Reviews of Oastler Lake Provincial Park (Zoo)

Astro PH

Sites are decent. Really loud train beside the campground though.

Arijit Chaudhury

Great place to spend a lazy weekend with friends and family. Stayed at the Grand Tappattoo resort, beautiful location, wonderful service and great staff. Planning second visit in Fall 2022. Highly recommended.

Ryan O'Donovan

I give it only 3 star because the location is way to close to the main line which has non stop trains going all night making it challenging to have any kind of good night's sleep.

Jessie Barritt

I couldn't believe how beautiful our site was! It was right on the water. We had brought a canoe up so we were able to leave it in the water tied up to a tree. We could hear the train but honestly it didn't bother either of us. Definitely worth considering for your next camping trip!

Cara R-N

Beautiful spot. Minutes from Parry Sound. Can't say I had a good park people experience - registration was great but rangers were brutal

Lindsay Carter

Very small park. We had site 8 by the beach. It was a very tight for for our 28ft trailer to get in and out. Those sites by the beach looked more like a parking lot with barely any privacy. There were nicer bigger sites further away from the beach. I'm giving it 3 stars because the beach was great and the water was nice and clear and pretty sunsets!

Ryan Taylor

We thought Oastler Lake was nice for families and pet owners. Campsites were very clean and the park rangers were very helpful. We did not find it as scenic as many other Ontario Parks, but it was still nice for swimming and doing some cliff-jumping. The worst part was probably the noise from the train which was was pretty relentless day and night. Overall it was a good experience, and very convenient, but I don't know if we will be back.

VT Graphics

Went camping here in July as part of a road trip and we were very impressed with how clean and scenic this campground was. It’s located on Oastler Lake and offers a variety of unique campsites. We would definitely camp here again.

Joel Bosscher

Shower are not good at all, all I ask for is a hot shower while camping especially when camping in early October these showers refused to get warm and would send a 10 sec shot of scalding water every 10 min, 10/10 would not return. Ps. I waited 30 min hopi g shower would get warm eventually and still no hot water

Martin Wales

Park is clean and well maintained, bathrooms are pretty nice. Train is loud and frequent blows horn several times then you hear the squealing of the track as it turns for several minutes. Hard to continue a conversation while it's blowing the horn. The beach was ok kind of small/shallow area. There are no hiking or biking trails here, we tried one across the street but was big hills with suuuper lose gravel, and It appeared to follow the road. Compared to other parks this one lacks things to do.

Stephanie Perkins

Great park ! A smaller park which is nice because it’s not too busy and easy to get around. The beach is perfect for a day of swimming / kayaking. The staff was very friendly. There is a train that goes by frequently making noise but it is not difficult to deal with. Will be going back had an excellent time.

Cassie F

We camped during the wicked storm on July 7th that shut the campground down. For as nerve-wracking and unsettling as the entire experience was, the one thing that surprised me the most was how wonderful and attentive the staff here were. The staff were out immediately checking in on every one, multiple times throughout the night we'd have someone come by to make sure we were alright. We could hear the chainsaws going all night making way for us to leave safely in the morning. Come morning, I could only imagine how exhausted they all must've been (I know we were after sleeping in our car all night!) But all the staff members were very polite and helpful. I'm sure they were tired of answering the same questions over and over again and repeating themselves to all of the campers, but not once did they let you know that! Upon exiting the park, they had someone station there to take down all our information to ensure everyone got out safely. Needless to say, I am very impressed by how well the staff here handled such a tragic event.

Greg Warren

You need to be a sound sleeper or really like trains. Nice park though

Jacob1986

Great park for a night or two but the train makes this very hard to deal with

Irek Oleksak

One of the worse provincial parks I've been to. Bathrooms are horrible and rarely cleaned. Showers dont have worm water. Staff drives around in trucks and side by sides creating dust and making noise. The trains running all day and night are very loud but that warning is there before booking so that dosent influence my review. The sites are nice and private but staff harasses the campers for every minor issue instead of maintaining the facilities. Beach is nice and the lake is beautiful.

RedHPL

Oastler Park is a good site for camping, the only thing that makes this a 3 star is every other time, train is so close and horns very. Also, securities are too sensitive. They always tell us to keep quiet while others is louder than us.

arMin Parnia

Amazing views and quiet lake. Water front camps are so gorgeous. The only problem i can say is the train tracks near by which will wale you up in the middle of night by huge noise of trains.

Damien Whalen

Trains all night! Keeps you awake. They are really close and loud. Don't be fooled by the reviews that they are not. This is a main line area. Campground was clean and sites were nice. Just no sleep!!!!!

Tim Hawkins

Close to the highway. Quiet, clean, peaceful. Just what you need after a day on the road!

denn char

Went camping as an extended family, second yr at Oastler Lake. Looking forward to next yrs. family camp there. The staff is friendly and courteous and very helpful. Washrooms were clean, grounds were clean. the camp sites are very spacious. The lake was nice to cruise and fish on. Caught a pike over 7 Lbs. The train took a little to get use to, but other than that it is a great place to camp.

Vipul Shukla

Poorly maintained provincial park, 10 minutes drive to Parry sound, no trails inside the park worth exploring or trekking on, the usually wide beach was swallowed up by the high water this year. Many benches in disrepair, old bathrooms built in the 80s but no upgrades and poor maintenance. Weeds growing rampant where lawns need to be. Don't expect hot water for showers, any time of day. Front reception office had a burst pipe and water damage but is now closed for repairs. Temporary office building manned by inexperienced high school kids. They will gladly book you a super sloped site without hydro when you specifically tell them you are towing a trailer! And the mosquitoes are king sized, incessant and bloodthirsty! Loud train horn sounds and highway traffic will take away and peace you may desire. Avoid this park until the issues are fixed.

Kimberley Eastwood

Went for the day. Beach was ok. Seems like it would be ok to paddle there. Will not be back due to an unpleasant experience a rude individual.

Pim Vermeyden

The proximity to Parry Sound is amazing, and the lake (we went to the dog beach) was nice to swim in. We were pretty rained out so it's hard to give a good rating on most of the park, but the amenities were decent enough and the staff very friendly. The trains, however, were exceptional. All through the day and night you will occasionally hear the rumble and *feel* the horns. If you're looking to get into nature, or a nice sleep, that will pull you right out of it. But if you really like loud trains then 10/10!

Vikram Mankar

Awesome camping spot! Facilities are nice. Try and get a spot by the lake (premium), totally worth it! And the lake is great for fishing. We caught a pike but you can also catch small mount and large mouth bass here if you are lucky :). Oastler lake team, Thank you!

Dhiraj D'Souza

This is an amazing park that we visit every summer. Train tracks near the park mean loud train noises throughout the day. We were fine with it, but others may not like it. Short drive to Tim Hortons, McDonalds, Walmart, Dollarama, Canadian Tire etc.

Haifa J

It's a beautiful park! Get the premium location 20-27 I believe ... Or the ones that cars are not allowed in (sorry don't know the name) ... Yeah the train is annoying.. but it's not a deal breaker.. it comes once every 2-3 hours.. and maybe once at night .. water is calm, it wasn't that crowded when we went so the size was perfect

Mehrdad Varedi

beautiful place, helpful staff, electricity available in most locations, hot shower, everything you want from a perfect park except one problem at night! the train passes over you almost... noisy horn several times during the night. also you hear noise from the near road. it is not silent as it is expected from a campsite.

Yani Soul

Beautiful park clean family oriented boats for rent

M M

The park has amazing lake. It is clean and quiet except when the train comes but it did not bother us. There are canoes, kayaks and paddle boards for rent. I am glad we discovered this place. Our family get away during summer.

