Est. 2010 47 parks in 8 regions Fall report Thursday, Sept 24 Verified on the ground every weekend
Ontario Parks camping · the honest version

Booking an Ontario campsite is notoriously hard. Here's what you need to know.

Sites open five months ahead, one arrival date a day, at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. The popular parks are gone in under a minute. The site queues you, there is no waitlist, and nobody tells you which morning matters. We can't change any of that. What we can do is make it easy: what opens tomorrow, an alarm for the dates that matter, a checklist that works, and an email when sites free up.

Thursday at 7:00 a.m. ET
Mon Mar 1, 2027 arrivals become bookable at reservations.ontarioparks.ca
5 monthsahead of your arrival date
7:00 a.m.Eastern, every day of the year
Start here

Pick your arrival date. We'll tell you the morning to book it.

Ontario Parks opens each arrival date exactly five months ahead, at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. Drag the dots: pick the day you want to arrive and it shows the morning to be online; pick a morning you can be online and it shows what that unlocks.

Pick a date. We'll tell you when to book. Drag either dot, click the track, or use the arrows. Five months, to the day.
Scroll the timeline sideways →
Book it    
Changes and cancellations   Locked until four months before you arrive. Then allowed, with a penalty that shrinks as you get closer.
You arrive    
What you getOne email at 8 p.m. the evening before, with the checklist from this page, your search link ready to open at 6:45, and the three fallback sites we'd pick for that park.
The five-month window

Four rules that explain everything

It's rolling, not a season launch

There is no single day the summer opens. July 1 arrivals open February 1. August 15 arrivals open March 15. To camp a specific weekend, be online at 7:00 a.m. ET exactly five months before the day you arrive.

The July 29 to 31 quirk

There is no February 29, 30 or 31, so arrivals on July 29, 30 and 31 all open together on March 1 at 7:00 a.m. That morning is the busiest of the year, because it includes the Friday of the August long weekend.

Seven-night parks

From July 1 to the Saturday of Labour Day weekend, the maximum stay at Algonquin, Bon Echo, Killbear, Pinery and Sandbanks is seven nights. Everywhere else it's fourteen. Off-season, twenty-three.

Changes and cancellations

You can't change or cancel more than four months before arrival. After that, a penalty applies and it shrinks the closer you get: 50% of the nights if you cancel more than four months out, down to 10% inside a month. The reservation fee is never refunded.

Under a minuteAlgonquin, Killbear, Pinery, Bon Echo and Sandbanks sell out summer weekends in the first 60 seconds after 7:00 a.m.
No waitlistOntario Parks doesn't run one. When a site is cancelled it goes back on sale quietly, and the first person to notice gets it. That's what our alerts are for.
One date a dayThe season doesn't "open." Every morning releases one arrival date. Miss the morning that matters and you're waiting on cancellations.
First pickings

The arrival calendar: what's open, what opens this week, what's still to come

This is the calendar five months from today. Grey dates are already on sale and mostly gone at the popular parks. The highlighted dates open this week at 7:00 a.m. ET, which is your best shot at a first-choice site. White dates aren't bookable yet; the date in each cell is the morning it opens.

February 2027
SMTWTFS
1open2open3open4open5open6open7open8open9open10open11open12open13open14open15openFamily Day16open17open18open19open20open21open22open23open24open25open26open27open28open
March 2027
SMTWTFS
1Oct 12Oct 23Oct 34Oct 45Oct 56Oct 67Oct 78Oct 89Oct 910Oct 1011Oct 1112Oct 1213Oct 1314Oct 1415Oct 1516Oct 1617Oct 1718Oct 1819Oct 1920Oct 2021Oct 2122Oct 2223Oct 2324Oct 2425Oct 2526Oct 2627Oct 2728Oct 2829Oct 2930Oct 3031Oct 31
April 2027
SMTWTFS
1Nov 12Nov 2Good Friday3Nov 34Nov 45Nov 56Nov 67Nov 78Nov 89Nov 910Nov 1011Nov 1112Nov 1213Nov 1314Nov 1415Nov 1516Nov 1617Nov 1718Nov 1819Nov 1920Nov 2021Nov 2122Nov 2223Nov 2324Nov 2425Nov 2526Nov 2627Nov 2728Nov 2829Nov 2930Nov 30
Already open Opens this week (first pickings) Not yet ●Friday or Saturday arrival HOLIDAY
The next two weeks as a list
  1. Today, 7:00 a.m. ET Sun Feb 28arrival become bookable
  2. Tomorrow, 7:00 a.m. ET Nothing newthere is no February 29, so no date opens
  3. Wed Sept 30, 7:00 a.m. ET Nothing newthere is no February 30, so no date opens
  4. Thu Oct 1, 7:00 a.m. ET Mon Mar 1arrival become bookable
  5. Fri Oct 2, 7:00 a.m. ET Tue Mar 2arrival become bookable
  6. Sat Oct 3, 7:00 a.m. ET Wed Mar 3arrival become bookable
  7. Sun Oct 4, 7:00 a.m. ET Thu Mar 4arrival become bookable
  8. Mon Oct 5, 7:00 a.m. ET Fri Mar 5arrival become bookable Weekend arrival
  9. Tue Oct 6, 7:00 a.m. ET Sat Mar 6arrival become bookable Weekend arrival
  10. Wed Oct 7, 7:00 a.m. ET Sun Mar 7arrival become bookable
  11. Thu Oct 8, 7:00 a.m. ET Mon Mar 8arrival become bookable
  12. Fri Oct 9, 7:00 a.m. ET Tue Mar 9arrival become bookable
  13. Sat Oct 10, 7:00 a.m. ET Wed Mar 10arrival become bookable
  14. Sun Oct 11, 7:00 a.m. ET Thu Mar 11arrival become bookable
Book it from here

We've simplified the process. Book here.

