Barrie KOA Holiday — Hotel in Springwater

Every year my friends and I plan a camping trip together in the summer. We are a large group of about 30 including children. We have tried both provincial and private camp grounds and have had great experiences. This year we decided to try a KOA. We booked KOA Barrie and unfortunately it was THE WORST! camping experience for us. The park advertises the fact that they take the stress away for families who camp with children and at first when we arrived it really did seem so. On the first day we ordered pizza which was delivered right to our site and the kids were swimming in the pool and staff were friendly so we did feel really relaxed. Everything changed that first night. KOA states that they have a strict noise policy and quiet time begins at 11pm, however they only have staff on site until 1:30am after that people were out talking and screaming swear words until 3am! It's like everyone knew that no one is around after 1:30am so they can do as they please. We were unable to sleep until 3am and then our kids woke up at around 6:30am-7am. Needless to say we were exhausted. All of us formally complained to management. Management and staff were understanding, they spoke to the individuals involved and said that they would not hesitate to call the police if needed. The second night ANOTHER family was out talking loudly, playing axe throwing and chopping firewood! Again until around 3am! We asked them to stop at around midnight but they didn't. My friend even took a video of their acts as proof and just the level of disregard for other families. The next day we again complained to management, they agreed to refund us the 2 nights but our trip was cut short because we were supposed to stay for 3 nights but because we were all so tired due to lack of sleep, collectively we decided to leave a day early. The camp sites are also very close together and even though we got a refund for 2 out of the 3 nights, it was not worth the exhaustion. The problems we faced were all systematic issues that could not be solved by staff unless the organization changes their processes. We were the most stressed, frustrated and just mentally plus physically depleted after this trip. Save yourselves from what we...

I stayed here with my family for 3 nights last weekend in site 76 with our pop up. We really enjoyed our site which was a nice size and all day shade. There wasn’t too much privacy except for parking your vehicle in front of your site and the trailers creating barriers on the sides. Designated trailer spot on the site was nice with fairly level ground. Only complaint about the site was the fire pit in the site next to us was directly next to our trailer. Thankfully we had a rotation of quiet neighbours, however if a rowdier bunch would have had a fire all night long I would not have been able to get my toddler to sleep.

Firewood is delivered promptly to your site, they also offer delivery of pizza and other foods to your site, although we didn't try this. Garbage is picked up daily from your site at 12pm which is nice but wish it was towards the end of the night, 7pm after dinner would be better.

Lots of planned activities for kids, volleyball court, hiking trails, small dog park, 2 pools and 2 separate park areas for older kids vs toddlers. Staff was friendly when approached but didn't go out of their way to acknowledge you, most were younger so I'm assuming summer students that didn't care too much. Bathrooms were usually nice and clean but quite a hike up the hill from our site. I only had one experience where the bathrooms were not cleaned until approx 5/6pm on a Saturday so they were quite messy. We took a walk past the pond to the cedar area to check it out and it was absolutely beautiful. There also some great local attractions not too far, we visited Horseshoe Resort which was worth visiting for sure.

All in all we had a great time and will be back in the...

Here is everything you need to know. I have camped here NUMEROUS times over the years and will continue to do so. I’ve been reading some of the reviews and figured I’d offer my two cents

The good! The park is clean and well kept, the staff are great to deal with and there is always lots to do if you have kids on the weekends, usually with some kind of theme. The pools are nice, and they have their own pizza and ice cream on site which they will deliver to you. For families it’s a great park and is priced comparably.

If your a couple and want some piece and quiet the “adults only” section in the back is not to miss. It’s quiet back there and a great experience. Obviously it’s more expensive with the extras you get but in my mind it is well worth it and usually that’s where I camp.

The bad! The “bowl” as we call it reminds me of NASCAR camping. Last night people carrying on went after midnight and the park has no presence after office hours to police it. People wandering through your site drunk, it’s a little annoying. I’ve stayed in this area a few times and there are always a few sites who maybe party a little too hard. The more annoying part is there is no one from the park around at night, at least that I’ve ever seen.

The upper side is quieter at night, from my experience, lots of family crowds up there. The times we have stayed up there noise is never an issue at night.

Overall it’s a great park and usually people that cause issues are like mosquitoes, annoying but harmless. I would whole heartedly recommend it but be aware it can have some issues with the party people who don’t seem to be concerned with other people especially travelling...