Dan B

One of the best campsites Ive ever been to. Spacious waterfront sites and a wonderful lake. Nice, clean facilities as well. Train noise close by was noisy at night, but in deep sleep it did not bother us. Looking forward to going back next year as well!

Kyra Pupinski

Lovely small park. Some really nice campsites, especially the walk in and tent sites. Small dog beach. Close to Rose Point Rail Trail.

Sanaz B

It's a very small park, good for those with yonge children. However, there's a train track close by which makes it near impossible to sleep well at night. Also, because of the way the park is situated, you don't get to experience nature... rather you great cars driving by.

Gary Yip

Overall a great experience. The train does come by once in a while which may wake you up. Otherwise, it's very quiet here.

corvette lou

Park itself is very nice..i marked down some nice sites if i go back. The park has to do something about that trains that go by every hr honking the horn at every hr of the day and night..i understand the safety part but cant they install some train crossings that would eliminate the train from sounding off? I wouldnt go back because of that.

Ron Hamilton

A very nice place to camp! It has a beautiful clean fresh water beach, where it is great for kids to play in the sand and great for all to swim in! The water temperature is often comfortably warmer than nearby Georgian Bay!

Scott Tempest

Nice park with fairly large sites. The proximity to a busy rail line means there is a fair amount of noise when a train goes by which can happen at any hour. A pleasant spot overall though.

Anas Aoude

Good park, you can hear train noise. Bathrooms are okay, most of them are not flushables. Kayak rentals are available but due to covid you had to buy your own life vest.

Cheri Doherty

The trains drive you nuts, we stayed on site 135 best spot for privacy for tent camping,

Pawanpreet Kaur

Great experience and have a fresh environment

Jerm Bos

Nice park, smaller size, the lake is nice with a cove to park boats

J C

It’s a little park,pretty much all campsite, no trails for a little walk, however the lake itself is quit nice, the water is really clear. On the end point is the radio free camp zoom which is nice but not privacy campsites , when you walks in make you feels like a tents village. Seems one of the site contains 6 party ppl , got high until very late night with random shouting, yelling and loud talking which make the radio free zoom like a joke. Won’t go back for sure!

Mariam Sutarwala

Choo Choo!!! A train runs next to the park on the hour. Ridiculously loud and they like to …

Lindsay Thomson

We booked a camping trip this weekend at Oastler and were very excited! Based on the pictures online it looked beautiful and we had a site right on the lake (site 120). We got there Friday at about noon, and got set up right as the sun came out. It was as beautiful as we had hoped. The sites are a little open so you get to know your neighbours, but being right on the lake makes up for it. We we able to swim out right from our site and spent a good couple hours swimming around. The closest bathroom to us wasn't great, just two small stalls almost like an outhouse. But the next comfort station wasn't too far and was clean and open so it was great. We made dinner and while we were cleaning up we saw a storm approaching. It didn't look too bad, just some sheet lightening, no rain yet. We decided to bunker down in the tent for a bit to ride out the rain, because according to the weather network it was only supposed to be a 40% chance of a storm. By about 10pm the story had changed completely, there was four of us in our tent holding the wall up as the wind pushed our tent in on us. Our poles were breaking and the hail was hitting against our hands so hard it felt like rocks. The wind picked up our fly and the rain and hail was pouring in the top and sides of the tent we were soaked in seconds. We didn't know if it was going to be better to run outside to the car or wait it out. The next thing we knew our tent gave way and the right side had a giant hole the size of our door. My friends were all out of the tent before I could think. We darted for the car and squished in. Soaked and freezing cold we waiting the storm out. A little while later the hail stopped and we cleared the windows to see if everything was okay. It was not. The site in front of us we see a car covered by trees. We immediately jump out of the car to check on them. It's still raining but people are everywhere checking on each other. There were trees everywhere, including across our entire campsite. It was something no one had experienced before. It was not long before the camp superintendent was on site checking on everyone. He checked in with every site and the staff were attending to the sites with the most damage. There was no way out, huge trees were covering every exit. The camp office had a generator and they were asking anyone without a place to stay or who needed to calm down or get some power to congregate there. We decided to clean up what we could, put on some dry clothes and try to just sleep in the car. The camp staff came around every hour to check in on everyone make sure everyone is still safe and okay. We could hear trees falling all around throughout the night but we could hear the chain saws, emergency tractor and staff going around and working all night. We couldn't sleep much so we were up before 5. Power and sewage was still out so we had to go to the office to use the bathroom. The staff was up and figuring out a plan. They also had done a timmies run and there was coffee, croissants, danishes, and muffins for everyone. Because we were up so early we were ready to go, we were told to leave anything that was broken or garbage. We had to leave half our campsite, our broken tent and our kitchen tent with most of our stuff in it that was under a giant fallen tree. The park was being evacuated by 9am and then they would have to individually attend to any campers with stuck vehicles. On the way out they had a guard we had to give them the names of everyone on our site, a list of damages, our original dates, if we were planning on making a claim and if there were any injuries. We were the first ones out so I can't imagine how long everyone was there for but at least no one was seriously injured. It was so nice to see such attentive and friendly staff after the very traumatic night. They really went above and beyond the call of duty to care for everyone. I give this place 5 stars for the beautiful site (pre-storm) but I wish I could give them a thousand stars for their fantastic staff. Truly a weekend to remember!

Mehak Fatima

Great views of the like however the spots are not private. There are people around you. And the train... Ye sit goes through every 3 hours however we were in the no radio zone and it didn't bother us

Sam

beautiful park with all around campsites with lake views, not a lot of trails, very quiet and tucked away, suitable for some boat/canoeing and camping

Hayley Smith

This was a really nice small park! Even for early June the water was warm enough to go swimming. We were able to rent kayaks and our campsite was right on the lake. We heard alot of bad reviews about the train, even though it did come often it did not disturb my sleep! Park staff are very attentive and the washrooms were clean. Hot water came quickly! Overall it was 10/10 camping :)

Binu C

Nice place for family but come early to book the canoe or paddle boats.

Michael Paccanaro

Nice little park with almost all sites have at least water view. If you do not like sound of trains, avoid this location as they pass by regularly.

TheLostIndieCity RadioShow

The is a great park. Love the walk in sites for a little more privacy and you get your own shoreline. The only complaint which the park has no control over is the trains nearby at night wake you up at night which was never a problem a long time ago until they rerouted the highway.

Victor Corzato

Nice small park with beautiful lake. Only drawback in noise from the highway and regular train crossing

Elizabeth Brown

Beautiful Provincal park. Washrooms where clean and easy to access. The dog beach is on the small size but it did the trick. Be prepared to hear a train almost ever hour. It was loud when I was on my site 423. The camp site was clean on …

Annick Louisseize

It's a nice park, we loved our stay there 2 years ago which is why we came back, but found it lacking this time. There is no parking at the showers which means walking quite a distance on hills with bad knee to get to a shower. Said shower had absolutely no hot water and was filthy! I used the same stall 2 days in a row and found the same dirty tampon thrown under the seat. We were very disappointed and will stay elsewhere next time.

Scott H

Well shaded sites. Beautiful lake. No trails in the park, but alot of steep hills to walk. Most importantly, the staff takes great pride in the park, but keeping it clean, and enforcing noise rules.

Matthew Roberts

Many lake front camp sites, will definitely return!

Tim Froese

Very pretty lake, unfortunately a lot of the sites are not very private. And to top it all off there is a train that seemingly runs through the park five times a night blaring it's deafening horn. Quite the distraction from the beautiful nature and was more than a deal breaker, unless you can sleep through the loudest alarm you've ever heard then don't camp here.

