grundy lake provincial park

A summer would never be complete without a visit to this park. There are 3 lakes within the park that all offer canoe/kayak opportunities. We stayed in the "Trailer" section of the park. Our site (220) was a pull thru site. Kids loved the cliff jumping. There are several hiking trails within the park. The comfort stations were within walking distance and were clean. The park is about an hour from Sudbury and Parry Sound and so if you wish to put in a rainy day there are lots of attractions in both cities. A beautiful part of the Canadian Shield!

Good place to experience the Canadian Shield. Lots of lakes and interesting (shorter) trails. We take the bicycles and kayaks (and the dog) and stay as long as possible. Swimming is good, particularly from the popular rocks jumping-off in Gut Lake. This is an Ontario Provincial Park so the camping fees are very high. Another aggravation is the prohibition to bring firewood into the park (allegedly to prevent infestation by imported insects) but effectively forcing purchase of prohibitively expensive and always wet firewood from the Park. This is an ongoing issue for many years which isn't being addressed by Park Management in any of the Ontario Parks. Grundy has lots of wildlife to see and lots of beautiful solitude to experience. Good Washroom and Shower facilities.

Wonderful trails to hike, clean, quiet lakes, and excellent programming for the children. Our kids participated in the Grundy Lake self directed scavenger hunt and loved it. Swan Lake trail was lovely. You must rent a canoe or kayak, so you can truly enjoy the islands, the four lakes, get to the "slippery rocks" and to the "jumping rocks". Make sure you stock up on everything before you arrive. The nearest grocery store is an hour away. There is a little general store, but very expensive and doesn't have anything.Also recommend to use the fishing gear at the park (free) if you've never fished. Good fishing.

We camped here at a premium site for 8 days at the end of August. This is our second time at this park. We love that there are so many small lakes to explore. We did find that not all of the portages were well labelled. We did have some luck fishing on Gurd lake, but not on any of the others. The site was large and semi private- the foliage between sites could be thicker. We had a gorgeous panoramic view of the lake. We did all 3 hikes- prefer the Swan Lake and Gut Lake Trails. The kids loved the slippery rocks and the jumping rocks.There are lots of programming for all ages at this park. We were busy doing other things so we did not participate in any. There is a small interpretive centre jam packed with activities. The staff were fantastic.The comfort stations were well cleaned, but we didn't feel that the little toilets in the campground were ever cleaned. There is noise from the train but it did not bother us too much. We could only hear traffic noise faintly at night. We did go into Sudbury to go to Science North- well worth the trip. We did groceries while we were there as well as there is not a lot of selection close by. The trading post does have some basics if you need it, but not much selection for meats or fresth fruit/veggies. We did find it noisy at night, and noticed that the park staff did not enforce rules (i.e. how many people on a site). Overall this is one of our favourite campgrounds for the gorgeous scenery and so many things to do.

We visited Grundy Lake in July 2013. We spent our first night in the campground and as we expected it was very busy, noisy and we had little privacy. The second night we moved to one of the few "backcountry" sites (as we had planned).The "backcountry" site was canoe-in only and had a fire pit and thunderbox. This would be a perfect site for someone who wanted a little more privacy but still wanted to be close to the campground amenities. We could still hear highway traffic, trains and campground noise but in the distance.During the day other canoeists/explorers did venture near our site but never intruded. We had visits from a family of swans, ducks, loons and turtles (other campers saw bears, but we did not).We participated in the soapstone carving activities - very fun! And ventured to the store for hamburgers and fries. Although not truly in the backcountry it was convenient having our car just a short paddle away so we were able to store food in a cooler.

