Get me out of the parks!

April 29, 2008 11:25 AM

Ontario Crown Land: Help me find somewhere to go camping near Ottawa this weekend.

The Ministry of Natural Resources map of ontario crown land is giving me a lot of grief, and all I want to know is where, outside of provincial park camping, we can go camp for the weekend.

Besides location, any supporting info about what to expect before/while using crown land would also be appreciated.

posted by sunshinesky to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

When I was a kid, we took canoe trips along the Rideau Canal and camped for free at the locks. IIRC, any of the locks outside the city had enough grassy area to pitch a tent. You should probably double-check this, as it was a long time ago.
posted by winston at 11:44 AM on April 29

Have you got a copy of the "Backroad Mapbook: Eastern Ontario"? That's my goto resource for this kind of question. MEC usually have copies (though they were sold out on Friday), but if they don't World of Maps at Holland and Wellington will. It run ~$20 and is soooo worth having. Here's a copy available online (scroll down about 1/3).

Alternately, the MapArt Backroad Atlas is worth a look, but it doesn't have as much detail and it costs twice as much. It covers most of southern Canada though.
posted by bonehead at 12:07 PM on April 29

How near Ottawa do you want to go? I've always enjoyed Black Bear Beach which is on CFB Petawawa and right on the Ottawa river... sandy beaches, lots of trees, very nice, and explosives free since 2007!
posted by furtive at 1:17 PM on April 29

^ More or less explosives free, that is.
posted by onshi at 3:25 PM on April 29

CBC Radio did an interview this morning with the owner of the outdoor camping supply shop Trailhead here in Ottawa. Apparently he's got a huge map in the store marked with all the camping in the area. That might be a good resource.
posted by maggiemae at 5:52 AM on April 30

Where did you end up going?
posted by March Hare at 9:47 AM on June 25