Northern Lights Resort — Hotel in Unorganized Centre Parry Sound

We were fortunate to spend a week at Northern Lights end of August 2021. It was myself, my husband, my daughter in law and my two grandsons. The resort is easily accessible on hwy 522 that runs between hwy 69 and hwy11 in near north Ontario. The resort road is off hwy 522.||||We had a glorious week for weather and that always makes for a great vacation. The resort itself is a typical housekeeping fishing resort. It’s quite secluded, away from hwy, trains and flight paths. It’s so quiet and restful at the resort to be away from this noise. ||||Be sure to bring all needed supplies as available shopping is limited. There is convenience store/LCBO about 5 minutes away. This store has some supplies but certainly not a place for full groceries. If groceries are needed, it would be at least an hour+ away in Parry Sound, Sudbury or Noelville. ||||The owners, Candace and Owen were so friendly and accommodating. They were very knowledgeable about the local area and even fishing spots. The resort carries ice and worms and if needed, they deliver it right to the cottage. All Covid precautions are taken and we felt very safe. ||||The resort has at least 10 housekeeping cottages and is right on Little Long Lake. This is part of the Pickeral River system. You can access 5 different lakes from this lake. You are provided with maps to help with navigation. Owen explains it all and makes it very clear. ||||Our cottage, #6 was right on the water. It was SUPER clean and so cozy. It has been renovated but the pictures on the website don’t reflect this. It is well stocked with all needed kitchen goods and has a good fridge, stove and microwave. The mattresses seem new and are quite firm. Comfortable futon and chair. There is electric heat which we didn’t need and also fans in each bedroom and ceiling fans. These we did use and appreciated in the heat. One bonus with our cottage was the screened in porch. We loved that. In the evening we could play cards etc and no bugs. We hear they may be enclosing some of the other cottages as renovations continue. Linens are usually provided but due to Covid we brought our own. No big deal. ||||Each cottage comes with a boat and motor which is great. We upgraded to a pontoon/patio boat because of our grandchildren. They are 1 and 4 and it makes for more enjoyable boat time to have this type of boat. You also have the option to upgrade to a bass boat. There are kayaks, canoes, paddle boards and a paddle boat available free to use. ||||Each cottage is supplied with firewood to have a fire each night. That was very nice. Many places we have stayed do not have fire pits and especially no free firewood. This was a treat.||||The resort has all new/recent docks. All boat and docks are very well maintained. ||||Cell service is pretty much non-existent at the cottage but did come in sporadically later at night. If you need cell service, there is a cell booster in the Rec hall that works really well and is available 24 hours. The Rec Hall had many things like board games etc but none are available presently due to Covid. It is all packed away. ||||Although not really a negative, there are two things I would like to point out. We would return to this resort in a heartbeat, so they are not a game changer for us. ||#1. The resort is super hilly. Very steep. My husband had to put the truck in 4WD to get up one of the hills to avoid spinning the tires. For anyone with mobility issues, the 4 cottages that are directly on the water would be your best bet. The others are quite the climb down to the water. Wheel chairs users would not be able to navigate and should probably look elsewhere. #2 There really is not sandy beach or any beach at all. The website does show a small one but there is nothing now and maybe they should remove that picture. Maybe at times when the water is lower there is a beach. So if you have toddlers there won’t be a place to sit at the water’s edge and play. There is a place you can walk into the water but it does drop off quite quickly. Young children should wear life jackets at all times when outside. ||||Saying that, if your children are just a little bit older, the swimming is fabulous. Our 4 year old grandson was just fine. There is a swim platform. Each dock where your boat is docked has a swim ladder. You can sit on the dock and swim from there and it’s like having a private beach. We loved this. We literally spent hours just floating in the water. ||||The resort is situated on a narrow kind of channel and not the open part of the lake. I am probably not describing that properly. This is great because it protects the resort from a lot of wind and the water in front of the resort stays very calm. Great for swimming and paddle sports.||||I can’t really speak to the fishing. With two young boys it was impossible to do any serious fishing. Owen was able to send us to a great hole where they could catch fish after fish. All pan fish but the boys were so excited to catch that many. It was fun for us all. ||||We really enjoyed our week spent at Northern Lights resort. We would return again without a doubt. If you are familiar with this type of housekeeping fishing resort, you will not be disappointed with...

I wish it were possible to give these fine folks and their resort MORE than 5 stars! We were extremely happy with absolutely everything about the resort. From the time we arrived until the time we sadly had to leave our experience was very positive. Owen and Candice went way beyond to ensure that we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We felt safe, secure and in fact never felt the need to lock the door to our cabin. Unlike many other resorts we didn't feel nickle and dimed at the time of checkout. Apart from our worms and a bit of gas, it was an all inclusive offering. We chose one of the newest boats the resort had to offer which came complete with rod holders, live well, and fishfinder. The upgrade was more than reasonable and very much appreciated. I had read a review previous that stated that didn't depict the current owners at all. I'm very glad we didn't put much stock into the one review on here. We look forward to our next stay and next and next. Book and enjoy with confidence

Edit July 6th, 2025 Just returned from our 7th or 8th or 9th (actually have lost count as a couple of years we came twice) stay at Northern Lights Resort. Candice and Owen from year to year have spent countless hours and $$$ to improve every part of the resort. We particularly like the beach and swimming area. The fish hut/cleaning station is also well cared for and clean and convenient with running water, sinks and even fillet knives if you forgot yours at home! Of course, we booked again for the following year and will be checking any cancellations for the rest of this season for...

My wife and I just returned from two fabulous weeks at Northern Lights. We didn't hesitate to already book for next year!! My son and his infant children were with us in their own cottage for one of the weeks and he already booked too. There are many reasons we think so highly - the owners, Candice and Owen could not have been more hospitable and welcoming. For example our boats are bailed out if it rains and if we need gas, we just need to leave our tanks on the boat seat and every morning and evening it is checked and filled! Who does that? Not any other place we have been. The fishing was terrific and there is a fish house for cleaning. We had a big fish fry one night. Each cabin had firewood and a fire pit. The nights we had fires on the shore of the lake were beautiful and are simply memorable. Just writing this makes me wan to go back and not have to wait a...