murphy's point provincial park

THE BASICS

ACTIVITY: Canoe camping

WHERE: Murphy's Point Provincial Park

WHEN: spring, summer and fall, 2010 until present

HOW LONG: overnights and 3 day, 2 night trips

GROUP: 3-5 members of my young family

THE EXTRAS

DETAILS: I grew up around the corner from Murphy's Point, but I did not do any camping until I was able to get out there on my own as a teenager. As a result I only knew of Murphy's Point as a place to car camp amidst a radio-blasting, dog-barking capacity campground full of rowdy, beer-swilling fisher folk. I loved it.

We now frequent the park for beach days throughout the summer. We also enjoy car camping at the beginning of the season and at the end. We have a standing date with another family to camp on Thanksgiving weekend and we love having the trails and sites mostly to ourselves. There are usually enough people around to make it fun to stop and chat and throw balls for their dogs, but it is quiet enough that the kids can tear around alone on their bikes and be safe. Ahh, the crunch of the leaves underfoot. I can hear them and smell them as I write. Car camping in the colder seasons can help make a wet or frosty weekend so much more enjoyable.

The most beautiful aspect of Murphy's Point, for us, has been how easy it is to access their interior sites.  Because this park is only 15 minutes from where I grew up it was an easy choice for us as our transition-into-canoe camping spot. (We were living in Ottawa at the time and it was just an hour's drive west of there. I know a number of people from the Ottawa area who have also used it as an initial paddle in spot for their young families.) Twice I even left our youngest (when he was 2) with my parents so I could take his older brothers (4 and 6) paddling in with me. (My husband travels frequently for work so I am often tripping alone with my kids.)

The park has 4 or 5 clusters of campsites that are boat or hiking access. We've checked them all out and camped at 3 different spots. Because Murphy's Point is situated on the Big Rideau the water can get big. Two of the clusters of sites are within a 15 minute paddle of the put-in (that's 15 minutes of this mama paddling a loaded boat by herself into the wind). Not too far at all. We have had these islands to ourselves and loved it. We have also camped here when sharing an island with a high school outdoors club of 20+ people and we still had plenty of space and privacy. (The boys ended up getting up really early one morning to fish with one of the leaders of that trip, which was a bonus for all of us.)

There are 2 different locations from which to put-in to access the campsites. We've tried both and they both logistically pretty easy to manage with parking close by and secure (for us so far). The sites are well-maintained and easy to spot, there has always been plenty of room for our tent and tarp as well as good-enough shoreline for loading/unloading and for the kids to swim and play. A combination of waves and jagged lake bottom set me up to cut my foot pretty badly on a rock that has been forever christened Toe Rock. Now even I wear my shoes when swimming there.

The park is a sanctuary for black rat snakes and while we've only seen (and touched) one of those at the Visitor's Centre, we have seen a number of critters while camping there. We have fond memories of rescuing a garter snake who's head was stuck inside a snail shell. We've watched a loon swim under our boat. The biggest fish the boys have ever caught were here. Our youngest discovered freshly hatched remnants of turtle eggs last spring. We've always had the fortune to see a heron (or two) flying ahead of us as we've made our way around the lake. I think I've heard a great-horned owl hooting every night that we've camped there.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Murphy's Point has played a really important role for me and for my family in fostering our connection to the outdoors. Because it is close by we have been able to visit often, sometimes for a few days, often only for a few hours or just overnight. Due to it's proximity we have found it easy to just decide to go. When traveling further from home I require more planning and commitment and time to make it happen. I would not drive 4 hours with my kids to camp for only one night. But drive for an hour? We've done it many times.

We have always been able to get in to both the campgrounds and the interior sites without reservations, but I have also been able to avoid summer weekends. Calling ahead would be advisable.

There is poison ivy throughout the park, especially along the shoreline at some of the interior campsites. I react strongly so I need to watch out for it. My kids have escaped unscathed, so far.

The swimming at Murphy's Point, both at the beaches and the campsites, is lovely. It is a draw for us. If we camp in the summer swimming is just about all we do.

The Big Rideau is a busy lake. Through boats and local cottagers are out and about, just like us. I have been disappointed to be awoken in the night by the party boat cruising by after a storm. Watching the boat traffic is fun for the kids, and even I like to bounce around in the canoe on the wake a motor boat. There is not so much traffic that it is a zoo, but cottages are nearby so we have always encountered at least a few motorboats. I don't love that aspect of camping here (and that is why we are trying to shift some of our trips to Frontenac) but the boat traffic is a minor annoyance compared to the rest of the good that comes of these trips for us.

