Reviews of Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park (Zoo)

Wendy Hogan

Peaceful. Good walking trails. Beautiful location easy access. Paid parking or use pass.

Nizar Omrani

Too many good things to say about this beautiful park

chris Gee

Great place to take a walk away from the city to breathe some fresh crisp winter air. Spot some coyote/wolf tracks and possibly see an owl or a rabbit within the trees.

A Lol

Hunting grounds ☹️ I’ve been portaging here 2x. The first time was 5 years ago for 6 days and it was really nice. Even saw a bear. However when I went the last week of Aug this year, it wasn’t so great. Canoe routes are not as nice as Algonquin’s. We decided to go down Crane creek towards Crane lake then continued on to the second part of Crake creek…. That route was horrid. We saw hunting targets across the lake from cottages, shot gun shells, and just lots of hunting things in general. It was not a friendly backcountry place. I know hunting season starts Sept 1 and goes until Victoria Day long weekend, but still… it’s so dangerous and there were lots of cans and glass bottles left behind … in places where other paddlers don’t even frequent. The only people who go there are hunters. It was not a nice experience. It’s a shame the provincial park turned this into hunting grounds.

Sarah Core

Great place to paddle. Portages were a little challenging but we'll maintained.

Pavel A

Gorgeous Park, basically anything you do here will be amazing.

Simon Schuck

This park is so varied in landscape that it’s constantly different and interesting. The lakes and waterfalls are amazing!

Jay Legue

Beautiful natural setting with no power boats once you get into the back country. Great paddling, beautiful views, pleasant swimming in clear and clean lakes. Take out what you bring in to keep is beautiful for the next visit.

Edwin Horton (Ted)

Gorgeous park, great canoeing, very much recommended.

Kevin Drummond

I enjoy this park. It's best once you get off the lakes with boats and cottages. We've seen deer, beaver, Martin, bald eagle, snakes, a couple different kinds of turtles, and a few other animals, and have also caught a couple of fish over the years.

Stephanie Kelcey

Beautiful, clean lakes. Rugged, precambrian sheild. Great for paddling and camping.

Cody McGhee

Absolutely stunning provincial park, spent 2 days in the park and wouldn't of traded it for anything. Lots of wildlife to be seen, campsites are cleaned and maintained, all locations are accurate to map

Kristy Elizabeth

We decided to go for a day trip,we paddled down Loon Call Lake. We hung out on the rocks for a few hours swam and ate lunch. So beautiful, peaceful and serene.

Mehul Patel

Good place to visit in holidays

Peyton Sampson

I enjoy this park. This park mainly for canoeing, not ideal for hiking or biking. It's best once you get off the lakes with boats and cottages. We've seen deer and beaver : )

Glenn Skitch

Beautiful place to reconnect with nature, but still has cell service for emergency. Sites are well maintained, as are the portages. The portages themselves are not very long so good for kids or recreational adults. Long Lake Lodge at the put-in site has gear for rent, including jackets, paddles, barrels.

Rob Meyer

This is a massive Park hard to review. It is huge, so I will only review where I went Lake catch a coma fantastic good Marina you can get gas ice cream at cetera

Fariha Kibria

Beautiful location but a personal property. Not available for day use. Silent Lake nearby is a great facility

Paul Schortemeyer

Such a stellar park. Most people think of it as a canoe-camping only destination but in the winter... in the winter you can snowshoe anywhere to your hearts content! Give me a sunny day with frozen lakes to walk and it's pure heaven ????

Amir Modarres

Some of the best natural area that Ontario has to offer. Great for camping, or a day trip for those that enjoying paddling. Do be aware that you are in the bush and be prepared. Some of the portages are not easy, so take care and don't rush. It is a natural area, so if you expect it to be groomed to make it easier, just stay home. Speaking of portages, remember you aren't the only ones using them so be a good back-country camper and don't block them with your gear and canoe/kayaks.

Stephanie Maber

Peaceful and perfect. A hidden gem that you wouldn't want others to know about. Spent three nights here so far this summer and plan on going deeper next time.

Jimit Soni

Excellent camping site also amazing star gazing

Tim Susnar

I haven't been here since the early 2000s things have changed, most for the better. I took my 13 year for the first time he loved it. We camped on Loucks Lake. The park is a great place, peaceful quiet, nature at its best. You can choose to go to lakes with a few cottages on them or ones with none on them. Easy to find wood without going far as long as you have a saw. 45 minutes work and you'll have 2 days of wood with left over. Surprisingly the fishing wasn't very good. For 2 days my son tried various bait and lures, from shore and on the lake without a nibble bite or any stolen bait. Day tripping to the waterfalls at Compass and Stoplog lakes was the highlight of our adventure, but be prepared to pay the price in portages and pushing your canoe around rocky waters. We seen "The Highland Horror" a hidebehind known in those parts, we got a picture of it and lived to tell the tale. #thehighlandhorror #patricktheflamingo #thatkatanakid #fathersoncanoetrip #annualcanoetrip #thelonewolves

Samantha Lackey

Awesome. Just remember its hunting season

Tarek Riman

Beautiful park mainly for canoeing, not ideal for hiking or biking. I loved the visit, the place had a certain charm, and wild ambiance which I love.

Yaaaboiflexi

Great campsite on Cold Lake. Paddling in on a Wednesday was great not so much traffic but leaving on Saturday was a pain. A lot of traffic from motor boats. Campsite 514 was fantastic. Great swimming and tent spots. Was supposed to rain every day. Only rained 6 hours total. Had a great 4 days.

