Frontenac Provincial Park — Attraction in South Frontenac

2022 UPDATE:

I booked site 5b - if you're looking for privacy, there is none. 5a is right next door and honestly I think this area should be just one site. There's maybe 20 feet space between them.

Other than that, my pandemic body took a beating on the way in. What I thought should be maximum 2 hours, soon turned to 3.5 hours.

If you're going in on Big Salmon Lake from the side where there are sites 4, 15 and 5; I would honestly say the trail is intermediate with areas that are advanced.

Wear proper hiking footwear, there are a lot of roots and rocks and uphill/downhill.

Older review with more details:

I was recently here for a few days and it was almost great... please note that the park is stunning including the drive up from 401. South Frontenac area is beautiful! I am giving this 5 stars because the nature is amazing and the park did try to make it a pleasant experience for the whole family even though it's the backcountry. So, unlike Algonquin, Frontenac is more glamping into the backcountry because they have bear boxes vs you trying to tie your bag up a tree. Secondly, there are flat tent pads that are 14' x 14' which would fit two tents tightly or there may be space on surrounding grass for another tent if you prefer to be a bit further away from your friends. There is a iron fire pit, a bench and a picnic table as well. My biggest con is that there is little privacy because the sites sit in clusters close together. Also, pictures aren't reliant as to how great a site might be...so I was recently at Little Clear Lake at site 9b and aside from the view, it had nothing else going for it. The water access was terrible; really steep or awkward and the swimming was full of dead wood and weeds. I found a spot between 9b and 9c that was perfect for water pumping. Also in pictures, 9c looks terrible but they have the best swimming/ water access - as soon as my neighbors left, I took advantage of the swimming 😁 Aside from the camping, the hike in took about 4hours (I went from the left side and it was a bit tough but also it was a hot day. ) But on the way back, I went from the right (side of the trail map,) and it took me 2hrs to get to the car.... also was a cooler day, but the trail was easier too! I would go there again, but would think twice about the campsite option next time - I prefer more quite so perhaps a corner site or maybe something off a smaller lake because then you might not have too many families portaging (kids are kids and they will be loud...)

Photos are from my second trip last year. Frontenac is perfect for beginners which is why I came back with a cousin who's previously never been to the backcountry. The forest photo is from the trail adjacent to little clear lake on right side (trail I longer but easier than going from the left side.) The lake photo is little Salmon lake that I highly recommend! Easy water access for all sites and crystal...

I have been going to Frontenac Provincial Park for years and have always had a good experience, until this last trip. Our first night we were on a campsite with a family staying next to us, which is no problem. The kids were very loud and the parents kept walking across our campsite. Again, nothing to complain about - we are all there to have fun right? The following day we had gone to our 2nd campsite and the warden came to talk to me. He made me get out of the water where I was swimming and took me to a corner away from my husband and friends to speak with me. This made me rather uncomfortable. He said that we had received a noise complaint the night before, but couldn't tell me what we were doing that was too loud or what time it was - even though we were all asleep by midnight and had no music going the whole night. He said that noise was all subjective, so it doesn't really matter how loud we are - if other people want to complain, then they have to go by that. He then also said that we had littered because there was a pop can in the fire pit when we left. The years prior, we had received a garbage bag and was told to burn all of our garbage, so that is what we did this time, not knowing that this was not the case anymore. I offered to paddle back and clean up the can, but he said no - it was already cleaned up, but he was giving me a $155 fine for littering. No warning, just straight to a fine. When I asked where the rules were listed so that we could ensure we did everything properly, he said that there is a vague list in the paper, but that is all and it isn't specific. When we got to our 3rd campsite it was FULL of garbage. Dog poop bags, coffee grounds in the firepit, metal grates on the ground, candy wrappers throughout the site. I called the warden to tell him, as i didn't want to get charged, and he said "okay, thanks for letting me know". He did not come to inspect the site or to clean up anything. I do not understand why we were so quick to get fined when this clearly happens a lot, and there are no rules posted (from what I could see). I do think that the area is beautiful and there are a lot of options for campsites. Before this trip, I would have highly recommended Frontenac Park, but unfortunately, the way we were treated was not acceptable and we will most likely not be returning. Very...

My partner and I just completed a nice 4 day hiking/camping trip there. We covered 35ish km of trail and stayed at two campsites.

The Park Office staff were really friendly and helpful. They helped us with getting a map and deciding the best hiking route between our sites.

Our first site was 1A on Buck Lake. It took us about 5-6 hours to hike there. It's definitely recommended to start at the Arab Lake parking lot to shave off some time. The trail is really nice, but can be challenging on the legs and cardio carrying those packs. However the views are incredible and the Flagpole Lookout was a great place to rest and have lunch.

The site itself was alright. The Friends of Frontenac website promised a tent pad (loved it) a food locker (more parks should have this) and good privacy. I'm not sure what they meant by "good privacy" because we could clearly see the other sites from our own...so it wasn't that private. If they meant in terms of from the trail, or tree cover, then yes, good privacy. The shared outhouse for the sites was very narrow; it was hard to stand up or sit down comfortably, and I'm only 5'7.

The hike to site 10b (Harwood Bay) was also challenging, where we covered the highest point of the park at Mink Lake. It was definitely worth the hard hike

Site 10b was really nice. Same food lockers but a more spacious outhouse. The lake access was only good at site A, which we used until someone else came to that site for their stay. There were similar privacy issues with seeing other sites. But it was made up for with gorgeous sunrises and comfortable evenings in the hammock. The way back was very easy with mostly flat hiking...and the occasional incline/decline. We completed that hike back to the Park office in about 3 hours.

Despite the difficulty, the trails are well marked, with blue hiking signs everywhere, and signs showing which way to this trail or that. We only encountered signs with distances once or twice. Definitely buy the more comprehensive map that has distances marked on it.

Frontenac is a beautiful park and I look forward to visiting again,...