Chris Boussey

Extremely unclean and confusing park. Sites were very uneven and extremely rocky/had a lot of tree routes. Along with the train in the distance. I would not stay here again. I know its not the parks fault but there were also local boats floating by blaring music at 1am.

Steve Chesney

Nice park, doggy beach, sites clean and well spaced. Only negative was frequent trains but guess you have to expect that being close to main rail yard.

Rachael Brown

All the campsites are nice, flat and clean and almost all on the water. The main bathroom and bathrooms in general could definitely use an upgrade. The beach is beautifull but a bit reedy. Good location close to town if you need to escape :P

Carlos Huang

Quite a beautiful park overall. Water is clean and the trees were marvellous, especially now in Fall. That’s why I’m not just giving it 1 star. However, we had an extremely bad experience dealing with the canoe rentals, and the rest of this review is explaining why. We were charged 60 dollars as a late fee. Normally yes, we understand that we must pay a penalty for it, however due to several circumstances, we believe this is unfair in our particular circumstance. I hope Ontario parks improves their process and policies, but I don’t have high hopes. 1. No verbal warning was given about being late, nor the fees associated with it. We were only told about it after coming back. Never shown nor told what happens when you’re late. Compare this to private canoe rentals, who make it very clear what happens after you’re late and explicitly communicate that verbally. 2. We were not allowed to take our the canoe for 4 hours, because there wasn’t enough time for a 4 hour session. However, we are allowed to go for 2 hours, and any time after that gets charged 30 dollars per half hour. That makes no sense whatsoever. Just let us take a 4 hour session and only use it for 3 hours then. 3. Inconsistent rule enforcement within different parks: In pinery and silent lake and plenty of other parks, we would pay for the extra time taken if we’re were late based on the session time. This is the first time in literally 10 years that we’ve been charged like this. There shouldn’t be different policies in different parks. When we talked to the warden, he said that there are different park sections within Ontario parks, who each enforce this separately. This makes absolutely no sense, and visitors should not be on the receiving end of bad management practices. 4. Spirit of the law doesn’t apply here: the reason you have late fees is to discourage people from renting out canoes longer than the session time, to allow other people to rent it afterwards. Since there was only an hour left after we should’ve returned it, there’s no way for someone else to rent it (min time to rent is 2 hours). We confirmed this with the staff. We’ve also retuned it before the park closed. The equipment is in good shape. That means that literally no one was affected by us being late, which makes the very high late fees a result of an overbearing and clumsy policy. 5. General notes about improvements to Ontario parks: A) you should have a formal complaint process. When we wanted to escalate this, no staff member knew what to do. There isn’t a clear process for handling complaints. The staff spent quite a bit of time going back and forth trying to figure out what to do when we said we want to escalate this complaint to the higher ups. B) a staff member told us we were lucky to pay 60 dollars and that we should be happy with it, because when we requested to file a complaint, it ran past 4pm, which meant that they could’ve just left and taken our deposit because the park was now closed. This was a threat, and it was extremely rude and unprofessional. I’ve worked in summer camps and dealing with customers a few minutes past closing is part of the job. Threatening to unlawfully take their deposit money should not be tolerated.

Alicia Roberts

Nice enough campground in a pinch. Not much to do, no hiking and a only small beach right beside the highway. Sites are all super close together, leaving little in the way of privacy. Only 1 shower station for the whole campground, which are often cold. If you’re a light sleeper, bring earplugs and heed the warnings about the train noise. They aren’t exaggerating when they say ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT. Worth the short drive to other campgrounds in the area, probably won’t be back.

Kirk James

Oastler Park... Many pros/cons. I stayed at campsite #001 on beachside campground. Everything was close, the beach which was spectacular was literally a 1 minute walk, wood and ice was around the bend. Privacy was great, our campsite had a little pathway to the washrooms. The comfort station was maybe 3 a minute walk up hill the other one was closed. As shown in pictures our campsite had a hill kinda limited our space but we made it work! figured it's good to know if you're staying here. Was still able to fit 2 tents, 1 screen tent and 2 vehicles on site and had alot of room leftover for other activities. Park has boat launch, pet area to swim and 3 beaches spots. Oastler Park does not have a playground for kids. So keep that in mind and bring extra toy's to keep kids entertained! Oastler Park also does not have trails on site. The closest trail was 15 minute walk to (Cargill Dr) and the trail was nothing too exciting typical city trail. The electrical outlet was deep in the woods, make sure you bring 50ft extension cable to reach the site. Closest town is Parry Sound. This Park also has a train near bye comes through at periodic times, but when it comes through at 3am if your a light sleeper your most likely waking up from it. It's kinda annoying, but not the parks fault. Overall, Oastler Park has great beach spots. Great privacy between sites.

Jigar Panchal

Amazing place. Camp grounds are bigger and cleaner. kayak and canoe rental is a big plus. Yes, trains pass by making noise but that did not really bother us. Over all really nice site.

Joanne Gilchrist

Spent my childhood camping here with my entire family and extended family. Loved it. No better memories than being at Oastler Park.

Robert Fusco

The park had a large sandy beach, site 408 was large with very beautiful scenery over looking the lake...even got to see a Bear walking close by our camp site. Not a big park, but everything is easily accessible, such as: beach, lake, water activity rental, dog beach, boat launch, etc.

Amaris

Pretty spot but so loud. You can hear the 400 in the distance but the road near the park is closer and louder. But that's nothing compared to the train. Still worth a visit if you want to camp close to Parry Sound. There isn't much to do at the park though unless you brought or rent a boat.

Ashley VanKoughnett

Oastler is a nice little park. I stayed at site #3, two sites down from the beach. The office with washrooms is just around the corner about a five minute walk. There is not much by the way of trails but we look a nice walk around the park anyways and got beautiful views of the lake. There is a quite loud train that runs nearby but I was warned about it ahead of time so it just sort of became part of the fun. After a little while you get used to it. The park staff was very friendly during all our interactions. We went back up to the office on Saturday night hoping to get more firewood not knowing that the office had already closed but a nearby ranger helped us out and let us buy a bag anyways.

Samina Sarawala

It's a very cute and cozy park with extremely nice camping spots. The beach is clean and well kept.

Zhiliang Wang

Camping site is clean, view is good. Difficult to sleep because the loud train roaring.

Beata Czartoryski

I got the last spot and can't even complain about location of camp but the train noise did bother me. One night is fine. I walked the grounds and must say many spots on lake might be worth the noise to use the lake.

Rachel Sea

Came here to use the beach for the day. Left and booked a camping trip here for August. Absolutely beautiful provincial park. Looking forward to going back for four nights in August!

Liam James

Good park, clean facilities, but small. The train is close as well. If it's all that's available go ahead and book but if there are spots available at Arrowhead or Killbear go there.

Jen Sellers

Just spent a week at Oastler Lake for the first time, at site #129. Pro: waterfront site - if you come to this park, I HIGHLY recommend getting a waterfront site. It makes it so much more enjoyable. Cons: trains - I love train horns while I sleep, but these were insane; the tracks are right next to the park, and it sounded like the train was going right through your site - cottagers - this lake is also home to cottages, and during our time there, they were very inconsiderate. They all have motor boats, and they WILL drive them right near the shore, even if you're swimming in the water, and they all have dogs and let them bark for *HOURS* in the middle of the night. - lack of privacy - as many other reviewers have said, this park has way too many sites that are way too close together, and have no privacy whatsoever. You can hear everyone's conversations as if they were standing right next to you (which they basically are). Park would need better with half the sites it has - site quality - the size of the campsites here is ridiculous. We walked around the campground and saw some that didn't look like you'd even be able to fit one tent and one car on. The ground is all hilly, so sites are sloped All in all, we won't be going back to this campground again. If we hadn't had the waterfront site, it would've been a miserable trip.

