My husband, our two dogs, and I camped at Charleston Lake for 4 nights in early July. In so many respects, this park desrves 5 stars!
Here are some of the highlights of Charleston Lake:
1. Close to the ever-popular Bon Echo, but way less crowded; features many similar attractions to those found at Bon Echo (great kayaking, cliffs, petroglyphs, unique geological formations, natural caves, clean and clear water, mainly deciduous forest). The sites at Charleston Lake are, in general, larger and much more private than those at Bon Echo.
2. Nature abounds here! Within an hour, we had seen a pheasant, as well as a buck, doe and baby fawn. One early morning, I saw 12 loons on the lake, and my husband and I spotted some herons. The sounds of nature are all around you, particularly at dawn and dusk: loons; wolves; crows; chickadees; owls. Only the parks North of Superior can compete with this.
3. Many huge, spacious sites. This is one of the few parks that I've visited in which the electrified sites were on-par with the tent-only sites in terms of size and privacy. We had a great site with electrical service in the Shady Ridge campground. There is also back-country, hike-in camping, if that interests you.
4. Fantastic hiking trails. If you are into history and spooky stuff, then there are a number of ghost towns and old cemetaries that are a short drive from the site.
5. The nearby, small hamlet of Lansdowne has a Fresh Mart, a Lucky Dollar Store (suprisingly well stocked) and an LCBO for most basic needs. If you need something more, then Kingston is only about 30 minutes away by car.
So, you may ask, why only 4 stars if Charleston Lake is really all this? Basically, two words: dog beach. As someone who owns two dogs, I spend a lot of time at the dog beaches and pet exercise areas when I camp. The dog beach at Charleston Lake is small and rocky: I really think that, given the sheer number of dogs that come here, they should consider improving the beach, at least in terms of size.
That said, it's better than Bon Echo's dog beach (that one was the worst yet). Also, as the friendly and helpful staff pointed out to me, if you hike the Shoreline Trail with your dogs, then there are several private coves which are not designated swimming areas, and your dogs can go in the water there. It's a 2 km hike through beautiful forest and shoreline. So, yes, there are alternatives to the dog beach.
Do the humans really need 95% dog free beaches? Campers are, in my experience, vigilant about cleaning up after their pups and keeping them on a leash when they aren't actually swimming. So, Charleston Lake, why not throw us dog owners (and we are many) a proverbial bone and enlarge our dog space? The rocks aren't a problem (less sand in your tent), but really, please, give us a bigger space for the doggos.
To sum it up, I give Charleston Lake 4 1/2 stars: so close to being 5. Were I not a dog owner, I would have given it 5 stars for sure! read more