THUNDER BAY — As part of a province-wide plan to make camping more accessible to more people, three-week-long stays at campsites in some provincial parks in Northwestern Ontario will be unavailable most of the summer.
During the peak season from July 1 to Labour Day weekend, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks will reduce the maximum length of stay from 23 nights to either 14 or seven nights at the more popular parks across Ontario.
In the Northwest, the change affects Sleeping Giant, Rainbow Falls, Neys, Quetico and Rushing River Provincial Parks.
The maximum permitted stays in these parks will be 14 nights.
"We've heard from countless visitors how frustrating it can be to miss out on a summer camping reservation," the ministry stated. "With reservations in high demand, it can be difficult to get a campsite at some of our campgrounds."
According to the ministry, camping in provincial parks has grown steadily from 4.3 million reserved campsite nights in 2014 to over 6.6 million in 2021.
At about a dozen other parks in Northwestern Ontario, the limit will remain 23 nights.
These locations include Kakabeka Falls, Arrow Lake, Silver Falls, MacLeod, White Lake, Sandbar Lake, Aaron, Pakwash, Ojibway, Caliper Lake and Sioux Narrows.
More information about booking and staying at provincial park campsites is available online.
Ontario continues to allow campers to stay at the same campsite on Crown land (outside provincial parks) for a maximum of 21 days, although it's proposing to change some regulations related to Crown land camping.
