By Ben and Cheryl Coles
It happens to us all at some point. Life gets too complicated or too busy and you can’t find the time for the leisure activities you love, like camping. You may have a young family and you can’t get the time off work to take the family camping. Or, you’re middle aged, with work, meetings and other commitments. Or, you’re a senior and you have appointments that you can’t reschedule. Maybe a provincial or national park is too much of a commitment. You can’t get out of your responsibilities to pick up and go far away for a week or two. Don’t fret. There’s an alternative; Conservation Areas.
Ontario has 36 Conservation Authorities overseeing over 500 Conservation Areas that boast over 8,400 campsites. They are non-profit or charitable organizations. They are local watershed management agencies that balance human, environmental and economic needs. The core mandate of Conservation Authorities is to undertake watershed-based programs to protect people and property from flooding and other natural hazards, and to conserve natural resources for economic, social and environmental benefits. One of their objectives is to connect people to the environment by providing opportunities for people to understand and appreciate the value of their natural environment. One way of doing that is by offering camping opportunities. Many Conservation Areas are close to large cities making them ideal camping locations for busy people.
My wife and I live in Kitchener, Ontario and there are 8 conservation areas that offer camping within a 35-minute drive from our house. They are run by the Grand River Conservation Authority and the Hamilton Conservation Authority. The closest provincial park is one hour away and a few are about an hour and a half away. The nearest National Park is over 3 hours away. Recently we camped at Laurel Creek Conservation Area which is a 12-minute drive from our house. It was a busy time for us with family commitments and appointments but we were able to deal with it all from our base of operations at the campsite instead of from our house. We were able to attend meetings and appointments and return to our campsite. We got to enjoy our time camping, hiking, kayaking, cycling and acting like tourists in our own community. What a wonderful experience it was to have the best of both worlds.
If you’re a young couple with kids and you can’t get the time off work, just relocate for a few days to a nearby conservation area. You can go to work while the rest of the family can have all the fun of camping. After work, you return to the campsite to join in on the fun. An evening of campfires and s’mores with the family. Does it get any better than that? The kids will be making great camping memories and in time, probably won’t even remember that you were gone for some of it.
If you haven’t been to a Conservation Area, they are generally like mini provincial parks. They have lots of campsites, many in wooded surroundings. They have rustic sites without any services and they have serviced sites that often offer electric and water hookups and sometimes sewage. There are only two provincial parks in Ontario that have water hookups and none that offer sewage, yet most Conservation Areas offer them. They have hiking trails, cycling trails, lakes, beaches, swimming, canoe & kayak rentals, concessions and other activities. Some Conservation Areas have unique activities like Elora Gorge with its tubing down the Grand River and Pittock which has an 18-hole disc golf course. Saugeen Bluffs offers campsites for horse camping along with horseback riding trails. Kelso has rock climbing, a water park, disc golf, aerial ropes course, climbing tower and archery. You can choose a Conservation Area to be as relaxed or adventurous as you desire.
A nearby Conservation Area to us is Rockwood Conservation Area near Guelph, Ontario. It’s a 35 minutes drive from our house. With its terrain, we like to refer to it as a mini Bon Echo Provincial Park. It offers spectacular kayaking or canoeing on the Eramosa River with views of towering limestone cliffs, caves and glacial potholes. Along with the beach, playground, paddling, fishing and hiking there is also an 18-hole mini-golf course. Lots of activities to keep the entire family busy.
So, next time you’re feeling down because you don’t have time to go camping, think Conservation Areas. You can find a Conservation Area near you at https://conservationontario.ca/conservation-authorities/find-a-conservation-authority.
You and your family will have a great time.
Our Conservation Area park reviews:
Valens Lake Conservation Area:
Rockwood Conservation Area:
Pinehurst Lake Conservation Area:
Laurel Creek Conservation Area:
Elora Gorge Conservation Area:
