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PatrickC1986
I had the absolute pleasure of being able to grow up here. I used to walk through the conservation area on my way to school (we always had a GRCA season pass, so I didnt feel bad about it!). The hiking/trails are absolutely incredible, no matter the season. Pack your snowshoes and/or skates if you head here in the winter and your bathing suit in the summer. Spring and fall are completely gorgeous and a set of binoculars will take you a long way. The trails have been marked a little better since the days I grew up there, so there is less chance of getting lost. Despite knowing it so well, you still feel like you see something new every time you set foot in this enchanted forest. Make sure to also stop in at Whistle Stop, the convenience store just past the lights in town. To this day its the best coffee I've ever had, and I've done some extensive travelling. Happy trails!
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791markl
Let's say your 100 feet inside the park from the east entrance, you'll have no idea that your in southern Ontario. It feels like the north, but the water is warmer. Some great natural bowls and cedar forests combined with well travelled trails but with locations that you can branch off to be on your own. Lot's of scout camp trails within ten minutes so you can mix up your walking destinations in this area. All of them are great to walk when it is windy as they are well protected with healthy forests.
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rowanb725
I grew up just by here, this place was a common destination. Lots of cliffs to jump off, as well as swimming under the waterfall is just wonderful
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Sagar_Bhatt
I went for a 5-hour school trip in here, and loved it. During my trip, I explored a few caves and canoed with a colleague. The staff were friendly and encouraging, and the place was beautiful, but I do not recommend the caves.Basically, the caves are a bunch of small tunnels with very short ceilings, and the objective is to figure out how to get from one side to the other - in other words, you struggle your way through rocky surfaces, get the occasional pang of panic when you get stuck, get your clothes all dirty, and risk any precious thing you might be carrying with you (e.g. your phone).Having canoed only once prior to my school trip, I found it easy to canoe in the river here, though I still prefer kayaking.
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823carolined
We stayed for 3 nights recently. The beach, canoeing, trails and caves are all great and our kids had a lot of fun. Another reviewer noted that the beach area gets busy and full quickly, which was our experience as well.The campground is just okay. The area we were in (Cedar Valley) is close to very busy and noisy roads, and also train tracks, so a lot of noise when going to sleep at night. Seriously, it's loud, and we found used ear plugs on the ground at our site - we were wishing we had brought some too.Our site was very small (164) and the firepit was counter-sunk into the ground making challenging to get enough air to keep the fire going. The staff was not as attentive as we've found at other campgrounds. The washrooms were not serviced very often and one night 2 out of 4 washrooms in our camp area were out of commission, making for long wait-lines.We would come back for a day trip but not to camp.
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88annm
We went with our Scouting Unit for a weekend camping trip. It was a great weekend with alot to do for a relaxing weekend with friends and family. RC has canoeing, paddle boats, bike/walking trails, caves to explore, playground & small beach on site too. Group sites are small, but was good for us. Only "complaint" would be that its so close to the road so get some noise pollution. .. but nothing they can do about that. It quiets at night when really needed:) Definitely will be returning with our Scouting Unit.
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Pillbo
Pros: Great for weekend (2 night stay max). Small lake but great for beginner canoeist. Takes about 2 - 3 hours to explore, and caves are good too.Cons: do not stay for long weekends. Place gets busy really fast. Park fills up with a lot of day trippers with bbq's and noise. Gets busier to move around park. Parking fills up when you want to park and portage.
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gandalf2520002
"We stayed here recently as part of a group outing that we do every year, and unfortunately are unlikely to go back. Not because it was bad, just not what we were looking for. Although the park is quite large there are only a select number of things to do. The water was a little grimy although it is classified as swimmable, the beach area itself was so bloody tiny it was unbelievable. You have to walk a long distance to get to the stairs and the bathrooms even if you are just going for the day. There were a number of kayaks and canoes on the water, and the beach was full but suspect that may be because of the limited number of places to go. Caves we never went into, and the mill ruins were kind of cool.Upon arrival, staff made me park after having already been told I was a part of a group. When I went back and told him again, he just said oh you didn't need to stop here. On top of that, the directions he gave were terrible and did not even provide a map.There are only two trails throughout the park, and both are relatively short requiring really no more than 1/2 an hour each to travel 1 way. There is some excellent sites, and the geographical formations including the caves and potholes are quite nice. I might go back with just my girlfriend, but for group camping there are better places to go. Unfortunately our site was WAY too small for the number of people, and they have no electricity which is something groups generally require at some point in time. I wouldn't recommend this for camping, unless are you are just looking to not do anything. Otherwise, you can probably see the majority of what the park has to offer through a day pass.Group camping all backs right on to the highway, so motorcycles, trucks and other noisy vehicles would constantly keep you awake. Located as well near a set of train tracks which will also disturb most individuals. Goose poop all over the place could use some cleaning, and better yet do something to get rid of them entirely. Other than this though, we saw absolutely NO wildlife of any kind. Although there must be some raccoon, because they certainly got into our garbage.We also ran into several occurrences of this apparent theft. Not of our stuff in particular, but at the trail head of the Pothole trail the on morning, there were several completely full bottles of water and pop that had been left behind. No signs of the cooler itself though.
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wigsy
We bring our canoe up here once or twice a year. Great place to go canoeing very scenic and lots of wildlife. Canoeing around the cliffs and rocks is a wonderful experience. Also went to see the caves that are in the park. Overall a good experience at Rockwood.
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Erezsi
We went there for a picnic on a beautiful late June Saturday, arrived early so we beat the crowds and found a place under a tree. An hour later the whole place was packed, you literally had to watch your step not to step on anyone's toes or belongings. It was that crowded. The scenery is beautiful and the walking trails are really great, however the lake itself is small (we rented a canoe and after 30 minutes we've been around and saw everything twice.... The water was filled with sea weed so the boys did not want to go in. Also the water is very shallow so we had to be very careful not to get hit by, or stuck on, one of the many fallen trees and big rocks that are everywhere and literally only couple of inches from breaking the surface... Also (maybe due to the date, the beginning of the season?) there were gees poop all over the place so you had to use beach shoes and folding chairs. All and all a beautiful place, but crowded, not clean and disappointing.
