View Full Version : Best camping in the GTA?
orangegreen
Aug 7th, 2006, 01:11 PM
What's the best camping spot in the GTA? By camping I mean tent, lake/river, fire, bush, mosquitos. No showers, public bathrooms, and convenience stores.
orangegreen
Aug 7th, 2006, 01:24 PM
anyone?
ah802
Aug 7th, 2006, 02:05 PM
GTA... you mean the density per sq metre of people GTA? Airport, Humber River delta, Don River parks, Rosedale valley rd., Cherry Beach, the Spit (excuse Cherry beach, might have public toilets).. you homeless, want the address of a good bridge? I thought I saw some tents under the Gardener around the X.
Seriously... the Cherry Beach area has been used as overflow camping at one point in it's history... but that is all gone. Lakeshore in Miss used to have something.. but that is also gone.
I expect the niagra escarpment, bruce trails to offer what you're looking for but a bit out of range.. and it's pick-up what your drop (yuk). The forks of the credit river is said to be very nice.
Doing a search on Google brings: The Glen Rouge campground, but it probably has the human facilites and it's billed as Toronto's only campground. There's some KOA's and private stuff, not too far... but you would need a car.
The Glen Rouge Campground is nestled in 12,000 acres of forests and meadows in Rouge Park, Canada’s largest urban park. Just steps from your tent or trailer you will find kilometres of trails teeming with plant and animal life. Watch for fox, rabbit, deer, wild turkey and many
species of birds among the pines, hemlocks and maples.
You might want to get google earth and just look for large tracts of unpopulated areas. I once spent a month in Etobicoke creek area in a tent and no one bothered me.. but that quite a while ago and the plane noise is deafing.
Bullseye
Aug 7th, 2006, 09:42 PM
Bruce Trail, lots of hike-in only sites.
MkmBandit
Aug 7th, 2006, 10:01 PM
you homeless, want the address of a good bridge? I thought I saw some tents under the Gardener around the X...
...I once spent a month in Etobicoke creek area in a tent and no one bothered me.. but that quite a while ago and the plane noise is deafing.
:lol: :lol:
d0fuz
Aug 7th, 2006, 10:43 PM
just came back from the little bonnechure... it was great!
civ@uw
Aug 7th, 2006, 10:58 PM
The Glen Rouge campground is made up mainly of grass covered sites with no boundary/privacy (trees) between adjacent campsites, and there's usually a lot of RV campers. You won't really get the feeling that you're getting away from it all, but with that said it's pretty good for GTA.
doodypoo
Aug 7th, 2006, 11:59 PM
http://www.ponderosa.on.ca/
orangegreen
Aug 8th, 2006, 10:24 AM
How about beyond the GTA? I'm not necessarily looking for camping within the city... I guess I worded that wrong. I basically want a place where I can "rough it" and not see a bunch of RVs, etc. I've lived here a couple years but nobody has ever recommended such a spot when I've asked. It's usually the run-of-the-mill Ontario park or somewhere you'll find bikini-clad tourists. I WANT NATURE!! :)
cwb27
Aug 8th, 2006, 10:27 AM
How about beyond the GTA? I'm not necessarily looking for camping within the city... I guess I worded that wrong. I basically want a place where I can "rough it" and not see a bunch of RVs, etc. I've lived here a couple years but nobody has ever recommended such a spot when I've asked. It's usually the run-of-the-mill Ontario park or somewhere you'll find bikini-clad tourists. I WANT NATURE!! :)
Muskokas
raptorfan
Aug 8th, 2006, 10:29 AM
algonquin has areas just like that..my husband & his friend go portaging and maybe see one or two other people the week they're there. No amenities at all.. that's why i'm waving goodbye in the driveway... :D
orangegreen
Aug 8th, 2006, 10:33 AM
algonquin has areas just like that..my husband & his friend go portaging and maybe see one or two other people the week they're there. No amenities at all.. that's why i'm waving goodbye in the driveway... :D
Awesome! That's exactly what I'm looking for. Have any more info? Directions? ...a map would be phenomenal :)
raptorfan
Aug 8th, 2006, 10:52 AM
maybe of help...
The wilderness heart of the park is accessible only by foot or by canoe, and with more than a thousand miles of designated canoe routes that ply more than a thousand named lakes, this is a haven for the modern-day voyageur.
Algonquin Park is scarcely a secret, and summer weekend crowds can be formidable. To avoid them, stick to the lakes in the north. Kioshkokwi is a good put-in point, leading into a vast interlocking river, lake, and portage system, with some of the best fishing and wildlife-viewing opportunities in the park.
http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/index.html
Talamasca
Aug 14th, 2006, 12:16 AM
I spent this past weekend at Algonquin (first time ever) and I must say the crowds were pretty much non-existent. I hiked 7 of the trails (and my legs are so sore right now!) but I barely saw anyone. The only time was at Lookout Trail. I was enjoying the spectacular view all by myself when the passengers of a coach all appeared en masse.
A tip for photographers - Algonquin in the early morning is incredibly beautiful. The mist coming off the lakes and the foraging animals is breathtaking.
B40
Aug 14th, 2006, 05:02 AM
Awesome! That's exactly what I'm looking for. Have any more info? Directions? ...a map would be phenomenal :)
If that's what you're looking for, you're looking for a back country trip, which means you will have to go out of the GTA. Algonquin is only a 2 hour drive though and it is beautiful... again, no amenities, no outhouse, just a wooden box with a hole in it...
You have to canoe to your camp site and sometimes carry your canoe over land.. which means each person can only bring what they can carry.. no bringing big coolers packed with beers :|
A tip for photographers - Algonquin in the early morning is incredibly beautiful. The mist coming off the lakes and the foraging animals is breathtaking.
Indeed... nothing like waking up to that view and seeing/hearing the loons...