Winter camping in Ontario

Types of winter camping

During the winter, several Ontario parks offer a variety of winter experiences, including front-country, back-country and yurt camping.

Avoid winter camping on designated summer sites and be mindful when cutting dead timber to avoid creating eyesores.

Front-country winter camping

Front-country camping refers to easy-to-access, drive-in campgrounds. Some campgrounds continue to sell firewood, maintain comfort stations and provide access to great snowshoeing and cross-country skiing trails in the winter.

You may choose to rent a four-season tent and sleeping bags from a local outfitter. But in mild temperatures and the controlled environment of a campground, you can get by with a three-season tent and multiple layers of summer-weight sleeping bags.

Backcountry winter camping

For a more challenging adventure, backcountry opportunities are available in many locations that make Ontario an iconic destination for wilderness camping in the summer months—only with far more silence and solitude.

Winter camping in Ontario’s backcountry should only be done by experienced campers with advanced outdoor skills and careful judgment.

Cold-weather backcountry camping demands specialized equipment, such as windproof four-season shelters or canvas tents with compact woodstoves and winter-rated sleeping bags. Because backcountry locations have limited cell service, consider buying or renting a satellite communication device. 

Special rules may apply for backcountry winter camping, with specific sites available for environmental and safety reasons.

Where to go winter camping

Ontario is one of the best places to go winter camping, with drive-in sites, backcountry camping, and yurt- and cabin-based stays. Make Ontario Parks reservations well in advance. 

Here are a few highlights:

Algonquin Provincial Park

Ontario’s most popular park is a great destination for winter camping.

Front-country winter camping

Algonquin operates Mew Lake Campground on Highway 60 year-round, with over 100 electrical and non-electrical sites, six heated yurts, and a comfort station with hot showers and flush toilets. Make a reservation in advance to confirm your site.

Nearby trails include the Old Railway Trail for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and fat biking and Bat Lake and Two Rivers trails for snowshoeing. An outdoor skating rink is maintained at the campground.

Backcountry winter camping

Algonquin also offers excellent options for backcountry winter camping. Options include the Western Upland or Highland long-distance backpacking trails. You can also park at the Algonquin Art Centre or Mew Lake Campground along the Highway 60 corridor and set off into the backcountry by ski or snowshoe. Contact the park at 705-633-5572 to inquire about the status of other access points for winter trips.

Winter campers should avoid designated summer campsites and set up camp a minimum of 30 metres from any trails, portages or lakeshore areas to minimize impacts on the environment.

Backcountry camping permits are required; make reservations online or pick up permits at Algonquin’s West Gate or East Gate entry points.

Quetico Provincial Park

Northwestern Ontario’s flagship park southeast of Atikokan is open for winter camping.

Front-country winter camping

Dawson Trail Campground maintains five sites for winter use. Three of the sites have electrical service. However, the comfort stations are closed, so you must bring water. Quetico also offers three rustic cabins at Dawson Trail complete with bunks, a kitchenette and cozy woodstoves.

Access to 15 kilometres of cross-country ski trails and snowshoeing on the French Portage and French Falls trails from the campground. Snowshoes rentals are available at Wilderness Supply and skis from Fresh Air Experience in Thunder Bay.

Backcountry winter camping 

The parking areas at Dawson Trail and Nym Lake are accessed from Highway 11 and provide winter access to Quetico’s backcountry, with self-serve backcountry permit stations to pay for and register your trip. Travelling the Quetico interior is not for the inexperienced. Large, traditional wooden snowshoes work best in Quetico’s relatively flat landscape, and toboggans work best for hauling gear. 

Bruce Peninsula National Park

Winter imparts a unique feeling of wilderness in Bruce Peninsula National Park, with magnificent ice sculptures along the Lake Huron shore.

Front-country winter camping

Front-country winter camping is offered in the Tamarack section of the Cyprus Lake Campground, with over 75 non-electrical sites for reservation and heated yurts available. 

You’ll need to carry or toboggan your gear and supplies from the parking area to the campsite. Camping services are limited in winter, so bring water and be prepared to use a pit privy. Firewood is available for purchase at the Visitor Centre. Enjoy winter hiking and snowshoeing on the trails, including a five-kilometre loop around Cyprus Lake and access to the Lake Huron coastline via the Horse Lake Trail.

Backcountry winter camping 

You can also hike to several remote backcountry campsites. Expedition backpacks and alpine-style snowshoes are best for Bruce Peninsula National Park. The hike from the parking lot to the campsites at Stormhaven is about four hours and the trek to the sites at High Dump is over eight hours. Make reservations online.

Limberlost Forest

Limberlost Forest is a vast oasis of freshwater lakes and hardwood hills near Huntsville. 

Front-country winter camping

The park features over 50 front-country campsites for winter camping and cottage rentals. Explore cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails through landscapes similar to nearby Algonquin Provincial Park.

Killarney Provincial Park

Ontario’s crown jewel, Killarney is a great destination for winter enthusiasts.

Front-country winter camping

George Lake Campground is stunning under a blanket of snow. You’ll need to walk a short distance to over 140 front-country campsites, available to book online. Six heated yurts and two cabins are also available.