A campground cannot be all things to all people. We were hoping for a couple of quiet days in the outdoors: Grundy on an August weekend was not the place to get that. Pros: the campground is large and rarely full, has some good beaches, a few decent trails, and is close enough the Sudbury that you have something to do if it rains. There are some canoeing opportunities on the lakes.Cons: the park is sandwiched between a highway and a busy railway line. It’s amazing how well the sound of a train travels. Early in the day, there seemed to be a train every 30 minutes or so. Some of the sites are very close to the highway so you can enjoy the sound of both trucks and trains if you don’t pick carefully. We stayed in the “Poplar” area which had lots of train noise but no highway noise.The dirt roads were in pretty bad repair. Lots of pot holes.There was a lot of campground noise from other sites at all hours. The staff did not seem to enforce a “quiet period”. Contrast that to Killarney where the wardens were patrolling on foot regularly.For a fun weekend with friends and family, it is a fine destination. To quietly commune with nature, make a reservation up the road at Killarney.

Park was Big, But Cleanliness Road, Route Lake : AverageCamping Site: we stayed 2 nights, enjoyed (family fun), Private, firepit, Amazing pics,Cold ,Security": GREAT, awesome!!Its worth going But not a must Go ! But overall Enjoyed

This was our first time visiting Grundy Lake. We stayed in the Balsam campground (Site #861) which was nice and the furthest from the front gate. The sites were good, private and the premium sites looked very nice over looking the water. The highway can be heard from anywhere in this campground as the highway is just across the lake. Also it seems that the later it is the busier the train tracks are. The tracks are not super close but can be heard from anywhere in the park and all times of day/night. (Not enough to ruin your vacation though). The roads. oh my. We have been to many provincial parks, but this park takes the cake when it comes to the road. Posted speed limit is 40km through the main roads and it is nothing but potholes. Huge and unavoidable potholes. I was barely able to drive 15km/hr towing a tent trailer. I really hope that our next visit the roads will be repaired! Flush toilets in Balsam campground. We tried our hand at fishing on clear lake, with no luck. Lakes are nice and calm for canoeing. Camp store just up the street for any forgotten items or stopping in for lunch. Firewood was very wet...as it always is when you buy it from the parks. Overall we enjoyed our visit and look forward to the next one :)

We stayed here for 3 days with our family. The trails were very nice and medium challenge. We did 2 of the 3 trails. There is lots of wildlife in the park and is very scenic. We did see a fox and some turtles. The campsites were good, we booked a premium site and were not disapointed. We were very close to the comfort station washrooms and showers. The facilities were well maintained. The beach we used had nice water, though a high salt content, the sand was a little mucky. was a really easy check in process

Stayed at site 831 Balsam Campground at the end of July. It was our first camping trip and only stayed a couple of nights so did not get to see too much of the park.However from what i did see it seems a beautiful place to stay. Our site was a waterfront site with a short walk down to the lake. It felt fairly private.Had some trouble with tent pegs as they kept hitting rocks while hammering in to the ground, but we got everything secured okay.Washrooms were clean.We suffered a little with rain for the short time we were there, but we would like to go back and see some more of the park, hopefully with better weather.I could hear a highway from our site, noticeable at night, but it did not bother me or stop any of us from sleeping.Will definitely return.

Worth the drive north, amazing swimming and scenery, the park is well maintained and quiet at night, much better experience than some of the parks further south; Gas up before you get there the store outside the park is beyond outrageous and there are few choices in the area

I came here a lot during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and still think this is a great public park. Lots to do; the day I was here they had soapstone carving for kids and adults. The beaches are good, especially, I think, the beaches nearest campsites such as Red Maple; you can really get a sense of a rocky lake here.The other nice thing is that there are no motor boats on the lake.The big change I noticed and feel very good about is the increase in multicultural campers of all varieties, from European to South Asian. They are doing something right if they can welcome newcomers.It's often said that the private sector does better at innovation than the public sector, but I would say that in this case, the public sector is doing a great job at welcoming diverse people while private sector restaurants are not.The take out shack at the entrance of the park is a disgrace -- not even recycling pails, let alone food that could be considered healthy or newcomer-friendly. Why are they allowed to parasite on the people attracted to a public park without making some gestures to public service? That, I should apologize, is my schtick; as author of the ebook, Food for City Building, I believe food has to enhance all experiences, including camping and tourism. This area has a lot of improving to do in that area.But the park, as I say, is a pleasure.