EW Thwaites

I've been there twice in the past 2 years and every time it has been a blast! It's a good way to relax, have campfires, swim, canoe, kayak, it goes on!

Joe Whyte

Too noisy. In between the 400 hwy and train tracks. Train whistles at night. Kids partying all night and no one on site to quiet them. Go and camp out on the peninsula it is quiet but unserviced. Nice by the water.

Autumn Kozluk

This park is an absolute MUST visit! The park is 5km from Parry Sound, ON which was incredibly convenient since we were to board the magnificent and majestic Island Queen Cruise. Staff were so hospitable with inside tips of what to do (hiking trails, canoeing spots, cliff jumping, and swimming areas)! The trains were not an issue for myself AND/OR ANY of my friends/family; to be quite frank, they were a nice touch to the park in that it offered a historic and rustic feel to the incredible Oastler Lake Provincial Park. The scenery was to die for (legit die) and the sound of the wind through the trees was magical. Felt like I was in a fairy tale in Ontario's--perhaps even CANADA'S--best kept secret.

Emma Roung

So beautiful! There is an active bear but it's only a small black bear. The train sound is not bad at all; if you are an extremely light sleeper I would suggest picking a campground on the point! The walk in campsites are very quiet and much more private. Washrooms are clean.

weber luo

Short distance from Perry Sound, nice view and facilities, you can bike, kayaking there. There are some beautiful camp spots (premium sites) you can set tant overviewing the lake.

Dharmil V

Well maintained facilities, ask for canoe/kayak rental early as they are in limited qty. Waterfront sites are amazing if you can find one!

Tom

The really loud train blaring it's horn every 15 seconds for the minute long pass-by at all hours of the night and day multiple times was enough for me to leave after 20 hours. I tried but the night was brutal for me. I should have read the reviews before booking. Otherwise it's a great place.

Ahmed Al-Wattar

It's beautiful park for camping, surrounded by water. The radio free camp sites are walk in only. They are great though. No car means more quiet. The only catch for this park is you can hear the train at night. It might annoy some .

Nancy Makau

Shallow enough to let the kids play around. And the beach is sandy too!!

S. Dovgala

The staff ride their loud quads starting at 8 am until evening. They do not actually get off to do anyy as is attested to the washroom and shower cleanliness. This is supposed to be a provincial park I want to get away from loud motorized vehicles, lawn mowers weed wackers etc....the train was bad but that can not be controlled.....the staff however can be. There is no need to ride those loud abnoxious vehicles in the park an electric golf cart would due.

Larry Selway

Great park,nice large sites. The trains are not as bad as others have said, they are noisy but never heard them at nigft. The staff were friendly and courteous. Would definitely go back again.

Charlotte Tribble

Beautiful place to spend some time outdoors, beautiful beach and everything is fairly close by to the camping areas. Just be aware of the train that passes occasionally - bring ear plugs for the night if you're a light sleeper!

Em Magistrado

It's a great place for younger kids and dog. The dog beach is perfect, the beach is clean. Campsite is a little small, no privacy. There's Blue Jays And chipmunks everywhere by the Beach campground. Would definitely go back again.

Karmel A

I mean one of the best parks by far. The scenary is so beautiful. Camp sites are on water directly. Some weren't but the ones on the water are beautiful. Park is very clean. Bathrooms are sanatized often. Staff is very friendly. Rentals are open for canoes, kayak but no life jacket rentals. Bring your own.

Sarah Roberts

It's a pretty small park but it's beautiful and there is lots to do nearby

Matt Hepplestone

Train loud.....definitely a deal breaker re returning. Not sure why few people mention the trains......they're completely out of control. We counted anywhere from 18-30 trains a day (we stayed for 7 days of our scheduled 9) and they ALL whistle right across from the park entrance. That's 4 whistles x 18-30 trains, and its 24 hours a day. It's not quiet off in the distance noise either, it's well above 80 decibels. River lots get traffic passing them all day, so stay away from them if you want a safe place for kids to play.. Comfort stations cleanliness 4/10. Showers were dirty and hair clogged drains. Staff, all young were very helpful. Red buoy across from park in W Bay apparently mark's a good fishing shoal. I also found 2 hidden rock piles. I caught 3 pike and 1 bass all week. Wind, although subtle can push you easily to other end of the lake, so watch for that ifiyoure an avid paddler like myself. Rose point trail is directly across from the entrance to park. Brings you right into parry sound. Rugged shores trail on Salt Dock road in town was amazing for off leash dog walks. Beautiful along Georgian bay shores. Mauritzios pizza was good in town and only 10 minutes til ready.

Sean Livingston (Livingston Cabinetry)

Nice camp sites with great water access. Not private sites, though. Also, no mosquitoes! No bug spray all weekend.

Carl C

Amazing park. Views were spectacular. A camping getaway ✨

oL Dusty

Very nice camp ground. Quick drive to town for supplies. Like all the other reviews, there's a train horn at night, seems worse depending on where you're site is tho and some nights were better than others for it. Didn't bother me, but I definitely heard some people bothered by it

Santiago Montoya Guevara

Beautiful views, awesome cliffs and friendly staff!!! Was there with a big group and the staff only approached us once when we're to loud at night. Definitely coming back.

Paul Carter

Nice beach, great tenting campsites. The trailer campsites near the beach are very tight and have almost no privacy. No trails in the park and not much else to do apart from the beach and lake.

Stephen Anastasi

The sites feel cozy and the park is well maintained. The staff are very friendly and helpful. The waterfront sites are quite special.

Drew K

Beautiful lake, not so good camping. Campsites have 0 privacy and the train comes by with its horn seemed like every couple hours (even during night).

Nady Yari

we were not happy at all every 45 min train is coming to kill u hahaha kids were scared of huge noise!!! the drinking water was devastating !!! as sign mention there were many bacteria then suggested to boil as we did but still smell stinky!!! they do not have any play ground and only park I found 4 kind of washroom !!! no ice-cream for kids no patrol during the night the first night next spot was screaming whole night no body say them nothingggggg , I really don't like to visit them at ALLLL

Meagan Park

Beautiful views of the water and great area. Sites were closer together than I had expected but we were there for the scenery anyway, so it was okay.

Justin Labelle

My spouse and I had so much fun. She used to camp there during her childhood and loved it. The campground was pretty full but we had a beautiful campsite. The pictures attached are the view from our campsite. I believe it was campsite 131 or around that.

Omer Qureshi

Such a beautiful park.. Good for fishing. Connoe rental on site. its small still enjoyable.. washrooms were disgusting. I dont mind old school washrooms. But least clean the spider webs in there. Surprisingly washrooms do have sensitizers in it. But no cleaniness.

Tina Dalie

Clean facilities. Loud CN Freight Trains every 45 minutes all night - bring your ear plugs! Wasn't happy that I couldn't get the site right next to ours as we were separated from our family and made it difficult to keep an eye on kids after they went into the tent, probably for the best as I was tired from being awakened by the trains!

Richard Wideman

So we booked at this site because it was close enough to Killbear to hike. Let's start with the good: -Amenities are close enough to walk and are functional. -Very pet friendly, huge plus for our dog. -Close to the water for swimming to to launch your boat/canoe Now the bad: Sites are pretty close we had I believe 421 or 431 and it seemed we could hear everything til 4am. Holy moley the train sounds. Do not underestimate it. Attached is a photo of just how close this busy trainline is and you can hear it quite loudly every hour on the hour. Light sleepers beware. I understand the park can't control the people or the train but I wouldnt risk that bad a sleep again. Won't be booking here again.

