Georgian Bay Islands National Park — Attraction in District Municipality of Muskoka

We did a last-minute early fall weekend booking on the Daytripper ferry for a much too short 4 hour visit (really only 3.5 hours of usable time exploring).

The island is huge and there is no way you can cover much of it on foot in that time span. Rental bikes are available for $30 per person, but only provide access to some of the trails on the flat southern 2/3 of the island that is primarily Carolinian forest typical of southern Ontario.

IMO the more interesting part of the island is the northern third which is Canadian Shield with boreal forest. An interesting tidbit shared by the park staff upon welcoming the boat's passengers to the island was precisely that the island spans two geological zones or regions - Carolinian forest in the southern half, transitioning to boreal forest and Canadian Shield geography in the northern half. It was interesting to walk the trails and observe this transition.

If like me you're from Southern Ontario and have easy access to hikes in Carolinian forest, Beausoleil's appeal will probably be mostly in the northern section, as the southern section might be too familiar an experience to justify the effort of the trip. And if you're a day-tripper reliant on the park service's ferry, you will want to book the trip to Chimney Bay rather than Cedar Springs, which unfortunately only runs once per day, first thing in the morning. Unfortunately for us, the Chimney Bay trip was already sold out.

Upon arrival at Cedar Springs we were greeted by a Parks Canada staff member for a briefing about the park, including things to keep in mind for safety (wildlife, poison ivy, potable water, etc.). Between the 15 minute boat ride, this briefing and the need to be back at the dock 10-15 minutes before departure, it only left around 3.5 hours, if that, for exploration. It might seem like a lot of time, but again, the island is huge! We hoped to get to the northern section by foot, but ended up only making it past Portage Trail about halfway to Fairy Trail before turning around.

In hindsight, renting bikes, as the friendly staff suggested, would have been the better choice to make a beeline north. But at $30 per person for just getting us to Portage Trail before we'd have to leave them behind, didn't seem appealing at the time. We enjoyed the general lack of people on the trails and overall peace and quiet, even though it was a Saturday with beautiful weather. This certainly appears to be a benefit of being on an island with limited access. The camping facilities at Cedar Springs also appeared to be decent, particularly the very nice looking comfort station (with showers).

IMO this 4-hour 'day trip' via the ferry service only served as a teaser for what the island has to offer. We concluded that we would have to camp here to fully enjoy the experience, which we are considering. But in the meantime, it would be appreciated if Parks Canada would consider extending day trips to a more useful 6-hour duration, for at least some of the ferry time slots. Or increasing the number of trips to...

Camping and glamping at its best! This is not the first or last time visiting Beausoleil island, I love this place. From the wilderness areas, wildlife viewing, abundant trails and amazing beauty wherever you look to the outstanding facilities and excellent staff, this place is a hidden treasure for campers and glampers! The cabins are clean, well maintained and stocked with many items so you haul less. However, if cabins, oTentiks, or prospector tents are not your thing, there are camping pads and decks located all over the park. Wanna get away from boaters? go during the weekdays or, rent a cabin at Christian beach. All you have to do is hike there, the staff will haul your stuff. The natural environment is wonderful with lots of features only Georgian Bay can offer but also, the best wildlife viewing in the area. There's a concerted effort to return the island to is full natural state with reforestation and conservation efforts everywhere. The Daytripper Captain pulled a u-turn to retrieve a plastic bag he saw floating on the surface of the Bay as we zipped by...Kudos Cap'n Eagle-Eye! Everything is meticulously cleaned regularly (I saw staff cleaning spiderwebs out of the comfort station screens...first time witnessed anywhere...and Ive been around). Even the composting vault toilets are cleaner than most restrooms. This is all supported by friendly, knowledgeable staff who practice great service too. From the moment we pulled into the lot at Honey Harbour to the day we left, the staff never failed to impress me. I could go on positively about Beausoliel Island for much longer however, I would be remiss if did not say something about the boaters. If you go anywhere in Georgian Bay, you will encounter them. So, no surprise when they show up and take over beaches, run their generators, disturb the peace and flick cigarette butts everywhere (but mostly near the docks). They pollute the air, the ground, the water, and the serenity. You cant avoid boaters in boating mecca, so just get away from the docks and protected bays and you'll forget...

One of the best place to do camping where you won’t have your car with you, You spend your night without electricity and enjoy the millions of stars at Night, Enjoy the view on your feet. The island can be visited only for the day as well and can take the ahuttle service DayTripper.

We have our second camping trip this year in this beautiful Island for 2 nights and trust me its amazing experience. Luckily we got a campsite (Cedar Spring site) right beside the water and seems the first morning sun in this island falls in our tent.

Booking: we book through the park Canada website or you can call them in advance. There are some walk in campsite as well but if you don’t have your own boat then better to go with the booking system in advance.

How to go: there is no direct land connection or no ferry to drive to the Island. We drove to Honey Harbour and parked the car there. It was around 1 hour 45 minutes drive from Toronto. There are some water taxis to rent but also book them before you go there. We rented the @georgian bay island water taxi for 150$ in round trip. Its an 15-20 minutes ride from honey harbour to the dock of the Island and boat ride is also very enjoyable.

Food: there are no convenient store or Grocery store or any restaurants in the Island. So take your all food or necessary items with you while going there. From the office you can purchase ice and fire woods only. We took our BBQ machine and camping stove with us.

Activities: Its a great fishing place for those who love to do fishing. We caught some Pikes and had a dinner with that right way. The island has some beautiful hiking trails. Make sure to take a Map from the office and choose the hike. We did campfire both nights and group singing 🙂. Swimming in the crystal clear water is an amazing experience

Cost: 2 nights for the site 62$, Rent for watet taxi in round trip: 150$ and Car parking in the Honey...