Bon Echo Provincial Park (2 Days / 4km)

Always visiting this park in the shoulder season. At least we're consistent?

The Cover:

My favourite shots that are 'cover-worthy' for this little story.

Rating:

We may visit Bon Echo when the weather is a little less predictable, (i.e., the risk of rain is very high), but we predictably always have a good time.

I Want to Live Here Rating: 1/5

People-Meter: 4/5

Anxiety Scale: 1/5

Pain Train: 1/5

10/10 Recommend: 3/5

The Prologue:

Ah, Bon Echo. A classic Ontario haunt that never fails to disappoint. Located in Eastern Ontario, this park is best known for Mazinaw Rock, the towering 100-metre rock-face containing over 260 Indigenous pictographs.

This park is perfect for a weekend get-away, or a gentle trip with kids. There are a variety of hiking trails ranging from 1-17 kilometres in length, but there are also plenty of other activities available such as canoeing, kayaking, rock climbing, (if you're both experienced and adventurous), fishing, and camping among others. We particularly enjoy the Discovery Programs that parks staff offer throughout the year - the last one we managed to see walked us though the many myths about hibernators in Canada.

Here's our trip report!

The Story:

Day Zero:

Cambridge to Bon Echo

Not really a day, but couldn't leave this leg of the journey out - a lot happened in the span of 6 hours. We left Cambridge at 5:30PM to pick up the sprinter van (yes - we are now proud owners of a sprinter van, but more details on this at a later time) in Guelph before completing the first stage of our journey. What stage is this, you may ask?

Well, our lovely little sprinter van (which I've lovingly named The WOW - Wismers on Wheels), has the capability to tow. Fun fact, our dear friend Baillie owns a cute little camper trailer that could use some time out in the wilderness away in Port Hope. If you slap two-and-two together, bam! We decided it was time to take our friends on a car-camping style adventure!

Our trek from Guelph to Port Hope took 2.5 hours - we were delayed by the predictably horrific traffic in Toronto. Unfortunately, that's not where the delays ended. Upon arriving in Port Hope, we quickly realized that The WOW did not have the right connection to get the running/signal lights going on Baillie's trailer. With no stores really open at 8:30PM in such a small town, we were forced to put our electrician hats on and try to come up with a solution using wiring and electrical tape.

Success was partial. After an hour of experimentation, we got the lights to work, but they died 30 minutes into our drive down Highway 401. We were forced to pull off just outside of Grafton and slap on our electrician hats again. By 10:30PM we learned that there was a short in the running lights on the trailer. The signal lights worked, but other than that, the universe outside of The Wow was just complete darkness. Obviously not a safe way to drive.

Fortunately, if anything, Isaac and are are innovative. The great thing about going on a camping trip, means that headlamps are easily available. Those headlamps have a red light mode, and combined with a little duck tape, miracles can happen. In no time you can have yourself a handy dandy set of running lights!

With our new solution in place, we finally found ourselves back on the road. We did not roll into our campsite until 1:30AM. Finally getting to sleep was a blessing. We knew that the journey was going to be a long one, but did not expect it to take nearly 7 hours.

Day One:

Hanging Around Bon Echo

A slow morning to start the day. After arriving at our site so early in the morning, we allowed ourselves to sleep in just a bit - and by a bit, I mean until 8:45AM because we still needed to check in at the Park Office and finish setting up the site for the arrival of our friends (Baillie, Adrian, and Petra - BAP for short).

After some milling about and frying eggs for breakfast, we found ourselves in the company of friends. The late morning and afternoon was guided by the whims of a 6-year old, which meant lots and lots of play. I was killed by imaginary mushrooms plenty of times and was absolutely destroyed in a imaginary car race. We packed up a lunch consisting of bagel-sandwiches, chips, chocolate chip cookies, carrots, hummus, and muffins with plans to eat at the Main Beach.

The weather was absolutely stunning for an October weekend and the park itself was quite busy. Lots of families were hanging out at the beach and playing in the water, either going for a dip or a nice easy paddle on the lake. We played a solid game of tag (I was the clear winner, but there was some sabotage, courtesy of Isaac), before taking a short walk around the Lagoon and along the shoreline to The Narrows, Denison Memorial, Visitor Centre, and the Greystones Gift and Book Shop. Probably less than 1.5 kilometres? Not a long walk at all!

As a note, if you come across any Interpretive Guides in Bon Echo, we highly recommend engaging with them - we learned lots about wolves, coyotes, moose, deer, beavers, and all sorts of local wildlife. Even if you're an adult, there's lots to learn. Take advantage of walking and talking resources when you can get them!

The Greystones Gift and Book Shop was filled with traditional campground wares, and clothing and other bits from local artists. We didn't pick anything up personally, but I always love evaluating the collection of stickers and postcards. There were some lovely hand-painted ones - almost tempted to purchase, but we left them for another lucky camper.

The fun continued once we returned to our campsite. We somehow managed to play a game of Unstable Unicorns while taking advantage of golden hour for a photo shoot. The light was absolutely gorgeous and combined with the fall colours - ah, such a vibe. Nothing like throwing leaves around to really bring fall to life!

After photos we transitioned into a food extravaganza. Hamburgers, salad, spider dogs, and s'mores. Probably the perfect way to utilize a campfire? I was really hoping for a showing of the northern lights to wrap the day off - Twitter (I refuse to call the app 'X') was filled with hopeful forecasts and warnings, but no luck. I even set an alarm for 2AM and saw nothing but a normal (yet beautiful) starry sky.

Day Two:

Bon Echo to Cambridge

A half day. We had to be off our site by 2PM and given the chaos surrounding our arrival, we did not want to risk even more by driving in the dead of night. Isaac had everyone up early at 8AM. With coffee in hand and pancakes in our mouths, we packed up all of our gear and returned to the Main Beach to hike down the Bon Echo Creek Trail.

Only a 1 kilometre hike and very, very family friendly. Yet again, Petra led the way, making us stop for obligatory nature photo moments, a critical search for beavers, and a Skittle snack to tide over any lunch hunger. We returned to The Main Beach to collect our vehicles and made the trek back to camp to eat lunch. Well, more of a snack - after a pancake feast our stomachs were not ready for another meal.

The fun does have to end though. Aware of the 2PM time limit, we packed up our gear and hit the road - times flies when you're having fun! Fortunately, this time round we did not have to contend with nighttime travel, meaning that the lack of running lights was not a problem.

We really wanted to stop at Tweedy's Classic Scoops for some ice cream (in the small and mighty town of Tweed), but the business has closed indefinitely. Our alternative plan? As suggested by Baillie, why not make a quick pit stop at The Big Apple in Colborne?

Both Isaac and I have never been before. It may make some hardcore fans a little sad, but we were not overly impressed. This is a certified tourist trap, but worth a visit if you've never been before. There are a million apple inspired snacks, treats, and foods. Want an apple pie? Cider? Bread? A dumpling? Turnover? Cheese stick? Cookies? Donuts? If you want it, it's probably at the Big Apple and 100% apple flavoured. Isaac went for Kawartha Dairy's seasonal Spiced Apple Ripple and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I went for Salty Caramel Truffle. Now that's a lunch!

After our ice cream journey we bid farewell to Baillie's trailer (and all of our friends, of course) before returning to the 401 and eventually Cambridge.

The Appendix: