Visiting Voyageur Provincial Park

On the shores of the Ottawa River, located between Ottawa and Montreal, you’ll find Voyageur Provincial Park. This Ontario Parks location wasn’t on my radar until I found myself needing to go to Eastern Ontario for a work event this summer. Not a fan of hotels, I began looking for a campground to stay at, figuring Darrell and the dogs could join me for a camping weekend. Voyageur Provincial Park happened to be the perfect spot for what I needed.

After reading some reviews, I decided to book a site in the Portage Campground and was pleasantly surprised when we arrived. Site 339 was decently private and the main area was set back nicely from the laneway. There was more than enough room for our teardrop trailer and plenty of shade from the surrounding trees. The whole campground is nicely treed.

From our site it was a short walk to the privy, or a slightly longer walk to the comfort station. The comfort station is pretty much what you expect to find at Ontario Parks campgrounds, with bathrooms, showers, and a laundry room. I will say, the toilets in the women’s washroom have an auto-flush that goes with so much gusto it was almost spraying out of the bowl.

On the second day of our trip I had to leave for my work event, so Darrell and the dogs were on their own to explore the campground. They walked down to the small boat launch near the Iroquois Campground and took a walk along the trail that heads towards one of the beaches. It was a great way for the dogs to stretch their legs and check out new surroundings.

By Saturday we had a full day to experience the park, so of course we loaded up the boat and headed for the boat launch. The invasive European Water Chestnut is found in Voyageur Provincial Park, and there are ongoing efforts from park staff to keep it under control. Dense mats of water chestnut can outcompete native plants and reduce light penetration, which can lead to lower dissolved oxygen. The spiky nuts of the plant can be a hazard to swimmers and beach-goers, a fact pointed out by signage at the ramp, as well as overheard from a kid who was warning his friends.

The bay we launched in was indeed thick with vegetation and it bogged down the boat motor more than once. While some boats chose to stay in the bay to fish for panfish and bass, we headed for the main river.

I was unprepared for the sheer size and depth of the Ottawa River. It felt more like being on a lake than a river, and one minute we’d be in 12-feet of water, and the next we’d be in 90-feet. The water was incredibly murky and stained, with only a few feet of visibility in many of the places we were fishing. For someone who loves fishing the clear water of Georgian Bay, it was quite the difference.

We had a great day of exploring the river, catching bluegill and pike, watching the cruisers go by, and checking out more of the park from the water. The beaches at Voyageur Provincial Park are a popular destination!

Eventually, the 30+ degree heat and constant sunshine sent us back to the launch and back to our site to cool down. We enjoyed some relaxing time at our site before having to pack up the next day and head home.

For wildlife sightings there was a bunny that enjoyed searching our site while the dogs watched it. The typical robins, woodpeckers, and other birds could be heard. Then there was the deer that surprised itself by walking into our site, spotting Darrell, and then booked it back out of there.

At Voyageur Provincial Park you’ll find a park store with a restaurant and most of the essentials you might have forgotten at home, canoe rentals, a large day-use area, trails, a total of four beach areas, as well as the great campgrounds.

We actually returned to Voyageur the following weekend, as we were out that way for a guided musky trip with Lisa Goodier of the Ottawa River Musky Factory (by the way, Lisa is awesome and you should totally book a trip with her!). We had Site 336 on this trip and again, had a great time. As campgrounds go, this one was great for providing a relaxing spot to unwind and enjoy doing nothing, in between all the activities you can do at the park.

If you find yourself in Eastern Ontario and in need of a campground, I recommend booking a site at Voyageur Provincial Park.