Melissa Kaczmarski

This is a bad provincial park and we have visited a number of them. The showers are too cold. There is only one shower facility for the whole park. The washrooms are dated. There are not enough canoes to be rented as a number belong to another organization. The trains run at all hours and are very loud. The staff is bothering us at all hours for being loud at 5pm. We felt that we were being watched. The lake is nice.

Sam Ferguson

Was quite surprised by the lack of privacy between campsites. Ontario Parks called the privacy "average" for our site but to have a site on either side with nothing between, maybe a branch or two. The train...quite often during the day and odd times at night. The lake was not good for fishing. Nothing to do besides the beach or be on the water (which we did with a canoe) but not much to see besides other cottages. Not a recommended nature getaway, if you need a place to sleep and don't mind neighbours or a train, then this is a place for you. Lack of park staff presence as well, never saw the warden drive by, washrooms were sub par in cleanliness.

Junaed Shahid

A great campground, with muskoka cottage setup but with camp costs. There is a train line nearby, however the sound didnt bother us. If you are a light sleeper you might not like this place. Amazing locations for swimming and hiking around the campground

Gerard MacInerney

This is a beautiful Provincial Park. The beach is a nice sandy area. Very clean. Overall, the Campground is a nice quiet family oriented place

Nevin Davidson

Been to many Ontario parks, this one has to be probably my least favourite so far. While the layout is nice, the privacy of the sites isn’t the best, and it’s a very loud park. Some people don’t mind the train, we found it was a bit excessive. The comfort station was very clean. Staff didn’t seem to take their jobs seriously

Lawrence Bromley

Beautiful campsite, friendly staff, easy and calm lake for fishing, kayaking.

Shelley

I can't even begin!!! Truly spectacular! The best camping I've ever experienced. This Provincial park is well cared for and maintained. Each camping spot is unique, almost all sites have views of the gorgeous lake. There are conveniences nearby, such as washrooms, showers and everyone we met and spoke with there, were very personable. The lake is crystal clear, very large and sectioned off for swimming pleasure. Plenty of wildlife to watch and admire and beautiful scenery all around. The place is extremely clean..not cramped and many trees and huge campsites..each with two picnic tables. Truly loved my stay here for 5 days and look forward to going again!! Fantastic is too modest for this beauty. ????

Shianna Hofstetter

A gorgeous smaller park to explore with an abundance of hidden gems. Lots of good swimming spots, too! Close to stores in case you've forgotten anything. There is a railroad nearby however come time to sleep there were no more trains - our sleep was not disturbed.

T S

Beautiful and clean. Had a peaceful time.

Michael Marco

Love this place! You can find some nicely spaced campsites (as Ontario Parks go). Walk-in sites are cool if you are in a tent. Great swimming. One word of caution would be the train. It’s loud. It’s often.

Sabrina Pembleton

This place is truly amazing. Went camping with friends and we all had a blast. The camp Ground was very nice and very clean. The views are amazing and the beach is awesome. Great for kids for swimming you can walk out and not deep. The cliffs are fun to hand out on and jump off. We are defenetly going back next summer. I truly recommend this place for family camping.

Chaitravi K

Nice beach park with nice views of Georgian bay. Staff could do a better job at explaining things because we wanted to go to Massauga pp(extension of oastler pp) and there are 2 directions to go there: one for boating (15 mins away from oaatler) and one for hiking (45 mins away from oastler) and we didn't have any boats and we specifically said hiking trails yet one of staff there didn't tell us about the 45 mins away and instead told us about the boating one so it bacqme a huge waste of time.

Ronni Drew

Beautiful park. Staff is friendly and helpful. We'll be back soon ????

Beth Rodgers

What a gorgeous place to stay.

Vincent Fournier

If it wasn't for being beside a train track and the trains blowing their horn at all hours of the night I would have given this place five stars. Great staff, nice lake, nice setup. If you can sleep through the train horn then by all means, great place but for those like us who can't, then maybe another site might be better.

Aswin Vijaya Varma

The campsites were well developed and had great views to the lake. The park rents out kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddles at a very reasonable fee; during COVID they are not handing out floatation devices (life vests), and will not let you rent boats without your own vest. All around you have beautiful lake and great sunrise and sunset views and it's worth the visit. I'd give this park a 5 rating, only if the washrooms were kept cleaner especially during the pandemic.

Mike Goodwin

Small clean park. We booked last minute and were lucky enough to get a site. Our spot was a narrow pull-through right near the beach. The park is more of a family weekend type of park rather than the more dispersed type of Provincial Park that we prefer. I didn't start my review as most do by mentioning the trains, however they are a dominant feature, or at least the noise they make is. A main East-West train corridor is directly across the street from the park and train traffic was noticeable at almost all hours. The three nights we were there I was woken at 4 am by the sound of the train whistle. I can't say that I would make this park a destination in the future. I would only use it as a stopover.

joannaxkx

Nice park, LOUD train, and WHY IS THE PARK CUTTING GRASS AT 7:30 IN THE MORNING ON A SUNDAY. way to enjoy camping

Doug Davidson

Beautiful campsite, clean washrooms and even a shower with hot water not too far away. If you enjoy fishing, there aren’t many fish biting here. Great campsite for swimming. The trains are frequent and loud but we knew that before we came here, and it wasn’t really a problem the second night once you get used to it.

sergiy kabuzan

Close to railway, close to HW, low privacy, washrooms dirty Beach very small and only for children No trails Not fish at all Got parking ticket from municipal security Try no more visit that place

Denis and Laura Lamarre

Beautiful area, but very crowded, and not much privacy. Besides the main comfort station, the outhouses and bathrooms are filthy. The train runs closely, often and quiet loud. We stayed in the "radio free area," with wardens walking through quite regularly during the day, but late in to the night, campers were partying with radios on and wardens were nowhere to be found.

Kirk Booth

Well for a long list of negatives i will not go back to this park The train is probably the worst was at least every hour and extremely close and loud Showers were disgusting and washrooms require cleaning more frequently also i spent 50$ plus on firewood that was wet and burned barely so that also sucked Long story short 1 star is generous never again……

Meaghan and Mike Thiel

A great small park with amazing tent sites that have interior camping feel even though they are drive to sites. Only issue for some might be hearing the train.

Hannah Ehtemam

This park was a great getaway from the city especially during COVID-19. The facikities are clean and well maintained. However, keep in mind that the showers are not operational as a result of the current pandemic. If you want to enjoy nature and beautiful views, this park is a great option!

Patricia Wall

Ostler lake is a beautiful quiet campsite. People are super friendly. The sun shiney of the lake at night is awesome. I've camp there for 2 years love it both times. This will be my third year coming. I can't wait.

Veronika George

We raised our children at this park and sadly this will probably be our last visit to the park. The washrooms were often closed for more than 24 hours at a times with times where maintenance wasn't even aware of the closure. The beach was a disaster and we only had to go there after renting a PREMIUM site (122) that a 4-5 foot water snake inhabited. (We were unaware of the snake or it's nest or we would never have rented this site. My family is very afraid of snakes). More people were swimming at the dog beach than the regular beach.

Stephen Jarvis

We camped on Spider and Clear Lakes. Campsites were very well maintained and clean. Scenery was spectacular. Wonderful place to camp.

Dennis Millward

Camp was great clean washrooms and water beautiful. I was not able to catch may fish possibly there are not many there other than panfish or at my site anyhow. Due to covid we could not wander much

Paul H

Yes its a nice beautiful provincial park, and yes the trains and traffic are noisy, but the worst was the one car per campsite policy which is strickly enforced. We had to have 2 cars but they hassle us and give us a ticket. Such nonsense, they make you drive your car in and out several times day to unload and load, its just making MORE traffic in the park. Will never visit again.