Murphy's Point is our backyard provincial park and we make good use of it. I strongly recommend checking it out if you are in the area. I also recommend finding your own nearest provincial park, getting a season's pass, and making it a go-to destination for you and your family. That's what we do, and it definitely enhances our summer.

presqu'ile provincial park 07-2012

THE BASICS

ACTIVITY: car camping
WHERE: Presqu'ile Provincial Park
WHEN: July 2012
HOW LONG: 4 days, 3 nights
GROUP: 1 mama and 3 boys, aged 7, 6 and 4

THE EXTRAS

DETAILS: Presqu'ile Provincial Park was brand new to us last summer, and it is a new favourite. On the shore of Lake Ontario, a 4 hour drive from Ottawa, Presqu'ile is a short distance east of Sandbanks. Check out the photos- Sandbanks is beautiful. It is also extremely busy. Presqu'ile is apparently usually booked up too, but perhaps not always 2 months in advance, and I had never heard of it before, so we were in.

Choosing to car camp offers a certain convenience but it also promises proximity to other campers and their generators, vehicles, radios, and dogs. I am happy to be out and for other folks to be out. We drive a van to get there ourselves so I mean no disrespect to folks who choose to camp differently than we do, but staying in one of 8 campgrounds on one of almost 400 sites promises a noisier, more bustling, less peaceful experience that choosing a more remote or less busy location. We accepted that there would be lots going on around us (which is especially easy for my oh-so-social kids to embrace) and spent our first afternoon exploring by foot and by bike.


All of the campsites at Presqu'ile are within a short distance of the lake. Many of them are right on the edge of the beach so, if you can reserve on of those (which we plan to do next time) you could hear the waves all night long and the kids (and I) could throw rocks and splash around all day.

There is a bike trail all along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. This park is long and spread out so we did a lot of riding while we there.

The Visitors Services programs were a hit with my gang. I have fond memories of when I first experienced these parks programs so I used this visit to introduce my kids to them. My 7-year old ate them up. He found a schedule and helped make sure that we took part in every possible show or presentation during our stay. I think there were 4. It was tons of fun.

A fire ban was on during our stay so we started off eating pretty simply and not even bothering with our stove. A storm rumbled in during our second night and the rain continued to pour down throughout our entire third day. It cleared late afternoon and, wonder of wonders, the fire ban was lifted so we forked over way too much cash at the park store for wood, hot dogs, ketchup and giant marshmallows and enjoyed our first fire in weeks on our soggy campsite.

Many of these sites do not offer much privacy. Others are treed by giant firs and are back a bit from the road, so when making a reservation (which would be essential all summer long to ensure getting any site at all, let alone a good one) I would check the park site photos and reviews and even call the park to ask for recommendations. As I mentioned above, I'll be booking a site adjacent to the beach next time.

The park has a Nature Centre. With nature based story books, colouring pages, many fish tanks, stuffed critters, bugs and other water creatures on display this was a favourite destination of my gang. They especially loved the touch tank. A collection of bug nets were available for whoever felt like trying to catch food for the frogs and fish. This was very popular. The staff at this place were amazing- patient and knowledgable and fun, just the kind of support I needed on this trip.

Monarchs use Presqu'ile as a migration stop and the park has a breeding and release program.The field beside the Nature Centre building always had a few monarchs fluttering around. We didn't feed them to the frogs :)

The park's southern boundary is Lake Ontario. Much of it is rocky and wavy- gorgeous. Some of it is marked off as too dangerous for swimming. Other parts are easy to access and safe to wade in but not very busy. These areas were our favourite. Traveling alone with three boys I find it easier to let them run and be, throw and splash, if we have some space to ourselves. I tend to let them 'run wild' if I can and that is not always well received by other families. I avoid these battles and judgements when possible, so these rocky wavy beaches were just right for us.

There are also 3 sandy beaches (that all connect together but have separate parking areas) that are typical Lake Ontario, so shallow you can wade out forever, perfect for kids, Sand Banks style beaches. We spent lots of time there too. There is no shade so we were mindful of the sun. Many other families brought their beach umbrellas and sand tents here. We know how to do it up but don't have that much car camping gear, so we did without the shade. We had one rainy day and one mixed sun and cloud day on this trip so the intense sun was not as big of a concern as it could have been. There were many shorebirds along the sandy beach. Apparently the park is residence for many bird species and is also a popular rest stop for many migrators. My boys are still at the 'Let's chase the flock of birds until they fly' stage, so timing out trip around the migration doesn't make any sense, but I can see myself doing so as they grow older. (I like birds.)

Sometimes I just open up the Ontario Parks map and search within a certain radius of my home. It helps  expand my view of possibilities, and that is certainly what happened with this trip. We had a lovely experience on a beautiful shoreline, and I expect we will return regularly. This was a great trip.

RECOMMENDATIONS

 As I mentioned above, I would only go to Presqu'ile with a reservation, and I would make it a number of weeks in advance to ensure getting a site on the water that has a bit more privacy than many of the others.

Choosing to go to this park is choosing to embrace the car camping experience. That works for us sometimes. If you need to feel isolated and be able to hear the owls at night, go somewhere else! If you can embrace the party that is a provincial park in the summertime, especially if you have kids, then this is a great destination.

Good luck!