Fitzroy Provincial Park - Pine Grove Campground — Hotel in Ottawa

I love this park but since covid it's gone down hill. Park management is holding onto a really nice selection of lots and not making the accessible to the public. It's sad since these lots north of the park are gorgeous.

The lot we stayed at was of very poor quality. The ground was eroded a lot and this exposed the nearby tree roots. That made the tent setting task quite tedious and disappointing. After setting up our tent and walking inside to prepare the mattesses i injured my foot, stubbing my toe on a root.

The privacy of the site was nice, I guess this is one of the reasons I love Fitzroy so much, but, around 10:30pm til about 11:30pm there were a young couple near by arguing so loud we unfortunately caught the entire drama; this girl wanted her boyfriend to give this guy, Ethan a chance and the boyfriend wasn't interested in doing that; after some time the conversation intensity escalated and the dude was swearing like a sailor about Ethan and how he's not jealous. Having 3 little ones with us who couldn't sleep because these grown adults decided there emotions were more important than everyone else's need for peace and quiet was very stressful. They sounded like they had been drinking heavily and so neither myself or anyone else had the courage to approach them. The park security was nowhere to be found and I couldn't reach them by phone.

I don't know why people decide they need to publicise their relationship troubles so vocally but it was annoying these people couldn't wait to work out their issues at home or address them more privately in a car with closed doors or on a walk someplace else. The dude was was out of line addressing his distaste for Ethan at the top of his lungs at such hours of the night.

Damn you, Ethan. Look what you did.

I love this park but It feels less supervised than pre-covid. I get the Impression they are understaffed or the staff isn't as involved as they used to be.

I think of you can survive a night at Fitzroy you should take a crack at back country camping. Sure you have to do your business in the woods but at least it's not as scary as using those horrendously maintained bathrooms and, you're almost gauanteed to not have to subject your children to drunken adults with no emotional intelligence and get some...

I have been going to Fitzroy for 16 years; since I was 14. The first thing I think of today when I come up Fitzroy(currently here) is that it's a great campground for family's. It's a pretty quiet place. With security that is pretty tight; in terms of slowing people down, stopping folks from walking with alcohol/intoxicated & stopping loud noises/ music. While I was in my early 20s this was not a selling point for me and the crew. So it really depends on what your intentions are for camping. If you wanna bring your kids or just have a nice quiet time. This is a great place. You're looking to rage? Then probably best to go camp on crown land. Security will shut it down 9-10pm.

As for amenities. Electricity is only in select sites that cost more. There are outhouses always close by and real washrooms are available as well. There's taps for drinkable water and also a small store at the entrance.

They offer rentals for canoes, fishing gear & often have little educational events for the children and there's many different small paths that will give you hours to hike, bike, bird watch or just to tire out the little ones.

The $/ amenities & quality of campsite is the reason is not 5 stars. It's not extremely expensive but for what I paid, I would expect the site to be better maintained. For example the area you can place tents is not maintained at all. Some other places will clear rocks and rake to create a softer ground. So Ontario Parks cost the same so they should all be the same quality.

That being said, I still recommend this place if you're hoping for a nice family...

CAMPING: I was in a single tent camping needing only a decent surface with drainage. Sites vary in size and quality. Some (reserved but not used!?) very attractive for sleeping area surface and seclusion; others smallish and minimal privacy (for a Provincial Park) or rocky.

Grid road network results in too much traffic and some neighbours selfish with spotlights (!) and midnight Rock-and-Roll.

This abuse of reservations pattern was apparent elsewhere on a June trip. When I booked only two sites offered in the entire park, yet over half the sites had no campers at 4-5 pm.

This abuse of reservations was apparent on a June trip to many parks on the Hwy 69 and 17 corridor to Kakabeka Falls. The reservation system needs revision, such as a surcharge for not showing up refunded when you arrive. It appears that people with money book everywhere way more than they use, preventing actual campers having anything but the poorest sites to choose from.

And since sites do vary so much in quality (for tents, at least) a systematic grading of the quality with a price differential may be appropriate — though so fear that the subsets will just book the premium sites as a result.

ACTIVITIES: Day-use beach on delta of Carp River with view to power plant attractive for families but not truly “wilderness.” Canoe rentals offered. Two...