Just got back from 4 nights at Grundy Lake Provincial Park. Stayed in White Birch campground - electrical hook ups. Nice private site, north end, close to water tap, walking distance to comfort station and flush outhouses with sink. Previously tented in White Pine which was equally good and walking distance to main beach. Main beach is accessible via a walkway from White Birch Site #629 fyi. Trails - Gut Lake Trail is very beautiful. Follow the arrows along the lake. It will take you to the end and then it gets a little rocky so wear proper footwear. I wouldn't recommend this part of the trail for kids under 10. Stopping to take photos and a break takes you about 1.5 hours to complete this trail. Well worth it. Swan Lake - Nice lookouts and an easier trail - quicker. Kayak/canoeing - we kayaked Gut Lake, Clear Lake and Grundy Lake. Gut and Clear is really calm in the morning. Grundy was like glass around 7 pm if you're looking for an easy paddle. Lots of people fishing on Grundy at all hours and off shore on Clear and Gut Lakes so bring the fishing rod. Campground - All ages. A lot of families. Kid friendly with lots of things to do. Good swimming but no lifeguards so keep an eye on the kiddies. I would recommend water shoes for the younger ones as the rocks get slippery along the shoreline.Loons, different varieties of birds incl blue herons can be seen and watch for the turtles. Friendly chipmunks. Coons are apparent at night so make sure you clean up your site before bed. We did see some bear 'poo" at Balsam campground so be aware. Comfort Stations - well laid out throughout the park. Fairly clean. Bathrooms and outhouses cleaned daily. Lots of toilet paper. Flush toilets. No mirror for shaving or checking your look. ;)Firewood available at park office. Grundy Lake Store has ice at $3 a bag. Good ice cream there and fries. They also have canoe/kayak rentals. Great place to check out.Drinking Water - you can drink the water from the tap but it's high in sodium right now. Bring your own to be safe.Security - Rangers are driving through the park at all hours. Didn't see any on foot. We didn't have any problems with noise.Enjoy your stay! We sure did and won't hesitate to return again.

This was my first time camping in an Ontario provincial park, I booked online, 2 weeks before our chosen weekend. (last minute I know, right?) I chose White Spruce because other reviews recommended it as being one of the best. They were right. We had site 25, if I return I probably won't choose the same site. It was a little too rocky to securely peg the tent down the way I wanted. All the other sites looked great though. Sheltered adequately, close to the water, plenty of trees to string up clotheslines and tarps, very close to Gut Lake Trail, and low and behold two flushing toilets. I checked other campgrounds nearby and they didn't have flushing toilets. we lucked out. We hiked all three trails, Swan Lake and Beaver Dam Trail are about 1-1:30 hours walk away so we drove to those and hiked them. There is parking available at the trail entrance. Gut Lake Trail was by far my favourite. Huge rock formations and an incredible view of the lake. We saw foxes, hawks, rabbits, chipmunks, turtles and frogs! The staff were great, always smiling and waving when they passed by your site. Super helpful too. We got lost on our way to one of the trails and a park ranger pulled over when we waved and helped us get back on track. There is a gas station and general store near to the park entrance. I advise not buying much there because it's overpriced but it's good in a pinch. (we forgot hot dog buns.) They rent canoes, kayaks and paddleboats at the gas station. They make two drop offs a day, 12 and 6pm. So get in early and you can spend most of the day out on the water. I definitely recommend Grundy Lake and I will definitely be returning! amazing!

This was our first visit to this park, and we loved it! We reserved online so were a little nervous about our site but it was great. Near the beach with a short walk to trails and activities. We were able to try soapstone carving and very much enjoyed taking our masterpieces home to show our artistic prowess... Lol. We are planning another visit this September as a mini reunion to camp with family members who have stayed there before. Looking forward to kayaking this year and exploring more of the park.