Take the Long Way to the Lake: Bon Echo Camping and Small Town Wanders

There is nothing that defines summer more than a good old fashioned family road trip. The kind with good food, amazing views and even better company. 

The kind where you get to your destination and all of the worries that you had in the city disappear for a few days while you  experience nature.

A quick bite on the way…

Cloyne, and the surrounding area gave us all that and more on our 2 night, 3 day adventure. Our first stop after a long drive was a late lunch/dinner at Kaladar Station Restaurant, conveniently located right off Highway 7. We all shared delicious chicken nachos, cheesy garlic bread and a caesar salad before heading back on the road to our final destination: Bon Echo Provincial Park.

Local Eats and Treats

We always love supporting local, so we stocked up on all our camping food essentials at Milligan Meats in Cloyne- just 5 minutes from Bon Echo. It was the perfect choice for everything we needed for our camping trip. 

We picked up Octoberfest sausages and Barb’s Pierogis to have for dinner the next day as well as some turkey sandwiches for our big cliff top hike adventure.

Bon Echo Provincial Park

Bon Echo Provincial Park is a spot that should be on everyone’s camping bucket list. With the 100-metre-high Mazinaw Rock, where you can see more than 260 Indigenous pictographs, this is one of the most unique parks that we have visited.

The park also offers a backcountry trail, two car camping areas: Mazinaw Lake and Hardwood Hills, as well as roofed accommodations like cabins and yurts. 

We stayed in the Midway section of the Mazinaw Lake Campground and were really happy with our site. It was large enough to park our trailer, hang our hammock, set up all of our camping chairs, and even toss a baseball around with our son. Having that extra space made it easy to relax and enjoy our time at camp.

Bon Echo is a popular park, so it's best to book camping through the Ontario Parks website as soon as possible (bookings are available 5 months in advance) in order to secure a campsite.

A Paddle and Clifftop Adventure…

Our favourite part of the trip was the Cliff Top Hike. Getting to the hike is all a part of the adventure, as this trail is only accessible by water. You can paddle across by canoe, kayak, and paddleboard or take the seasonal ferry for drop-off and pick-up ($15.90 per person, no dogs or strollers allowed). Canoe and kayak rentals are also available at the lagoon.

My son, dog and I loaded up our paddleboard and paddled 0.5-1 km  across Mazinaw Lake to the dock access. Pro tip: go earlier in the day as it gets busy, even on a week day. 

The trail is only 1.5 km long but don’t be fooled by the distance, to get to the top of Mazinaw rock involves climbing up 360 steel and wooden stairs. Once we got to the top, we rested and had our sandwiches from Milligan Meats while taking in the beautiful view of the Narrows and Mazinaw Lake below.

After we finished our lunch, we trekked on to the next viewpoints which had an even better view than the last. Keep kids and dogs close here as there are many exposed cliff edges.

After we got back down we launched the paddleboard toward the Narrows which is a narrow passage that connects different sections of the lake. We wanted to view the pictographs carved into the face of Mazinaw Rock by the Algonquin and other indigenous peoples who created them. 

However, once we got through the Narrows the water was choppy and it didn’t feel safe to continue on the exposed lake section so we ventured back through the narrows to the calm and sheltered waters. 

On a previous trip however, the water was calmer and we were able to paddle further out along the rock face.

Beach Please!

Bon Echo has 3 sandy beaches to enjoy with gorgeous views of Mazinaw Lake. The main beaches are not dog friendly, however there is a pet beach further down, accessible by a short trail. Our son loved playing in the sand and splashing in the calm water at Lower Mazinaw Lake.

The Narrows

Although we'd already seen the Narrows from above, we wanted to experience the view from land, so we followed the trail from the Boat Lagoon, past the amphitheatre, to the Narrows. 

You can access The Narrows from a closer parking lot as well. This is where you see the iconic Mazinaw Rockface view. Our daughter enjoyed digging in the sand and rocks for the first time.

Campfire Dinner

Back at the campsite, we cooked sausages from Milligan Meats over the campfire, paired with a side of perogies. The smoky flavour from the fire made an already delicious meal even better. 

To end the night, we put together a s'mores charcuterie board filled with graham crackers, pretzels, fresh fruit, marshmallows, chocolate, and other sweet treats. This spin on campfire s’mores was the perfect way to end the day.

A Small Town Worth Exploring: Flinton

The next morning we set off to explore Flinton, which is only a 20 minute drive from Cloyne. First up was Flinton Falls Conservation Area which features a small waterfall, accessible by a short trail.

Next, we headed to the L&A County Forest trails which offers 10 km of hiking and biking trails. We hiked the green loop, a well-maintained stroller and wagon friendly trail. The well marked signs made it easy to navigate. There was even a bicycle repair station, located just inside the trailhead for minor maintenance.

Conveniently, the L&A Forest Trails and the Flinton Recreation Centre share the same parking lot. Once we finished our hike, we went straight over to the playground- bonus: It had a beautiful backdrop of trees.

Cloyne Local Favourites

Check-out at Ontario Parks is 2 pm so we started to head back to our campsite to pack up. But first, a stop at the Cloyne General Store for Kawartha Dairy Ice Cream was necessary. We also gassed up here for the way home and my husband grabbed a coffee from the Country Style.

We packed up our trailer and headed home, making one last stop at Mama Bear Micro Bake House, where the owner and her family create irresistible homemade treats. We picked up s’mores brownies, s'mores cookies, and Oreo truffles for the road.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in the Ontario Highlands, exploring Cloyne and Flinton. The area is beautiful in every season- we’ve also visited Bon Echo in the winter and loved it just as much. We’re already looking forward to coming back again soon.