What are you doing with those remaining free summer weekends? Don’t forget to carve out time to hang out in the woods and play by the water.
Summer getaways are for the whole family, including your furry best friend. Planning a camping trip or beach day can be a bit tricky when considering your pet since most swimming beaches and sheltered camping in Ontario either do not allow pets or have specific rules and regulations. So, where can you go to enjoy those sunny days and starry nights with your trusted canine companion?
These 11 Ontario parks have dog-friendly beaches and campsites, so pack your bags and hit the road with your four-legged friend.
Algonquin Provincial Park
With its many hiking trails ranging from one kilometre to 11 in length, endless lakes where you can follow canoe routes and surrounding views of forests and mountains, Algonquin Park is a beautiful spot to camp or spend the day. Your fluffy family member can join you in select park locations. Find pet recreation spots, including beaches, near the East and West Gate, Mew Lake, Rock Lake and Lake of Two Rivers.
This provincial park has four dog beaches, so your pup can cool off and play around during the day. While there are some pet-free areas and campgrounds – including Canisbay, Mew Lake, Pog Lake, and Achray – Algonquin has two dog-friendly roofed accommodations for overnight adventures. Reserve Yurt 39 or Cabin 37 to bring your furry friend along for the camping trip. A maximum of two dogs are permitted per roofed stay in provincial parks, with a $40.00 reservation fee.
Killbear Provincial Park
Enjoy majestic views of windswept pines perched on rocky islands and rugged shorelines mixed with smooth sandy beaches at Killbear Provincial Park. This Ontario park offers pet-friendly spaces, including two designated dog beaches for your pup to splash around, one is a pet exercise area (that means off-leash time). Find the on-leash beach adjacent Twin Point Trail. The dog-friendly beach near the Group Camping area (off site 1501), is the only spot your furry friend can go to without a leash.
Don’t forget to keep your dog on a leash while using hiking trails and other park areas, as is the case in all Ontario parks.
Bon Echo Provincial Park
Known for the 100-metre Mazinaw Rock rising from the lake, featuring hundreds of Indigenous pictographs, Bon Echo offers great hiking trails, magical paddle routes and various camping experiences. Pets are not allowed at the three sandy swimming beaches within the park, but you’ll find a designated dog beach located on lower Mazinaw Lake, between the Main and South Beaches. The sandy area is shallow for a way out so your pup can splash around, plus there is a nearby grassy area where they can play. A garbage can for pet-waste is nearby, so don’t forget to clean up after them.
Take your pup to the Pet Exercise Trail, a 1.4-kilometre walking loop where dogs can enjoy some off-leash time. Planning to camp with your canine pal? Two roofed accommodations are available for dog-friendly reservations – Yurt 153 and Cabin 612. Only dogs and no other pets are allowed in these specified camping shelters.
Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park
Find the second-highest Ontario waterfall, a 40-metre-high cascade with excellent viewing points, including a boardwalk path, in Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park. A dog-friendly beach is in the park, and while they cannot join you for a dip at the sandy swimming beach, pups are permitted on the grass area near the sand and picnic setup. The beach available for your canine companion is found just down the shore from the swimming one. Dogs can also join you for overnight car or tent camping in the park.
Pancake Bay Provincial Park
Transport yourself to the tropics at this Ontario park, which features three kilometres of white sandy shores along a lake of turquoise blue water. Pets are not permitted in the swimming section, but the park has a specified dog beach for your furry friend to splash and cool down and it’s along the same stretch of sandy shoreline. It’s close to the Hilltop Campground Sites, before the cabins.
Grab your dog’s leash to enjoy some stunning hikes; the Lookout Trail guides you to epic panoramic views, where you’ll gaze out over Lake Superior and Pancake Bay. A separate dog exercise trail is accessed between sites 438 and 439.
Spend the night and include your canine in one of the car-camping sites, or reserve the pet-friendly Yurt 365. Again, you’ll need to pay a $40 reservation fee to book the yurt with a pup, and there is a maximum of two dogs per roofed shelter.