The park provides outhouses for winter campers, sells firewood and rents snowshoes. Running water and indoor toilets are available at the Park Office. To access your George Lake campsite in winter, haul your gear a short distance by backpack or toboggan.  

Backcountry winter camping 

George Lake is beautiful and provides good access to popular trails like The Crack, Cranberry Bog and Chikanishing, but Killarney’s backcountry is even more spectacular. This remote wilderness park’s 49,000-hectare backcountry is vast and camping possibilities are nearly endless. 

Buy backcountry camping permits online, at the Park Store at the George Lake Campground or the Bell Lake backcountry access point on Highway 637.

Silent Lake Provincial Park

Located off Highway 28, south of Bancroft, Silent Lake has an impressive network of groomed cross-country skiing and snowshoe trails.

Front-country winter camping

Get a taste of winter camping at the year-round drive-in campground. Non-electrical campsites are available on a first-come, first-served basis, while electrical sites can be reserved online.

The park maintains a comfort station for winter use, provides firewood sales and offers snowshoe rentals. 

Frontenac Provincial Park

Located on Salmon Lake Road, off Highway 19, north of Kingston, Frontenac offers a wilderness skills program.

Backcountry winter camping 

Put your skills to use on an overnight trip to one of Frontenac’s interior backcountry campsites available for winter reservations, with access ranging from an easy 20-minute walk to longer treks. Prepare to haul your gear by backpack or toboggan. 

The park grooms an eight-kilometre network of cross-country ski trails and features over 100 kilometres of hiking trails ideal for snowshoeing. Check out the winter park map.

Temagami

An hour’s drive north of North Bay on Highway 11, the quintessential Ontario canoe country of Temagami becomes a dream destination for experienced backcountry winter campers when the snow falls.

Backcountry winter camping 

The most accessible portions of the Temagami backcountry are made up of crown land, where Canadian residents can camp free of charge. The first challenge of planning a winter trip on crown land is finding a secure and plowed place to park. There’s a good option near the five-kilometre mark on the Central Lake Temagami Access Road, a well-maintained road located just south of the village of Temagami off Highway 11. Heading west from this location you’ll discover frozen lakes and easy portages (often travelled by snowmobiles) to Iceland and Driftwood lakes, with excellent opportunities to set up camp and explore.

Alternatively, book a guided winter camping trip and stay in a heated canvas tent with Temagami Outfitting.

Sleeping Giant Provincial Park

Despite its proximity to the city of Thunder Bay, the backcountry of Sleeping Giant Provincial Park is seriously remote in the winter months, separated from civilization by Lake Superior’s ever-changing weather and abundance of snow.

Backcountry winter camping 

Several hiking trails are open for off-season adventures and backcountry camping for experienced winter backpackers. Get winter camping permits in advance.  

Access the South Kabeyun Trail via Highway 587. It traces the Lake Superior shoreline, with spectacular views, including an arched rock formation known as the Sea Lion. Find camping opportunities at Tee Harbour and Lehtinen’s Bay.

Snow conditions along the trail are variable depending on the wind conditions, ranging from glare ice to deep drifts. Wear large metal snowshoes with crampon grips and carry gear in an expedition backpack.

Guided winter camping trips and rentals

Learn how to winter camp with an instructional course or on an expert-led trip. These Ontario outfitters offer winter camping instruction and guided trips in some of the province’s best front-country and wilderness destinations. Equipment rentals allow you to try winter camping before buying equipment.

Voyageur Quest

Offers an all-inclusive overnight introduction to hot winter camping from the western edge of Algonquin Provincial Park, near South River.

Algonquin Basecamp

Based in Kearney, on the western border of Algonquin Provincial Park, this company offers complete outfitting for cold and hot winter camping, custom packages for individuals and groups and weekend instruction. 

Lure of the North

A Sudbury-area outfitter that offers guided trips and instruction and everything you need for a self-guided winter adventure, including canvas tents, woodstoves, toboggans, snowshoes and sleeping bags.

Temagami Outfitting Co.

Provides all-inclusive guided hot camping trips by snowshoe and toboggan in the Temagami wilderness of Northeastern Ontario.

Algonquin Outfitters

Rents four-season tents, sleeping bags and pads from Oxtongue Lake post on Highway 60 minutes from Algonquin Provincial Park’s West Gate. 

Frontenac Outfitters

Located adjacent to Southeastern Ontario’s Frontenac Provincial Park and rents canvas tents and woodstoves for hot camping, as well as toboggans and winter-rated sleep systems. 

The Wilderness Experience

Rents canvas hot tents in the London area.

Winter camping equipment

There are two distinct approaches to winter camping: alpine-style cold winter camping or traditional hot tenting. Each style has its own attributes, limitations and distinctive equipment.

Cold camping

This approach to winter camping draws on the style of mountaineers, who rely on extra-warm sleeping bags, four-season gas cooking stoves and sturdy nylon tents to buffer them from the harsh environment.