Pick the park, the arrival date and the party. We open Ontario Parks with your search already filled in, on the right page, so the only thing left to do at 7:00 a.m. is click the site you want.

Open on Ontario Parks

Opens reservations.ontarioparks.ca in a new tab with your search filled in. The reservation itself happens there; Ontario Parks does not sell through other sites.

Cancellation alerts

Sites free up every day. We'll email you when they do.

Ontario Parks has no waitlist. When someone cancels, their site goes quietly back on sale and the first person to notice gets it. We watch the popular parks and send one email when good sites come free, so you can jump on it. One list, for anyone who wants a last-minute campsite.

A few emails a week in season, none in winter. Unsubscribe in one click.

Silent Lake Provincial Park
How to win a campsite

It's notoriously competitive. Here's what we've found actually works.

Sixteen years of booking group sites for Parkbus trips, and a lot of 6:55 a.m. mornings. None of this is a trick. It's preparation, and knowing where the system gives you room.

  1. Be logged in by 6:45, on a laptop

    Create the account weeks before. Log in, land on the park map, and leave the tab alone. Phones drop the session more often, and the map is faster with a mouse.

  2. Know three site numbers, not one

    Open the campground map the night before and write down a first, second and third choice in different loops. At 7:00 the first will be gone; the third is the one you'll get.

    What we found: the third choice wins more often than the first

  3. Arrive Thursday, or leave Monday

    The Friday arrival is what everyone is fighting for. A Thursday arrival opens a day earlier, against far fewer people, and you still keep the weekend.

    What we found: Thursday arrivals see a fraction of the traffic

  4. Search the campground, not the park

    Searching "Algonquin" loads every campground and takes longer. Go straight to the loop you want (Two Rivers, Pog Lake) so the map draws faster at 7:00:00.

  5. Don't refresh at 7:00

    The site puts everyone in a queue at 7:00:00. Refreshing sends you to the back. Load the page at 6:59, then click the date once at 7:00 and wait.

  6. Two people, two devices, one plan

    Partner books site A, you book site B. Whoever gets through first keeps it and the other cancels straight away. Allowed, and it doubles your odds.

  7. Skip the seven-night parks in July

    Algonquin, Bon Echo, Killbear, Pinery and Sandbanks are the five everyone knows. Awenda, Grundy Lake, Restoule, Silent Lake and Killarney's George Lake are as good and last minutes longer.

    What we found: Restoule on a July Saturday was still open at 7:20

  8. Missed it? Set a cancellation alert

    Plans change, and cancelled sites go straight back on sale with no announcement, many of them in the last three weeks. Our alert emails you the moment a site comes back, with the link to book it.

Set a cancellation alert Get the reminder email
Dates worth setting an alarm for

Summer 2027 booking mornings

The arrival dates that go fastest, and the morning each one opens. Put these in your calendar now.

WeekendArrival dateOpens for booking
Victoria Day weekendFriday arrival. The first big weekend of the season. Fri May 21, 2027 Mon Dec 21, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Canada DayThursday. The Wednesday and Friday around it go the same week. Thu Jul 1, 2027 Mon Feb 1, 2027 at 7:00 a.m. ET
July 29 to 31No February 29 to 31, so all three arrival dates open on March 1. Thu Jul 29, 2027 Mon Mar 1, 2027 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Civic holiday weekendFriday arrival for the August long weekend. Fri Jul 30, 2027 Mon Mar 1, 2027 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Labour Day weekendFriday arrival. The last seven-night-rule weekend. Fri Sept 3, 2027 Sat Apr 3, 2027 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Thanksgiving weekendFriday arrival, peak colour at Algonquin most years. Fri Oct 8, 2027 Sat May 8, 2027 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Got the site? Now the gear.

Two outfitters we trust, and 15% off through us

You don't need to own a canoe, a tent or a stove to camp in Ontario. These two will set you up, and they'll deliver to the park on some routes. The discount is for Visit Canada Parks readers.

Algonquin Outfitters, est. 1961
Algonquin Park at peak colour from above
Our outfitting partner for AlgonquinSave 15% when you book through Visit Canada Parks
  • Camp gear
  • Canoe packages
  • Bike rentals
  • Oxtongue Lake, Huntsville, Opeongo and Brent
Book with Algonquin Outfitters →
Thames Valley Outfitters, outdoor gear rental
The boardwalk down to the beach at Pinery Provincial Park
Our outfitting partner for southern OntarioSave 15% when you book through Visit Canada Parks
  • Camp gear
  • Tents and sleep packages
  • Canoe packages
  • Winter camping tents, too
  • Delivered to your door in southern Ontario
Book with Thames Valley Outfitters →