Tara Nash

My other half and I went to Oastler Lake PP for the first time and we both weren’t to impressed. All the camp sites are really close to the road, there aren’t enough bathrooms and comfort stations and the ones they do have are outdated and not maintained, the train goes by more often at night then during the day which is about every hour. We stayed on campsite 134 which was rated average privacy and when we got there the only thing separating the site beside us was a tree log on the ground. Also the wood they sell is to wet and just smokes up the whole park

Janice Lane

Nice park. Very long Beach. The lake is so nice.

Rachel Park

Train..........at least 3 times during a night you can hear train. Do not stay there if you have a kid under 2. And lots lots lots of caterpillars everywhere. Fall down to your shoes or chair or shoulders. Also ticks.....lots of them. Check your tent before packing you can find at least 3 or 5 ticks. My family had a tick bite becareful. Even ticks in the beach. I found over 5 ticks inside sand while make sand castle with my kids. Beware train..it is louder than you think.

Kirstie Deering

The views are stunning. The dog area is small but clean and has the nicest water. Pad slope on our site was significant and not indicated in booking info but our stay was wonderful once we we were parked and leveled. Lots of activities …

lmitaliano

Love it. Camp sites are spaced out well. Quiet little beach with shallow water. Kind people all around.

Greg Stanton

Great Provincial Park for camping with a young family. Everything is close and within walking distance. Beach is great, park is beautiful, and everything is relatively clean. Sites are close, privacy is average. The comments about the train are accurate. It's super loud at night. On the second night we got used to it. Also the park firewood seemed like it was stored at the bottom of the lake as it was very saturated. Overall buy kindling and ear plugs and you'll have a good time.

Jacquie Duck

The park has not been looked after. Showers are luke warm at best. They always look dirty. They have been saying for at least 2 years that they will be fixed. The main office was flooded last fall and they still have not fixed it or the bridge. This park needs some upgrades that don't look like they are going to be completed anytime soon.

Mike Mokrytzki

Great campground. Large sites, nice lake and scenery.

Denise Trapasso

Oastler Lake is a Beautiful Park. Problems Entrances to the lots are way too narrow. Hard time going on lot and very hard leaving lots. We saw people trying to set up and leaving cause they could not level their trailers. Trailers now are high and long and we found lot are not level. Leaving our lot we had to pull branches away to avoid doing damage to our roof. Most campers there were having the same problem. We found that most of P.P. seem to have that problem. These parks were design for the trailer that were short and low but now a days very few of these trailers exist. Trailers are higher and much longer. Hope that triming of trees will be done by next season. Attention needs to be taken on higher branches as well. This problem exists at many of Ontario Parks so please pass this message on. Also the dumping station at this park is not level to drain the tanks properly. We love nature and have been having pleasant camping experiences but getting on and out of some lots are very hard at times. Thank you for listening.

Danielle Bailey

Beautiful and surrounded by the lake. What a sight to have on vacation. This is the view just from our campsite.

Shannon White

Trains roaring through all night so bring ear plugs. Smallish lake but lots of canoes kayaks standup paddleboards to rent. So many great campsites next to the lake, a real plus. Really water sport oriented. The kids love the place but adults hate the train. It's so loud on our site that it would drown out conversation. On Thursday night it went through every hour to 6am. Friday was a but better though 3am to 4, 3 trains went through. Maybe I got used to it because Saturday night I heard only 1.

Julia Vald

Went there with group of friends. Campsites are too close to each and there is nothing to do, no hiking trails. The only thing you can do is rent a canoe for a couple of hours; however, the lake is not big so it will take you 2 hours to canoe around it. The train noise was not the issue for us, but the rangers were! Rangers were coming to our campsite every night, asking us to keep quite. However, we were not laud at all, we were just having a regular tone conversation and we didn't even booked a radio-free campsite! That was unbelievable! When we asked rangers if there was any complaints against us, they said that no one complained but just rangers were making an issue. That was just unreasonable... Beside that, the only positive thing about it was that they had clean washrooms and showers. I would never come back!

Keith Alleyne

Beautiful lake, but can't get passed the Train the sounds like it runs through the park ever couple hrs. Including late night and early morning. Just something that can't be overlooked unfortunately

Dave Hebner

Great place. Love the train!

Anita C

I’ve stayed in a lot of provincial parks, and this one is the worst. Beautiful lake and surrounding area, but the sites are absolutely terrible. They are set up for the least amount of privacy. Definitely won’t be back!

Sammy L

Depending on the site you have this can be a great camping experience! Very nice park with great swimming for the little ones. A lot of sites with lake views.

Beverley Nutt

Loud drunk teenagers, partying till 3am, swearing, running around topless.. couldn't find a park warden anywhere to complain. 2 nights of hell. Not a good experience for a family with young kids. Its a free for all it seems with zero authority in the night to enforce the so call rules of a provincial park.

Jen C

By far the worst trip I've had. I had a tent and the train running through the night is unbearable. Extremely loud, shakes the ground and squeals along the tracks, blows the horn and they are long trains. I grew up beside tracks and figured no big deal, but I was wrong. Hard to enjoy when you get no sleep. I had a water front site so was able to enjoy durning the day but the sites are side by side and zero privacy despite the Ontario Park rating, you hear every conversation. Walked around and looked like there were some ok sites father back, maybe the train wouldn't be so bad in the back, or in a trailer. Lake was great, clean and clear and relatively calm with motorized boats. I found the facilities nice and clean and the wood dry and sized well. No splitting required.

Filipe DaSilva

i've camped here a few times and always enjoy coming back, great little park with amazing views clean facilities and a nice little beach. lots of wildlife in the park including black bears, keep your campsite tidy and you wont have any issues

Freddy Reid

Great place washrooms needs to be up dated big time not sure why they have beach sand dump on camping sites..make a mess after it rains

Lorna Melmore

Very interesting ... water looked nice but over crowded so I didn't even get my feet wet!! Very clean n quiet I'd recommend it any time. They offer seniors rates too

Melendres Rabang

Pretty

rick james

Oh god the trains. What a beautiful park absolutely ruined by that train track. You hear it all day and night . If your trying to escape the noise from the city do not go hear. Im amazed at how many people here can ignore loud blaring every hour for 10 minutes straight. Youll have to drink quite a bit at this park to have a good time.

E M

Park is nice but very small and close to the train tracks so lots of noise. Lots of waterfront campsites with beautiful sunset though.

David Gilbert

Nice beach, smallest campsite i've ever seen, and the trains! I am writing this at 2:45 am after being jolted awake by one of what seems like an endless line of trains that are so close you can feel them go by. The noise from these trains CANNOT be overstated. Getting back to sleep is proving difficult as the gentleman snoring in the site beside us might as well be in our tent he's so close. The lake and topography are beautiful, and the park had real potential if they had put in about half the number of sites that they did. Ours is basically a narrow driveway with roads running along the front and back. If you do book here, get a "premium" site as they are actually right on the water with private access. I had assumed the entire shore was public, but despite being about 25 or 30 feet from the lake (on a site behind a premium site), we had to walk down the road to the beach to go in the water. Update: 4:30 am, another train seems to be cutting through our site.

Nathan Rotman

Nice campground and sites are relatively private in parts. There is a nearby train that goes by rather often though and you can hear the cars on the 400 from most of the park which is annoying.

