Ontario Provincial Parks: Best Campsites and Reviews: August 2019

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Earl Rowe Provincial Park : Earl ROWe, roWE, rOWE your Boat because YOU cAn't SWIM here (for free)

For Those In The Know

At the end of an amazing summer of camping in 2015,
Bev and I went to Earl Rowe Provincial Park because we're so keen.
Just outside of New Tecumseh or Allison
is Earl Rowe, an easy drive for anyone,
(if someone can explain why this place has two names I'd be forever grateful)

By anyone, I mean if living in south western Ontario,
it's only an hour twenty from our home of Toronto,
making for us an easy weekend furlough,
I just wish we were in the know.

Bad for swimming, Great for birding.

In 1964 Earl Rowe Lake was man made,
And if bacteria levels are high, swimming chances may fade.
But do not fret if wading is your thing,
There is a one acre pool fit for a very young king.

Although quite nifty the cost is three dollars fifty.

With six hikes, one can spend some time there,
We did all six in a day with half of it to spare.
The Lookout Trail is the best one by far,
Most trails were planned so you don't use your car.

If you doing this one, you must also do the trail named Rainbow Run.

With four hundred and two sites there is tonnes of room,
But not many sites are private as you might assume,
So if to Earl Rowe you are planning to go,
At least now you are in the know.

(Best sites at Earl Rowe Provincial Park 1, 12, 19, 24, 34, 53, 61, 65, 66, 68, 82, 93, 94, 97, 105, 110, 118, 121, 125, 257, 417, 419, 422, 424, 606, 607, 614, 622, 624, 628, 629, 632, 633, 634.)

Our site 65 was a great spot,

And hidden in the trees is a second tent lot.

Site Cleanliness: It wasn't the best,
It was a bit of a mess.
But we went at the end of the season,
So that was probably the reason.
There was a rake,
So if you're A.D.D., like me, you can clean it for goodness sake.

Privacy: We luckily picked the best spot
And because of that we loved it a lot.
With 400 sites and only 53 that meet the mark,
This may not be the best privacy park.

Hiking and Activities: The hikes could fill part of one whole day,
And with only weekday programs I guess the weekends are for adult play.

Park Class: For a quickie vacation,
This park is for recreation.

Beach Quality or Ease of Getting to the Water: With a man made lake that someone should skim,
It still chaps my bum that you have to pay to swim.
There are no sites right on the beach,
Which makes getting to the water a bit of a reach.

Recommended Length of Stay: Depending on what you want to do,
But I wouldn't stay longer than a day or two.

Overall Impression: I have to say, by now I'm sure you are tired of the rhyming,
As am I, but I will stop my whining.
We had a great time with family sitting around the fire,
Eating and talking until we got tired.
As long as you know there is no swimming (except in the pool),
It is a great place for a weekend of getting out of town?

Rating out of 103: 81
Cause it was lots of fun,
But it's not great,
So 81 is it's fate.

If you are keeping score here is the list in order:

Campgrounds

#2 Algonquin

#3 Quetico
#5 Bon Echo

#19 Sandbanks

#21 Neys

#22 Wakami Lake

#23 Nagagamisis

#26 Pancake Bay

#29 Chutes

#30 White Lake

#40 Mississagi

#43 Long Point

#49 Marten River

#51.5 Silent Lake

#52 Restoule

#53 Point Farms

#56 Inverhuron

#58 Rene Brunelle

#69 Sibbald Point
#81 Earl Rowe

#82 Rainbow Falls

#91 Turkey Point

#92 Bronte Creek

Day Use
#1 Petroglyphs
#14 Potholes

Just in case you thought I had stopped,
Here's some pictures from Earl Rowe of the things that I love a lot.

Cormorants love at first sight,

Tree Art,

Lastly this curiosity of an empty field with street lights.

It was a dark and stormy day on the desolate road between Nipigon and Hearst. Tired, with one eye on the road, the options were the ditch or a lonely thirty second ring road. Choosing the latter, we retreated from the car to stretch our legs unbeknownst what awaited our weary bodies on the trail ahead. Stumbling up the root ridden trail under the ominous tree cover we came to an earthly hole in the Canadian shield.

Glacial Pothole or Finnish hot tub?

Now, either there is a bend in space time along the root ridden trail, a pothole porthole, or aliens abducted Bev and I and altered our memories. Because, on another lonely long highway numbered 101 between Wawa and Chapleau there is a dank day use park named Potholes Provincial Nature Reserve and, as far as we know, Bev and I have never visited this place. We did however heave ourselves laboriously to a Potholes Provincial Park on highway 11. Where were we on highway 11? No one knows because it is not on any map, I've looked, and we are both convinced it was on highway 11 not 101. It must be a conspiracy of cartographers or a binary bizarro-world. The potholes were created when bones and rocks are carried by water and the water hits a eddy where mainly the rocks wear away a circular hole in the Canadian shield.

An ancient toilet?

There is usually a boulder bed (where boulders sleep) near these potholes where the glaciers have littered horribly.

Lazy Boulders or Dirty Glaciers, I can't decide.

Notice the highway on the map.

I am %100 certain we saw this just off highway 11, but this map shows it on highway 101.

The only thing wrong with this is the number on the highway.

And again this map points out of the parking lot and back to highway 101, but after running back to our car in fear, at the end of our parking lot was only highway 11 and the desolate boreal forest. I truly cannot wait until we return to either of these places in future. Or maybe a rock carried by water may hit an eddy and make it all disappear.

Hiking and Activities: One hike of a half of an hour return to see the sight.

Park Class: Nature Reserve

Recommended Length of Stay: One hour if you want to see the Potholes and have a half hour picnic lunch as well.

Overall Impression: It is just worth a peek. If you are going by and need a break from driving I would check it out, but otherwise... Now maybe the one on highway 101 is different.

Rating out of 14: #11 is where I'm placing this one because of the highway it is on. It's great if you are into geology or glaciers. But it is only about one geology/glacier element. We have only seen two day use parks and they couldn't be more different -- one good and the other, however interesting, less so. Or is it? Man all this going around in circles is making me dizzy.

In Circular Descending Order:

Campgrounds