Balsam Lake Provincial Park
Balsam Lake Provincial Park
4
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
137 reviews
Excellent
47
Very good
53
Average
22
Poor
4
Terrible
11
peter d
Toronto, Canada1,577 contributions
Jul 2020
Balsam Lake Provincial Park is a summer paradise for fishing, day-trip hiking trails, biking, swimming, camping and a wonderful sunrise location. Only 2 hours from Toronto, it was a lot easier to get to compared to provincial parks up north, where you have to battle the traffic to get there. They have a nice beach and marina there and everyone was respectful of social distancing. It attracts a lot of families rather than party goers. With 250 lakes and rivers in this Kawartha Lakes area, you have endless opportunities for exploration. The park is a bit smaller than other provincial parks, but that suits me well.
Written July 29, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
greer_m23
Burlington, Canada4 contributions
Aug 2020 • Friends
3 of us ladies who love the outdoors camped at Balsam for the weekend. The sites are really close together. Not a ton of privacy compared to other parks we have visited. The beach is really nice and the water is warm and clean. Major downside was how far apart the comfort stations are. Due to COVID the showers are closed which we could deal with but only 2 ppl allowed in the washroom at a time which makes the lineups big. Also there was a power outage overnight and they locked all the washrooms until 8am! Ridiculous. There were elderly and kids so worried about what to do. Also it did not look like they cleaned them very often. I used the washroom at 10pm and there was toothpaste in the sink. At 8am it was still there. Washrooms down by the beach were filthy, smelled and had flys everywhere. This is a major issue that especially during COVID needs to be addressed.
Other then beach which was lovely we were disappointed and will not be back to Balsam Lake Provincial Park.
Other then beach which was lovely we were disappointed and will not be back to Balsam Lake Provincial Park.
Written August 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gumby P
Beaverton, Canada313 contributions
Nov 2020
It is a simple pleasure to walk in the woods on well worn trails and good fall weather. When we were only about 100 yards into the woods on the Lookout Trail, we must have startled what I think was an owl. I only caught a glimpse of a very large wing as this creature disappeared deeper into the woods.
All in all, about and hour's walk around the Lookout Trail.
All in all, about and hour's walk around the Lookout Trail.
Written November 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Miriam
1 contribution
Jul 2021
My group of friends goes camping annually, and in 6 years this was the worst experience we've had.
When we arrived at our site, it was dirty with garbage left on the ground from previous campers.
The campsites are extremely close together, with very few trees and almost no privacy.
The beach was overcrowded, with no room to lay down a blanket for even 2 people. It was far too small to accommodate the campers, and it seems people from the area were allowed to come in with a day-pass as well.
When we arrived at our site, it was dirty with garbage left on the ground from previous campers.
The campsites are extremely close together, with very few trees and almost no privacy.
The beach was overcrowded, with no room to lay down a blanket for even 2 people. It was far too small to accommodate the campers, and it seems people from the area were allowed to come in with a day-pass as well.
Written July 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
wabbitman1
4 contributions
Aug 2021 • Family
Time to enforce the rules. Even after repeated phone calls and chasing down wardens and enforcement officials with my truck multiple times to express the noise. Overcrowding of tents people and cars on sites. They ignored me and my complaints. Wardens would drive around wave at everyone. so my family of four was surrounded by 23 people five vehicles and 7 tents no dining tents on their two sites. Regulations state a max of 6 people. 3 tents with 1 dining tent and two vehicles per site. Being very loud till the wee hours of the morning. It is chaos here with people washing dishes in the comfort stations and drinking alcohol openly on the beaches. Very disappointing. We will never come back
Written August 7, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
IAl
Toronto, Canada317 contributions
Jan 2022 • Couples
We went in the wintertime and hiked most of the walking trails which took us around 4hrs. Don’t miss the lookout trail and marvel at the panoramic view of spruce and the pine forests and the meadow below, when standing atop the 15m high kame.
The hiking trails will take you through cedar swamps, historic sites and homestead, spruce and pine and fir tree forests. And you can also see one of the largest and oldest white oak trees in Ontario! There are interpretive boards that tell you the geographic and social history and the flora and fauna of the area, so really liked that too.
The hiking trails will take you through cedar swamps, historic sites and homestead, spruce and pine and fir tree forests. And you can also see one of the largest and oldest white oak trees in Ontario! There are interpretive boards that tell you the geographic and social history and the flora and fauna of the area, so really liked that too.
Written January 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
acosta
Toronto7 contributions
Jul 2021 • Family
Easy access from Toronto. Clean and spacious.
Beach has a good size sand space with many picnic tables. you can easily walk out into the water for a while. There’s a rope dividing swimmers from boats. Lots of parking near by.
