Fall Camping - Eastern Canada

[Gerry W]

Recently we learned that the RV campgrounds in Eastern Canada essentially shut down after Labour Day in September.

We had planned to enjoy our summer on Vancouver Island and then leave for an extended cross-Canada road trip in late August so we could enjoy the fall colours in Ontario and Quebec north shore and then head east into the Maritimes - then head south into the US when the weather turned and travel south as much as needed to avoid rough weather and head west and north as conditions permitted.

Can we have some feedback from those of you in the East? Is this type of trip viable - I was hoping to avoid the summer need for reservations at campgounds so we could travel on a loose itenerary

[Donna R]

Yes some campgrounds DO close at Labour day. However there have been some that are now open til mid October, but the list seems to change a bit each year.

In New Brunswick and NS there are National Parks that one can camp at all year (I know cause we had 2 feet of snow once in March!) And there are some private grounds that have longer opening times as well. The absolute worst place is PEI which seems to almost shut down completely and offer far fewer atractions after Sept 1.
We find we still city/country boondock in off season if that is all there is.

It might by worth sending for the 3 provinces newest travel books (free) for the full listings. Always nice to have the printed info as you travel. I'm sure you can do that online.
I will gather more specific info for you in the next week and send it along via this thread..
The info books are stored away (somewhere!)
Donna, Lance and Dixie Dawg

[Alistair Camelford]

Hi Gerry. We camped in Presquile Provincial Park on the Lake Ontario shore in late Sept. this year with a site reserved through the Prov Park website. And then we camped in the Mew Lake site of Algonquin P P in October for moose watching and leaf peeping. So they are open after Labour day. Also there are about 5 or 6 parks that are open all year (Mew Lake / Algonquin is one). As far as no ressies...weekends in the fall are busy and leaf peepers make the north country tough to camp in on the weekends without bookings. For the rest...rock on. They used to call it "shoulder season" but there are so many of us "O F's" on the road that the season never really ends. If you find yourselves in the Belleville /Prince Edward County area of Ontario on your tour, drop me a PM via this site and we'll be happy to help. Cheers...Alistair

[Carol Ann in TO]

Here's the web page for Ontario Provincial Parks opening and closing dates.

http://www.parkreports.com/open_close.php

[Bill F.]

Recently we learned that the RV campgrounds in Eastern Canada essentially shut down after Labour Day in September.

We had planned to enjoy our summer on Vancouver Island and then leave for an extended cross-Canada road trip in late August so we could enjoy the fall colours in Ontario and Quebec north shore and then head east into the Maritimes - then head south into the US when the weather turned and travel south as much as needed to avoid rough weather and head west and north as conditions permitted.

Can we have some feedback from those of you in the East? Is this type of trip viable - I was hoping to avoid the summer need for reservations at campgounds so we could travel on a loose itenerary

We travelled through Vermont and the Adirondack area of N.Y. state in the latter part of September this year and found that some of the state parks which were supposed to be open were in fact closed. We were told they have trouble getting enough help after the student population go back to school. In this case the books can be misleading and it's handy to have a cell phone and call ahead. It could also be they don't get enough business to justify staying open. We also found a state park open after we were told on the phone that they had closed for the season. In Ontario on the way home we stopped at Sibbald point on Lake Simcoe and joined 5 other trailers in a park with 600 sites. For ten years now we've taken holidays in the first two weeks of September and found no lineups and mostly excellent weather. This year we had a lot of rain and much colder weather at the end of the month. We have a forced air furnace that will run all night on 12 volt if necessary and it was really nice to be able to turn the thermostat up.
Bill

[Donna R]

Hello Gerry
Jusy found 2 of the 3 eastern tour books....PEI and New Brunswick....Nova Scotia gone.

Here are the web addresses for you to order all 3 current copies. There is just soooo much info on prob everything you need to know, plus info on most camp openings and closings, that it would be good to send for these

www.peiplay.com toll free line 1 888 734 7529

www.TourismNewBrunswick.ca toll free line 1 800 561 0123

www.novascotia.com

If you have specific questions about NS or PEI after you look at the guides ( camped in most of the the provincial/national campgrounds) please feel free to email me.
All are wonderful, safe, friendly places but some are just more interesting depending on ones requirements
Donna, Lance and Dixie Dawg