The main advantage of cold camping is that the gear is lighter and packs up smaller than a hot tent kit. This allows you to carry it in a backpack or a compact sled and travel overland in steep and rugged terrain. The downside is the cold. Stay warm through metabolism (plan on high-calorie meals) and insulation (warm, layered clothing). Pack enough fuel for cooking and for melting snow. 

Cold winter camping is often a good option on Ontario’s backpacking trails, such as the Highland Trail in Algonquin Provincial Park. Snowshoes are essential for mobility and packing out a tent site.

Hot camping

Traditional winter camping with canvas-wall tents and portable woodstoves has become increasingly popular in recent years.

Warmth and comfort are the greatest attributes of hot winter camping. You can hot tent in front-country campgrounds or pack your gear on a toboggan and venture into the backcountry—the way Indigenous trappers and coureurs des bois did. This style of travel is ideally suited to the frozen lakes and portages of Ontario’s canoe country.

Most hot winter campers carry an ice chisel or auger to cut through frozen lakes and ponds to access water for cooking and drinking (all water should be boiled before drinking to avoid illness). Be careful when setting up your shelter and woodstove—ensure plenty of space between hot surfaces and fabric tent walls.

Hot tenting is comfortable, but it’s also a huge investment that requires considerable effort in travel, setting up camp and processing wood. It’s a great option with a larger travel group.

What you’ll need for winter camping

Regardless of the style of winter camping, you’ll need much of the same gear—with a few key differences. Here’s a list of the gear you’ll need, with specific notes for cold and hot camping.

Shelter

Whether you choose a nylon dome, tunnel-shaped tent, canvas A-frame, wall tent or yurt will define your style of winter camping.

Many first-timers will use a lightweight, three-season tent for cold camping. Some prefer an ultralight combination of shaped snow walls for wind protection and a tarp for shelter overhead.

The design of a hot tent determines its ease of setup and interior space. A-frame models (Snowtrekker is a popular manufacturer) come with internal aluminum frames that go up fast and work well as a single shelter for groups of three or fewer.

Tools

A bow saw and an axe are essential for cutting and splitting dry firewood for a hot camping setup.

For hot winter camping, it’s handy to pack an auger or ice chisel to break through the ice to access water for cooking and drinking. Remember to boil the water before drinking to kill any pathogens.

Bedding

For either style of winter camping, invest in a quality winter-rated sleeping bag, ideally insulated with a water-resistant down. Select a self-inflating or insulated air mattress meant for four-season use to avoid losing heat through conduction from the cold ground.

Clothing

Dressing in layers helps manage sweat and moisture and protects from chilling winds. Long underwear tops and bottoms, thick wool socks, fleece mid-layers and a windproof shell for your upper body and legs are the typical wardrobe for a day of winter travel. Bring a second set of warm layers, such as heavyweight fleece long underwear tops and bottoms, to wear in camp.

A puffy jacket insulated with down or synthetic fill is critical for staying warm. Wise hot tenters always store a change of clothing outside their tent as insurance against a devastating tent fire.

Bring a spare pair of gloves, a light pair of mitts and a heavy pair of mitts for the coldest days. The same goes for hats and toques. 

Your choice of daytime footwear is determined by your mode of transportation: specialized boots for backcountry skiing or warm pack boots or winter moccasins for snowshoeing. It’s a good idea to bring a second pair of boots (or a dry set of boot liners) for use in camp.

Food and cooking

For cold camping, bring easy-to-prepare, calorie-dense meals to keep your belly full and minimize time spent burning fuel with the gas stove. High-calorie snacks like nuts and seeds are excellent additions. Be aware that energy bars and other snack food items turn rock-hard in the cold, so pack accordingly.

Hot campers have more options for trip menus because their cooking isn’t limited by fuel supply and the woodstove makes a wonderful cooking surface inside the tent.

Some campers get by cooking on an open fire, but a single-burner gas stove is best for preparing meals and boiling water for cold camping. For winter use, you’ll need a liquid fuel stove that burns white gas or kerosene for greater efficiency, as most canister fuels don’t work well in sub-zero temperatures. Plan on one litre of fuel for each day of cooking and melting snow.

For hot tenting, you’ll need a portable woodstove and sections of stovepipe, often with an elbow section to allow the chimney to exit the tent. Ensure your stovepipe diameter matches the size of the tent's pipe exit panel (or stove jack). Hot winter campers often use their woodstove as a cooktop to prepare meals and boil water.

Transportation supplies

If you’re travelling any distance, you’ll need a way of carrying your gear. Expedition hiking backpacks work best for rugged terrain and lighter cold camping loads. Haul your gear on a sled, pulk or toboggan on flatter terrain, such as easy trails and frozen waterways.

Skiing is a great way to travel on a winter camping adventure. You’ll want wider backcountry skis and sturdy boots for pushing through ungroomed snow.

Most traditional hot campers get around on large traditional wood-framed snowshoes, which create a better “float” of packed snow for hauling toboggans. They’re faster than modern metal-framed snowshoes on flat terrain and frozen waterways. On the other hand, modern alpine-style snowshoes are best for technical trails and lighter backpack loads.

First aid kit

Always pack a first aid kit. Some medications, such as EpiPens, must be kept close to the body to avoid freezing.