As much as I love exploring the world, a large part of my heart is devoted to traveling around Ontario. We have so many amazing places and spaces. One of my favourite things to do in the summer and fall is to explore Ontario Parks. With 330 parks to explore, it can take quite a while to put a dent into that list. Especially if you’re like me, and keep visiting parks that you fall in love with.
This summer, I headed to one of my favourite parks, Awenda Provincial Park. Awenda is near Midland Ontario on the Georgian Bay. The park has 2,900 hectares of land and pristine shoreline.
Bear Campsite 142
The park has 6 campsites to choose from. We chose to camp at the radio-free Bear campground. I love radio free campgrounds because I’m a grump and like silence when I camp. Our campsite (#142) was rated average. It was shady with lots of trees, and was close to the comfort station.
We took along the Coleman Evanston 8-person Dome Tent. This handy little tent can sleep 8 people. This was our first time using it, but it was pretty easy to set up! The instructions say that it should take 15 minutes, but it took my husband and I half an hour. I’m sure that it’ll be faster next time now that we’ve done it! The Insta-Clip™ Pole Attachments helped us easily set up the tent frame.
The tent fresh out of the box.
The tent has a little screen porch which was awesome for stashing our shoes. If it was raining (thankfully it didn’t) the screen porch would be a great place to read a book and watch the rain. All the windows are an adorable half moon shape, and have screens. The screens really helped to keep our tent bug free. The one thing that I wish this tent had was slightly padded floor. Sharp rocks could be felt when walking around the tent. Other than that, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Cute screened window
The next day, we went to check out the beaches and my favourite lake. At Kettle Lake, you can canoe or kayak. Both are available to rent for the day if you are camping at Awenda. The lake is nice and calm, perfect for beginner paddlers. If you’d rather take a dip, Awenda has four beautiful beaches to choose from. There’s even a beach where you can take your dog! We checked out the beaches, they were sandy and lots of families were enjoying them.
In the evening, we made dinner and then I relaxed in my new chair. The All Seasons Folding chair has an interesting design. It has an insulated cover to help block the wind for cold days. When it’s hot, you can remove the cover and just have a mesh seat for better airflow. The chair has handy pockets to store s’mores making supplies and cup holders for drinks.
After roasting some marshmallows (essential) and stargazing, we headed to bed. We had a great nights sleep in the tent.
What Ontario Parks have you explored this summer? Check them all out at ontarioparks.com
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