Restoule Provincial Park
Paddle alongside ancient cedar trees, hike the Fire Tower Trail for a breathtaking view of Stormy Lake and soak up the sun on a sandy shore at Restoule Park. Bells Point Beach is one of the three sandy beaches with a pet exercise area so your dog can enjoy cooling off in the water. It’s located next to the walk-in campsites. Pups can go off-leash in the pet exercise area by Angel’s Point Trail, near the Kettle Point Campground Sites.
Your furry friend can join you in an RV or tent as you camp, whether surrounded by maple trees or choose a waterfront campsite.
Killarney Provincial Park
A picture-perfect wilderness landscape, this provincial park is so beautiful it has long captivated artists, including the renowned Group of Seven. Killarney Provincial Park is a hiker’s paradise and features lakes for swimming and unique views, such as the white quartzite ridges of La Cloche Mountains. Keep an eye out for the pet-friendly beach available to your four-legged companion, accessed via the Trout Creek campground, after a short walk on La Cloche Silhouette Trail.
Discover unique campsite options here, including many backcountry locations, car camping spots and roofed accommodations. Dogs are permitted in cars, tents, and Yurt 6. Like all of them, this yurt has an outdoor dining area with a BBQ, indoor lighting and electric heat.
Charleston Lake Provincial Park
Explore multiple trail loops with shoreline views, mixed forests, wetland-crossing boardwalks, and rock ridges at Charleston Lake Provincial Park. This Ontario park has two beaches for swimming, a prime fishing lake, and waterways to paddle. Bring your dog to the pet-exercise area – the dog-friendly beach where pups can go swimming next to Shady Ridge Beach. The beach is near the parking lot between campsites 317and 318. There are some picnic tables nearby for pet-owners to sit and relax. Dogs should be on-leash while on the shore but can go off-leash in the water.
If you camp overnight, your pup is welcome in the sites for RVs and tents and one roofed accommodation, Yurt 315C.
Kettle Lakes Provincial Park
Discover 22 deep kettle lakes formed by glaciers and 14 kilometres of biking trails surrounded by primarily pine boreal forest. Kettle Lakes Provincial Park has canoe rentals so you can paddle on a lake, plus there are two main beach areas for swimming. Bring your furry pal, whether it’s for the day or overnight camping, and take them to the pet exercise area at Green Lake. Your pup can swim in the water and enjoy the dog-friendly beach.
Chutes Provincial Park
Scenic waterfalls flow along a river gorge at this peaceful provincial park, where you can camp along the Aux Sables River. Chutes Provincial Park has a hidden sandy beach in a bend along the river below the falls where you can swim. Reminder that pets are not allowed on this beach. There is a six-kilometre hiking trail that follows the river and features waterfall lookouts.
Bring your furry best friend and let them exercise off-leash in the designated fenced-off section in the day-use area. A path leads to a section near the water where dogs can swim.
Arrowhead Provincial Park
Quiet lakes, sandy shores and 15-kilometres of hiking trails await in Arrowhead Provincial Park. Go swimming at one of three sandy beaches on Arrowhead Lake with change facilities. Rent a canoe, kayak or paddleboard and enjoy time on the pretty park lakes.
There is a pet exercise area so your canine buddy can run around and let loose. You’ll find it at the north end of Arrowhead Lake, which is the only spot in the park where dogs can go off-leash. Bring them to the pet-friendly beach, a smaller section near the main beach (between Lumby Beach and Beach 1) for pups to swim. Your dogs can stay for the night, too, if you’re car camping or reserve Cabin 224, the roofed accommodation that allows pups.
Don't let the unexpected spoil your sunny day trips
As you take your pup on summer adventures, don’t forget to help ensure that they (and your wallet) are protected with the aid of pet insurance. Unexpected accidents or illnesses can happen, so assist in providing your furry friend with the best care and help avoid costly vet bills by finding the coverage that’s right for you.
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