Sites are well maintained - campground roads have very tight corners for bigger rigs, even smaller ones. The campground can do with (a lot) more signs for driving directions. It’s easy to get to a fork in the road without any direction on where to find your site, garbage disposal or even the beach /parking. The showers ran with pretty cold water but hopefully that was just the time of day I went.
Beach has a good size sand space with many picnic tables. you can easily walk out into the water for a while. There’s a rope dividing swimmers from boats. Lots of parking near by.
Sites are well maintained - campground roads have very tight corners for bigger rigs, even smaller ones. The campground can do with (a lot) more signs for driving directions. It’s easy to get to a fork in the road without any direction on where to find your site, garbage disposal or even the beach /parking. The showers ran with pretty cold water but hopefully that was just the time of day I went.
Written July 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
NLKM M
1 contribution
Aug 2023 • Friends
Over crowded park. We had three tents as neighbors with 2 newborn babies crying all nights. We complained and they did not have any site in the ELM or sites by the lake. No privacy at all . Kids from other camps passing through our camp. Over load radio. Not recommended at all for adult.
Written August 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
camp e
Toronto, Canada1 contribution
May 2013 • Couples
If you are looking to get away from the city and enjoy some peace and quiet in nature this is not the place for you.
Booked a radio free campsite here on the weekend and was constantly disturbed by others blasting music loud all day and all night. (literally until 3 am one of the nights)
Park staff drive around the park pretty often but do nothing to stop people from blasting music in the radio free area, not really sure what their job is exactly.
if you have kids or are expecting quiet I wouldn't go here, staff do nothing to stop loud drunk people from carrying on all night.
Booked a radio free campsite here on the weekend and was constantly disturbed by others blasting music loud all day and all night. (literally until 3 am one of the nights)
Park staff drive around the park pretty often but do nothing to stop people from blasting music in the radio free area, not really sure what their job is exactly.
if you have kids or are expecting quiet I wouldn't go here, staff do nothing to stop loud drunk people from carrying on all night.
Written May 27, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joan M
Whitby, Canada5 contributions
Jun 2014 • Family
Just had our 2nd family reunion at Balsam Lake the weekend of June 13th - the previous year we had such a great time we decided to do it again - Because of how large our family is with brothers, sisters and nieces and nephews and their children - we had 10 kids under the age of 11. We had booked camp sites 103 to 114 (11 campsites). Friday night we had a great time with our campfire and all the children and parents but Sat. night was a different story - we had to very young park rangers entered the campsite and right from the start they had their guns a blazing asked one of our older camper to stop playing his harmonic - we had just got all the kids down and were roasting hotdogs and mashmellows around the campfire - When they saw the boys at the picnic table they became very rude and threaten my daughter with charges as her name was on the site - The boys that they gave a hard time to were two of my nephews and two friends who all happen to be all over the age of 26. The Ranger asked me what sites we had and I told him all of the them as we wanted to be away from other campers. They left and about 1/2 an hour later some of us went to the washroom when we got back the campsite was emptied as the rangers came back and kicked everyone off the site after again approaching the boys for their ID - We were having a quiet campsite with no music just talking and it wasn't a wild party - I was stun as we had such a good time the year before. These two rangers were rude to all of us and that's the last time we will be camping there
Written June 23, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I don't see Lakeshore campsite on the ontario parks site for Balsam Lake
Written January 25, 2023
Are dogs allowed on the beach? Are there any good areas for swimming for dogs?
Written July 27, 2020
Are there bike racks available near the beach to lock up my bike?
Written July 27, 2020
Does anyone know if I am allowed to pull a small aluminum boat up to the shore at the canoe launch and leave overnight?
Written July 22, 2020
Is the beach hard packed sand in the water or silt ( that you sink into )
Written August 23, 2018
I'd say it is more along the lines of hard packed sand. We went in there with water shoes. My son played on the shore for hours...
Written August 23, 2018
Can you just go to swim? Is there a fee to just swim?
Written July 13, 2018
There is a fee to visit a provincial park for the day. It's $18 per car. Doesn't matter how many people are in the car. If you ride a bike to a park, you'd pay less.
Written July 23, 2020
Hi, is there an entrance fee to the park? how much for the day please?
Written August 15, 2017
Looking to book a place but can't find a map of camping site (campsite locations). Want to make sure I get a "best of what's left". Also I have a dog so if anyone has any thoughts/recos on which spot is best that would be great! (Going in July and all lakeshore spots are taken)
Written June 29, 2017
I'm going camping in July, and my boss said I can borrow her sports convertible for the 3 hour drive up. Which is such a fun opportunity. I was told I can park a car on our grounds, I want to know if its safe for the car to sit on a campground for the weekend. I know its "safe" I mean more, will the car stay safe! Should I borrow her car cover???
Thanks
Written June 15, 2017
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