Correy Styles

Oastler Lake Provincial Park is beautiful. 5 star beautiful. I only give 4 stars because some of the amenities are lacking on the camping side of things. There is only one comfort station with no parking except 1 handicap spot so it is a bit of a trek to shower for able folk. The 1 handicap spot is at the bottom of a hill & the showers are at the top. For someone with mobility issues, it is very difficult to get to. The roadways in the park are in rough condition, way too many potholes. One was longer & wider than our truck and after three days of rain the the bottom of the truck skimmed the water as we drove through. I'm hoping maintenance has just been delayed due to covid. We have a smaller rig so were able to camp in the Hardwood Hills. We had a birdseye view of the lake and our own private lake access if you are able to make the climb down, it's quite steep. Leveling blocks are essential if you have a rig up there. There was about a 6 inch difference to get us levelled.

Robert Williams

Nice park. Not sure why original gate house closed. No handicapped parking near beach area. No parking near shower. Very small place.

Jamie Spreng

Impossible to sleep! Trains pass throughout the night and so close the ground shakes. Oastler drive is also busy just adding to the noise. Too bad because it is a beautiful park.

Nick F

We had an amazing time at Oastler camping last summer! Great water access site! Great staff and facilities! Love cooking over the fire!

Heather Elsley

Nice park..cool chilled hilly campground with a really chilled lake . Lake oastler I think:)

Moaz Sakouhi

Small but gorgeous park, many great options for water front sites and about 30 mins away from parry sound.

Dylan Moore

Been coming here for years with my other half and 2 pups. The lake is huge and clean, we prefer the radio free campsite because the site are spread out and the views are unmatched.

Tony Citta

Is a nice little park. Staff is friendly and keep the facilities very clean. There are a couple of things that you should be aware of if you're going to camp here. First, the park is very close to an active rail line which means there are numerous trains going by daily and they do sound their horns. There is also a main road going into Parry Sound. Second, at least for the beachfront electrical sites, they are very close together and very few trees/bushes between them. If it wasn't for the fact that our neighbors both had very large travel trailers privacy would have been a concern.

Loc Tran

No trials for hiking. Their website warns us about the train track but we underestimated how disturbing it could get. The nights that we were there, trains blew horn almost every hour - throughout the night. If you are a diffcult sleeper, avoid this park.

Wayne Harasym

What can I say…I love this place! Just returned from 4 nights camping with my wife and had a fantastic time! Wide variety of campsites, from walk in tenting to large RV’s….ours was #425, very shaded but slight slope front to back. Very nice beach, great sunsets, fishing, kayak/canoe rentals. Parry Sound, 10 mins away, has lots to do, including 30000 Island cruises. If hikings your thing (no trails in the park), your camping permit gets you into nearby Killbear and Grundy.

Traci M

Great spot if you are looking for water fun, its a perfect lake for watersports! Also very close to town if you end up needing something. Great little dog beach area as well. Downsides, no hiking trails (I assumed all Ontario Parks had trails), the road traffic noise can be loud but it is only a two lane highway, and the train. There is a train nearby that runs very frequently and blasts its horn at least 3 times each time (must be announcing itself at a crossing), weekdays expect it every morning at 630!

Eric Shellswell

It's was a busy park when we were there. Nice lake to paddle around in a canoe.

Glen Follett

Very nice park with lots of campsites. Good large sandy beach and premium sites for both trailers and renters overlooking the water.

Justin Diep

Surprisingly peaceful and nice for a provincial park so close to the city. The park has a nice clean, although small beach and has a variety of watercraft for you to rent. The campsites themselves are bit too close for comfort and small compared to other provincial parks. As well several times a day and night you can hear the loud trains running past on the train tracks right next to the park.

Sam K

The campsites are nice. The lake and beach are beautiful. The only issue with this campground is the train tracks nearby. You can hear trains all day and night.

sherry munslow

Relaxed friendly calm day use area. It was free the last week for summer to use the day area which was a nice surprise ...canoes paddleboards and kayaks were right on the beach to rent for 2 or 4 hours....brand new equipment band life jackets. 20 per boat for 2 hours. We will be back next year to try the camping which looked amazing.

Nicole Adams

Thanksgiving week... beautiful campsites, full of color, lots of exploring for kids. Lovely lake for boating, canoing and fishing. But, trains are noisy, very noisy. Bring your white noise machine or ear plugs.

Sam J

Great park . The sites are great size. The staff is friendly. The people are amazing. Kris of regulars here. The only thing that people may not be able to tolerate is the train as it's loud !

Devon Harasymchuk

Nice looking park, but we went for the day to drive around and see this new to us park. We were sold a day pass and they would not sell us a sticker or badge for the park due to a new computer system. This was the first let down. When we went to drive around the park we discovered all the roadways and even parking areas were blocked off. Would not have paid for a day pass had this been told to us at the gate.

Ali Hamza

Good spot no snakes. Beautiful view.

Camping girl 1982

Had a beautiful site on the lake. Lots of people complain about the trains. But honestly didn't bother me all that much. Nice small park with a decent. Beach. Will for sure be going back.

Steve Fitzpatrick

Beauty of a lake, lottsa wildlife

keegan robinson

Clean sites garbage and recycling posted throughout the campgrounds friendly staff quiet at night very friendly folk easily accessible washrooms on grounds and amenities 5 minutes away. Gorgeous area up there will definitely return!!

Chris Mccarthy

The park is great with many different things to do from fishing, kayaking or canoeing and off leash dog beach and much more. The park rangers are fair and very helpful.

Kaylee butler

Bathrooms need to be update. They were all dirty and run down. Dog beach/exercise area is the parking lot for the boat launch so you have to worry about cars moving around plus any pollution from the boats. Campsites were pretty large but no privacy. I could see into every campsite near me. It feels like everyone is on top of each other and it can get every loud with everyone going about their day. Also the train tracks are across the road so it adds to the noise. Overall won't be going back.

Glenn Slater

The train. Wow the train. There is a double high cargo train that runs parallel to the entrance road. It is not a 1km from the campground. It went through once per hour 24hrs a day when I was there in Mid September 2020. We had to pause conversations because the squealing and grinding noises of the train on the tracks made it hard to hear each other when it passed. The whistle was even worse, it was like having an alarm clock go off every hour while you're sleeping. It blew the horn a lot as it approached and passed the park. It took minutes to pass, not just a minute for two, but 5 or so minutes. Thankfully I had earplugs for the second night to dull it a bit. I could see transport trucks on a highway as I looked out over the lake from my campsite in the picture. I can imagine this park would be very loud when fully booked. Some sites even overlook other sites and no privacy would be available. I stayed at the walk in sites at the Point. There were only 3 sites in use which was nice. It's not a very private area and some of the fire pits are very close together. The firewood I bought from their shed was wet. Overall I drove 3.5hours north and it didn't feel like an escape to nature. It was too loud between the train, the offroad vehicles the park guys drove, the dogs at cottages across the lake, people partying at cottages across the lake etc. This was mid-September with very few families at the park. I won't return.

S S

The hot water for the shower was not stable at all. I only had five minutes hot water and the rest was all cold. Same for other travellers here and some of them had to chose not to take showe that night. People were playing loud music, chatting and laughing loudly after the quite hour and the patrols didn’t do anything. We have camped for 4 nights in different parks from Riding Mountain to this park, and apparently this is the worst among all parks we have been. Not recommend at all.

Justin Majik

A smaller Provincial Park. There are no designated trails at this park but a walk through it is just as nice. Situated on beautiful Oastler Lake that has Pike and Bass. The complaints of trains near this park is not as bad as city noise or yelling people. The train did not bother us at all. 10 minutes from Parry Sound.

John Maier

Stayed one night. The site was private. The beach was ok. There was a train that often goes by. It is an average Ontario park. Worth a stay but I would not want to stay a week.

Veroni Wijesinghe

Nice place..nothing much to do.. just sit back and relax

Brandon Puckrin

Park is excellent and water was awesome. Only downside is there's a train ???? goes through every 2 hours at night

Bonnie Desjardins

Although it was raining when we arrived it was a beautiful visit!

