Peterborough ahead of lunchtime. As my silly goal is to hit all Provincial parks this was perfect to have a picnic at Mark S. Burnham Provincial Park.
We picked up McDonald's and drove down the street another two minutes to the park. This is a day-use park only with a small parking area. It was perfect for what we needed. There was a picnic shelter for our lunch and an easy trail for quick exercise for the dog. Also, the washrooms were in fairly good condition for us before heading back in the car to our next location.
The drive after Madoc really opened our eyes to the destruction from the storm that ripped through Ontario in May. Forests and homes were destroyed along the highway. The clean-up will be months maybe years.
We arrived at Bon Echo just after two ready to check-in. There was a good amount of campers in line with me to check-in. This is a very busy and large campground, be prepared for some wait time. Buy your firewood when you check-in. You get vouchers and have to go to a woodpile. This way you won't need to stand in line again. If you know you will need to buy wood every day you are there just get that many vouchers. It will save you time.
There are a lot of fun activities to do and some great evening entertainment. You need to watch your days. We got there on a Monday and left Wednesday morning. If this was something that was important to us we would have been out of luck.
Bon Echo is known for its Pictographs. You need to have some kind of water vessel to see them. You can rent anything from kayaks to paddleboards and canoes. There is also a boat launch area if you brought your own craft. They make it very easy. Since my family is not canoers (see earlier Blog about me teaching my son and how badly it went) we were going to go on a tour boat. Unfortunately, the tour boat wasn't running this summer which was a real bummer.
If you are looking for the Pictographs they are on the rocky ridge. You will see lots of people around the area. It's a dead giveaway.
There is a nice trail that goes down to a peak to the water. This was our favorite trail as it was less buggy. The weather had made the blackflies and mosquitos a bit of a problem.
By far our favorite area to hang out is the dog beach. Our Pup was in her happy place. The Park also has an off-leash trail. We tried to walk it but the bugs forced us out. The bit we did walk it looked great.
The beach for all the campers and day use is also beautiful!
But it can get very busy by mid-morning. The dog beach has a sandbar that goes out forever and the water is crystal clear to the bottom. The dog beach has this large grassy area where dogs are just roaming around living their best lives!!
We swam about three times each day since it was so hot and the water was beautiful! It's calm and warm perfect for the hot August heatwave we were in!
We tried to find a good fishing spot but it was tough. The most fishing we saw was people in boats farther into the lake. We tried from the dog beach. We had gotten up pretty early so we had the place to ourselves. Sunrise fishing can't be beaten even if you don't catch anything!
We didn't get to see a lot of wildlife except for chipmunks. Lots of brave chipmunks. I think our Pup was so shocked by this little guy and either its stupidity or bravery. She let the chipmunk steal from her twice but the third time was too much. She had to give chase!
This trip was well worth the wait. There are plenty of reasons this Provincial Park is in everyone's top fives! There is so much to do. If you are a family into water sports you can not go wrong with this campground. If you have a four-legged member of the family then this park is a must!!!
After two days and lots of swimming we were ready for a rest.
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