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Vacationing....


GratefulGeos

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Hello to all my fine geoacaching neighbors!!! I am from Pennsylvania and I am looking to take a trip north to Ontario this summer with the family. I am looking for a good destination for camping. Should I be looking at the Ontario park system or should I find a private campground? Does the Ontario park system allow caches in the parks? So I want to find a place to camp, that has caches in the area to take me places most visitors would never go and also have some of the more main stream sight seeing as well. Is there any month that is better then the next? What kind of weather can I expect? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

gratefulgeos

:laughing:

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Hello to all my fine geoacaching neighbors!!! I am from Pennsylvania and I am looking to take a trip north to Ontario this summer with the family. I am looking for a good destination for camping. Should I be looking at the Ontario park system or should I find a private campground? Does the Ontario park system allow caches in the parks? So I want to find a place to camp, that has caches in the area to take me places most visitors would never go and also have some of the more main stream sight seeing as well. Is there any month that is better then the next? What kind of weather can I expect? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

gratefulgeos

:laughing:

We normally camp at the Provincial Parks -- http://www.ontarioparks.com/

 

We used to camp at Driftwood Provincial Park (~300kms outside Ottawa), but in the last few years we've stuck with Silver Lake Provincial Park (~100kms from Ottawa) We usually go twice every summer -- once in July and once in August. There's not much difference, imho.

 

My son and I are actually going camping at Silver Lake at the beginning of July while my wife and daughter are visiting friends in Manitoba. There appear to be quite a few caches in that area as well, within a 50km radius, that we're hoping to go looking for. The last I heard, caches are not allowed in Ontario Provincial Parks.

 

As for the weather... it's supposed to be a hot'n'dry summer, but recent weather hasn't been that dry. :laughing:

 

Scott

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Greetings to one of our American cousins! My family also camp at the Provincial Parks. The only caches you'll find in them are legacy ones left over from prior to the ban. That's not to say that there won't be caches nearby the park though. :laughing: Not all the Provincial Parks are amazing, but we usually go to Kilbear and Bon Echo. I've heard good things about Arrowhead and Sandbanks too. I think what you'll find though is that they book up very quickly. Mind you, if you're camping during the week you *should* be okay. I know this because we booked a week in Kilbear a couple of weeks ago and got in alright.

 

Enjoy your visit!

 

C-A

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the last post mentioned muskoka lakes. this looks like a great place to go. secluded not too touristy. anyone have any recommendations on where to stay or what to do other then geocache? we are either going to camp or get a cabin or something of that sort. what should I expect the weather to be like in August? how do you crazy canadians search for geocaches (just kidding about the crazy part)??? If I was to search here in PA I would use zip code, but it doesn't look like you can search on the candian zip codes. I really appreaciate any help!!!!!

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the last post mentioned muskoka lakes. this looks like a great place to go. secluded not too touristy. anyone have any recommendations on where to stay or what to do other then geocache? we are either going to camp or get a cabin or something of that sort. what should I expect the weather to be like in August? how do you crazy canadians search for geocaches (just kidding about the crazy part)??? If I was to search here in PA I would use zip code, but it doesn't look like you can search on the candian zip codes. I really appreaciate any help!!!!!

 

Sure you can search on Canadian zip codes but they have a space in the middle. Try this one:

 

P1H 1P5

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the last post mentioned muskoka lakes. this looks like a great place to go. secluded not too touristy. anyone have any recommendations on where to stay or what to do other then geocache? we are either going to camp or get a cabin or something of that sort. what should I expect the weather to be like in August? how do you crazy canadians search for geocaches (just kidding about the crazy part)??? If I was to search here in PA I would use zip code, but it doesn't look like you can search on the candian zip codes. I really appreaciate any help!!!!!

You can search by Canadian ZIP codes (also known as Postal Codes to us crazy Canucks). <_< Make sure you put a space between the first three and last three characters. For example: P0B 1J0

 

Scott

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Come on please help me out!!!! I need a place in muskoka lakes to stay. We are looking at cottages or camping but we need to know where we are going to stay. We are only going to stay in town for 4 nights though, so I think that will force us to camp (but don't tell the wifey!). Anyone know of a great family campground????

 

Thanks!!!!

Brad

gratefulgeos

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OK, let me see if I can help. I am not a camper but I have been to Killbear, one of Parks Ontario near Parry Sound to find the caches in that area. The caches near Parry Sound take you to some really special places.

 

Our favourite place to stay when we go scuba diving near Parry Sound is Resort Tapatoo (www.tapatoo.com). They have cabins as well as hotel rooms, a small private beach on a beautiful lake, canoes for guest use and a spa. It is situated very well to explore the Muskoka area.

 

I have never stayed at Delawana Inn (www.delawana.com) but it claims to be a family friendly resort and it is situated very well.

 

Another location you may wish to consider is Barrie as it is located centrally. Georgian College makes its residences available to tourists during the summer months (www.summersuites.ca). The Barrie KOA (www.barriekoa.com) has a nice location and the owners are very keen to make sure you have a great camping experience while you are staying with them. The Muskokas are an easy daytrip from Barrie. The white sand beach of Wasaga Beach (www.wasagabeach.com/tourism) is less than a 30 minute drive from Barrie. This 14 kilometer stretch of beach is said to be the longest freshwater beach in the world. The sand is the envy of many and some of it was shipped to Bondi Beach in Australia for the Olympic beach volley courts. The amusement park, Canada’s Wonderland (http://www1.paramountparks.com/canadaswonderland/#actions) in an easy drive from Barrie. I could go on.

 

The local geocachers make every attempt to place their caches in special places that you may not discover as a tourist. We used geocaching to Discover Our Ontario.

 

When is the best time to visit. July and August can be hot and humid. If you can wait until the end of August chances are really good that the mosquitoes will be less of an issue. As we do not have children, we love to travel between Labour Day (the first Monday in September) until the Canadian Thanksgiving in October. The weather can be spectacular, no mosquitoes and no crowds.

 

Need more info, just ask.

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