Leona Olney

One of my favorite places in Ontario!! Great portaging, camp sites and lakes. It's quiet and scenic. A short drive from Toronto.

Sarah Hamilton

Nice spot for a short canoe trip.

Nick Kidd

Really loved this area. Went for a stunning walk alongside Pidgeon lake.

Michelle Leung

We visited Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park for a backcountry camp site. We used the Bottle Lake access point to canoe to our site. The access point was well marked with plenty of parking. The site was also very clean and well maintained - with a fire pit, picnic table, log seating and a shelf made of logs/wood as well. We can't wait to come back again soon!

Jason Picard

Beautiful canoeing. Close to home, but feels a world away.

Walter Löfgren

Long lake is great for canoeing. Renting at long lakel Lodge

Johnny Kawartha

Great for mountain biking.

Valentin Cristea

Large natural environment park. The deeper you go in interior the better it gets. Not as famous as Algonquin, but you can find some very nice places and little lakes. The park is open year all year.

HJ

Great destination for weekend backcountry camping and canoeing

Jay Taugher

Lots of natural beauty here. But there are no hiking trails and figuring out how and where to access is a bit of a challenge. Make sure you know your route before you arrive.

Jim Wade

Beautiful spring day. Gorgeous scenery, the silence, the awakening of the land. What could be better?

Susan Connors

Camped on sucker lake site 122. Was beautiful. 2 portages to get there. Both portages were short but steep and had lots of roots and rocks on the portage hills.

Gino Maulucci

My wife and I just paddled 14 km through Long Lake and Loucks Lake (without portaging) on the 2020 Labour Day Sunday because it looked like the nicest day weather-wise on the long weekend. We we weren't sure about whether it would be worth the 2 hour drive from Toronto but the beauty of the lakes well exceeded our expectations. There are quite a few granite cliffs to explore from the water and many islands. Long Lake and Loucks Lake make for great paddling because you're close to the shores so it always feels like you're making great progress. The back country sites looked really nice and well maintained. The portage from Long Lake to Buzzard Lake is rather wide and fairly easy going 340 m. There are cottages and cabins but everyone we saw from shore were friendly. Most of the power boats were respectful. The parking lot at Long Lake was full on the long weekend so you may want to arrive earlier rather than later. Cell coverage was really good. There are pit toilets by the parking lot. $12.25 for a day permit. Long Lake Lodge can outfit paddlers. From what we saw, their equipment was in good shape but you may want to call ahead to reserve on busy weekends. This seems to be a paddlers paradise and besides portaging, not much opportunity for hiking.

judy “Judy” gadsby

Wolf lake was incredible thank you to the people at the park office in Bancroft for your suggestion. So happy with this adventure!

Yann M

Stunning place for backcountry canoeing/camping but unfortunately lacks the feeling of remoteness and isolation that you find in nearby Algonquin as there are cottages/camps and motorboats everywhere, except for a handful of small lakes. For instance, Copper Lake in the northern part of the park is apparently accessible by ATV and there is a cabin with a loud generator at the end of the portage from Rathburn where people can drive to and gather. When we were there there were boats pulling inflatable rafts with cottagers playing loud music and drinking - not exactly what you're looking for after 3 hours of paddling and 3 portages. There are 250,000 lakes in Ontario, why are so few of them reserved for people who enjoy calm and nature?

Cathie Jeffery

Great trail to walk. Up into the hills for views of the tree tops and lakes. Lots of things to see. Loved the sign posts with information. Helps make people aware of what's there

M G

Went for a 2 hour canoe in the evening and this place is beautiful. Will definitely be coming back for some backcountry camping.

Blake Stacy

Nice park, accessible and quiet in mid September. Lots of cottages on wolf and crab lake but seasonal timing helped and there was no one. Hiked the blueberry mountain trail which was quick and easy with our 2 yr old.

Geoffrey Leung

Absolutely beautiful. We come up here for weekend canoe trip all the time. Very relaxing retreat from civilization. Most of the lakes are shallow enough that it's a good temperature for swimming! ???? If you paddle out at dusk, there's a decent chance you'll see beavers. In fact, in our 2 nights last weekend, we saw a water snake ???? (multiple times) and a snapping turtle ???? (seeking food, so don't feed them!). Buzzard lake is beautiful, the others are too, as long as you portage to get away from the motor boats of nearby cottages.

Kenneth Wu

Love this place : )

Bernie G

If your sick of camping 15 ft from your neighbour then this is the place for you. All the sites are water access only and plenty private. Big sites with several options for where to setup. Just spent a night at Cold Lake and was the only person there. By far the best remote site close to Toronto.

Nigel Peters

After a long and winding drive from the main road Google maps said we had reached - but where? It was a dead-end. I think Google needs to update certain locations as it can be quite misleading and frustrating. There were trees on both sides and a gravel road. I was actually expecting some kind of entrance to the park. However what we learnt was that there are a couple of places you can go down to the lake. It's here where you can take your boat or Canoe out on the lake.Basically these are the camping areas which I think are now closed. Each of these areas have a parking area and I noticed one public washroom. I'm not sure if there were any walking trails - guess I missed them. The drive through was beautiful from Peterborough- highway 28 for the most part till you catch Ansthruther road

Gavin Coman

Beautiful day on Coons Lake.

Matt

Untouched unspoiled natural habitat. Keep it that way forever. Beautiful lakes all over.