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206bartc
It's been about one year since I've gone to Balsam lake but I'm sure it hasn't changed from reading past reviews. It started from the first night, a couple of friends and I went during the week in June when the park was nearly empty. It was around 9 o-clock and we were having a few beers and sharing some laughs around the fire. When all of a sudden we had a bunch of power hungry rangers storm our campsite start snapping pictures of our tents and eating area since we just finished eating and some dirty plates were soaking in soapy water they said our campsite was dirty and was attracting animals. They said our music was loud even though we were in fact not even playing any music and they claimed that they saw racoons running from our sight when we were there the whole time. Besides that they gave us an 80 dollar ticket each for both campsites for being uncleanly so a total of 160$ then they said we were banned from all provincial parks for the next four months and told us to cut our 4 night stay short and leave the next morning. This park it horrible do not waste your time here. We just wanted a night private stay to ourselves but we ended up being banned from any parks for the rest of the summer.
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drmarvel
We camped at Balsam Lake 3 times in 2014. We visited in June, July and September. We stayed at sites 505, 225 and 510. We discovered this park this summer and it became our preferred park for weekend camping getaways. We live in Toronto and can get here in less than 2 hours. We found the staff to be helpful, the facilities to be in good repair and we found some nice sites. The beach is great! It's well maintained and the swimming area is great for families. It can seem quite crowded during the afternoon on weekends during the summer, but it shouldn't be too difficult to find some room to settle in and enjoy. And of course, when you're camping there, you can go during the morning or late afternoon to avoid the worst of the crowds. When we were there in June and in September, this was a non issue. Your enjoyment of a place like this is probably greatly determined by the site you get. There are 8 sites situated right on the lake, of which we stayed in 505 and 510. These sites are beautiful! But you'll be lucky to get one without a reservation, and you'd need to reserve well in advance for a weekend or anytime in July and August. Because of this, you tend to get families and seasoned campers down here. The sites across the road from the lake sites are good size and enjoy a similar vibe, they just lack the lake view. We stayed a site 225 one weekend. It's in the Hawthorn Valley section, and these sites are surrounded by tall trees. We found it a good part of the park to camp in, but you just can't beat those lakefront sites. We found the sites are generally close together, with a few exceptions. We didn't find this to be too much a problem as there were some trees to separate the sites, but don't expect total privacy. A few pointers. There is a store called "The Park Store" with access through the perimeter fence on the west side of the park. They sell ice cream, ice, firewood, gas and all sorts of other camping essentials. It's particularly useful for firewood if you arrive after the park office has closed for the evening. Be aware that they are "cash only" after Labour Day weekend. We noticed a skunk doing the rounds every evening in the sites down by the lake. When we were in site 225, there were raccoons snooping around. So please do everyone a favour and try and maintain a clean campsite.
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142drews
Our family has been coming here for a few years now for Thanksgiving weekend. We invite relatives from Huntsville to Guelph and always have a good time. At this time of year half the park is closed so lots of space to walk the dogs off leash. Rangers are very forgiving this time of year as it is the last weekend for the park.
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Tanya2727
Come to the country,see the gorgeous colors,all the trees are changing now,red,yellow,pink, with the green background and the darkr clouds passing over the trees.Bring the camera
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traveltheworld61
Small provincial park, not well marked, great beach, well kept, white sand, no dogs permitted on the beach, rentals available. Park has a very small on site store, most sites are not very private, not a lot of trees, site 378 is nice, in a quiet area, surrounded by a few trees and high bush. Note that this park as all Provincial Parks in Ontario offer discounts for handicapped traveller, just show your handicap pass.
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davel441
Lots of sites, only an hour and a bit from Toronto. Nice beach and water. Good camping for everyone.
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SkanMyth
We were at Balsam Lake procincial park early August during civic holiday long weekend. This is a pretty well preserved park. I was pretty pleased with all the things available to do. We rented the Canoe and paddle boat and had a great time fishing. Perfect lake to fish with our two boys as they caught a lot of fish. I would recommend this park to everyone.
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808bradc
I hadn't been here since I was a kid, and except for the futuristic paddle boats and rocket slides, nothing has changed. Very well preserved.Welcome to Balsam Lake. The highest lake on the planet that you can navigate to from the ocean. If you've camped, you've never slept all the way through the night. Animals were rummaging through our stuff in the middle of the night. I thought it was racoons and went out to scare them off. Nope, it was skunks. The fourth time skunks ran through our camp, one got his head stuck in a cup.The most important thing in a camping review is site advice. We spend three days in site 511, a large, very private electric site "next door" to a water source. What a great site. A good blend of sun and shade, but be prepared to hang a tarp, really just because it's good advice, and there are plenty of existing ropes and ties from previous campers to make it a little easier. A work crew came by to clear our fire pit as we were arriving. Our site was directly across the road from the waterfront cottages. Let's be fair, any of the waterfront cottages are a total score and should be your first choice, but the ones directly across from it (including our own) offer great privacy and more space. You are walking distance from nice washrooms, laundry and showers but a little removed from the beach. We chose to drive to the beach rather than walk because of the age of the kids in our party. Fair warning, in July of 2014, Balsam lake was full of swimmers, but the water was generally regarded as colder.
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669waseemk
Not a bad campground, but not the greatest either. All campground sites are very close to, just as other reviews have mentioned. If you are familiar with Bon Echo or Algonquin and are looking for privacy, do not bother booking here.If you don't mind the family atmosphere, the beach is amazing, pure sand, very few rocks in the water, and the staff is very friendly and helpful.
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WanderingCanadian33
Just spent a few days at this park. The sites were all very small and not private. There is no separation between the sites so hope for good neighbours because you are 15 feet apart. Some of the campgrounds are just open fields. Our site had a left over propane tank and garbage although you can't blame the park for camper's lack of manners. The sites were about a 10 minute walk from the beach. The beach did not have flushing toilets just outhouses. There is a ton of poison ivy at this park. All and all the park was just OK. It wasn't worth the 40 dollars a night.