Pierre Berube

Oastler Lake is perhaps our favorite PP. Great lake. A variety of sites. Lots of waterfront sites. Close to civilization. Trains are a little on the close side but I don't mind them.

Curtis Burns

i live in parry sound and camp here regularly since its 15 mins away from my house, my son loves it! camp sites are nice! public beach is large enough to give space. there are boat rentals i rent canoe usually when i go, good change of pace. 20 dollars for 2 hrs, 40 dollars for 4 hrs so why the hell not catch mass bass for those fisherman out there ;). i know people complain of the train horn frequency but hell your coming out of the city 90 percent of the time enjoy it... no?.... Plus with parry sound 15 mins away and a tone of local venues youll never need to pack food when walmart and sobeys is 10 mins from the park

Scott N

Nice beach and pretty shorelines. Many nice campsites. Ours was not close to the water which was not as nice. Dog beach is nice. You must be aware the train is loud. Great place to go for a few days to swim and relax on the beach or dog beach if you have a dog. Good for boating as well.

Velvet Hankai

This place was AWESOME! It was nice to home the whole park. I found the site we want in 2020 and booked it. This place is SO cool! Yes the train goes by, but unless you're a sissy, you don't even notice

Michael warner

If you are wanting privacy, good fishing, goodnight sleep or decent washrooms stay far away from here. No wonder it was only place in Ontario you could find availability this year. Online said bring own lifejackets due to covid, false they have them. Tried renting a canoe to be told they were all out after litterally walking by atleast a dozen of park owned canoes. You can constantly hear the highway at night aswell as the train that has zero regard for park residents when it comes to the horn. Wont be back!

Quinlan Hodgert

Park is average to other provincial parks. Decent camp sites. Not so dog friendly. They have a KM long beautiful beach at the front that has maybe 10 people using it. The dog beach is not fenced off and has 10 families with little kids and no dogs taking up the 20 foot beach. Unable to take dogs there.

Philip

The freight trains are just outside of the park and are running non stop..day or night. If you are sleeping in a tent,you will be up all night. It is like sleeping right next to the train! Also they all blow the whistle when they are running by. Loud enough to wake a dead man!!

Gordin Warner

My camp site was right on the water. Just outside of Parry Sound. Hopefully you like trains because you'll hear them all night long.

Michael Bennie

The train noise was definitely note worthy, but more than that it was the lack of privacy between sites. Also, found it to be one of the smaller sites we had ever camped on and all dirt, no grass. They definitely have used up every square inch. Plus side, washrooms and showers decently clean. Beach area is ok. Other campers not overly loud at night (we are here with kids). The biggest plus is the staff, incredibly friendly and helpful.

Aaron Zeiger

Train tracks are unfortunately too close to the park, as is the main Highway. Tragic really because it is a beautiful park and the staff are super helpful.

Stephanie V

Great location off the highway, with stunning views. The view from the camp sites that are right on the lake are unbelievable. Such an awesome experience being able to swim right at your camp site. Almost all sites come with two picnic tables, which comes in handy. For sites that don't have water access, there is a great beach. The dog beach was small and not as inviting however. Main complaint was the train at night time which is very loud, so highly recommend ear plugs.

Kiffer H

Nice park, we had a great campsite on the water. Other sites seemed cramped and small. Relatively quiet except for the regular freight trains passing by, which is bothersome at night. Otherwise, a nice park.

Kat Brioux

Had a wonderful time here, campsite 117 was more slopped then we had initially expected. Lots of tree roots throughout the site making very little space to set up a larger tent, which we have a 10 men. Wouldn't recommend anything bigger then a 6 but you will still deal with lots of roots. View was gorgeous and having access to the water was great. The winds were unreal on this side, dealt with some windy weather for a couple days and thought we would lose our tent. Dog park was nice, again wish the parks would fence off the area.. im always afraid my dog will wonder off.. he loves to explore. The train, everyone keeps commenting on it. Is it bad.. not really. Yes its loud, yes it honks its horn everytime it goes by. I will admit it woke me up everytime it wnet by the first night and I am a heavier sleeper but by the second night it only woke we twice. I would probably not recommend coming here if you are a light sleeper. Bathrooms were very well maintained, was not expecting the amount of flushable toliets instead of traditional outhouses.. nice plus. We will more than likely come back and try out different areas throughout the park, we spotted some nice spots we want to check out.

Catharine E

BEWARE (camped July 2019) 2 stars only for the beauty and being able to find a waterfront location. I would rate the staff, facilities and showers as a 0 if I could. We were at sites 136/137 which were great. Away from neighbours, on a hill overlooking the water and very little bugs. Caution on 136 as you have to carry everything down the hill full of roots and rocks. It isn't suitable for anyone with disabilities or if you plan to be more than tipsy. Trains were not bothersome on this side of the park. You could hear them, but nothing worse than city white noise so I didn't even notice it sometimes. The bad: -Only 1 shower facility which is NOT CLEANED. If you manage to land shower #1 than you get the hot water... down the line it gets colder and good luck at the end. My shower was colder than the lake. On the first night I opened a shower and saw a forgotten pair of mens underwear so I used a different shower. The next night, the underwear was still sitting there. How hard is it to send in someone to clean them!! -Our site was a bit of a distance away from the shower facility so on the second day we drove to it. There is a no parking sign out front of the showers so we drove around the corner and parked on a large grassy shoulder of the road (which clearly showed signs of being parked on). Within a couple of minutes 2 rangers (1 with an ego and 1 in training) started writing us a ticket. We ran back to the car and apologized, and asked for clarification. They said that we were parked in a no parking area and will get a ticket. I asked why because this area has clearly been parked on and it isn't marked but the Ranger said that if he put a sign everywhere it would ruin the nature, when in fact around the corner is a no parking sign. There were no good reasons and he refused to let us off with a warning. After it was done, we were told we could pay the ticket at the office. I have no problem with tickets being used to help enforce rules, but this was issued clearly as a revenue stream as we were told to pay at the office. -Forget about renting canoes. We picked this park because we wanted to rent a canoe and do some fishing. The website and newspaper all say you can rent canoes at Oastler Lake as part of something to do... you can, but you can't use them at Oastler Lake!! Canoe rentals are only to be loaded onto your car and taken away into the Massassauga area. At Oastler Lake you can rent paddle boats, kayaks and knee boards for this lake. The point was for us to rent a canoe for 2 adults, a dog and go fishing. no thanks. FALSE ADVERTISING. -The outhouses near our site were horrid. There are outhouses... and then there are outhouses. They are need of repair or probably ready to be sealed up and a new hole dug. You are better off walking 5 minutes to the flush toilets. -The dog beach was somewhat small, but clean and sandy. Still wear your water shoes but we enjoyed it. The problem is that it is pretty centrally located so I had some campers come to this beach when I was with my dog instead of using the main beach at the entrance. Unfortunately my dog will chase little kids if they are running which is harmless but can be scary for the families. I had to politely remind them that this is an offleash dog beach and my dog will be offleash here if they plan to use this section. I'm sure other dog owners appreciate the lengths we can go to find a designated sandy dog beach as they can be few and far between. If you don't have a dog, please use the public swimming area. Finally, if you've purchased Provincial Park wood before, you will know it is pretty bad, damp and not dried out. This isn't new to me, just remember to pack some form of firestarters and kindling... you will need it. Overall, we still enjoyed our time here and loved being able to see the water from our tent. But the canoes and ticket were a serious let down. Before the drama, we were planning to change our August reservation to this park but now we will definitely not be returning to Oastler.