Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Dorset Lookout Tower

    5.0 (4 reviews)

    Dorset Lookout Tower Photos

    Recommended Reviews - Dorset Lookout Tower

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Verify this business for free

    Get access to customer & competitor insights.

    Verify this business

    Bonnechere Provincial Park - Laundry machines at one of the comfort stations

    Bonnechere Provincial Park

    4.5(2 reviews)
    112.8 km

    Nice campground. Lake is accessible…read more No pet beach, but we managed with 2 dogs. Staffing is low, but the place is clean. Store has a great selection of gifts and snacks. We're coming back for sure

    Going with 4 stars on this one because that's what it deserves, but honestly for me it was a 3 star…read moreexperience. If you DO have a dog (and u r bringing ur furchild with u) and/or if u DONT have a boat...then likely u will find this a 3 star experience as well, if not less. Location: 4h from Montreal, a super easy drive straight through Ottawa to the end of the 417 then off on some county roads. Easy peasey. Once you get to the county roads it's beautiful hills of forests with lakes and ponds that appear out of nowhere. Quite pretty. This campground is not even 1 hour away from Algonquin Provincial Park so that's why we chose it (Algonquin was fully booked, this was our 2nd choice). Campsites: Oh boy. Warning: objects in photos on the reservation site appear larger than they are in real life! We chose site 62 thinking its' marsh led into Bonnechere River, this was not the case. The marshes do NOT lead to the river so if you want a water front site (which I highly recommend) you're going to have to pick one that specifies RIVER ACCESS. (Basically you want sites: 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 79, 81, 83, 85, 87, 88, 89, 91, 93, 95, 97 or 99. Only some of these options are perfect, but hey, for direct river access it's worth it). The campsites are large enough for tents and/or trailer combinations with shelters, have 2 picnic tables which are movable and a decent short iron firepit with grill. You'll be pitching your tent on sand, so easy to peg. Scenery: the beautiful lake at this campground was stunning! Typical Ontario forestry in the valley of the mountains. The variety of trees at our campsite alone was awesome. Weather: It rained for a whole day and night but other than that we were pretty lucky, not too cold. Weather is more predictable here than other mountainous territory, so using your weather app is a good idea to prepare. Build a rain shelter stat. You'll thank me. Commodities/Accommodations: - DOGS ALLOWED! ***However you cannot bring your dog anywhere close to the gorgeous beach. That sucks and severely limits the areas you can enjoy if you don't have a waterfront site. (We spent all our time fishing off a boat launch area in between sites 91 and 93 'cuz that's as close as we could get to the water with Irie). - Several comfort stations all with flush toilets and showers, a few with laundry machines too. - Dry vaults with sinks to wash your hands, evenly spaced in the loops, quite stinky but did the trick. - Park store with variety of food, supplies, wood (2/12$, 5$ kindling), ice (3.50$), worms(4$), gifts etc. They even have wagons you can borrow to trek your wood to your car. - Kayaks and canoes rental (35$/d 8$/h) - A few rustic cabins to rent off in the trails with river access at some of them - The only sites with electrical access do not have access to the river (which is fine for me but I mention it for those who require outlets) - Very VERY well kept clean park with amazing friendly staff (even reimbursed 100% of one of our nights due to a family emergency) Activities: The "FIT trail" at Bonnechere Campground is much, much smaller than it looks on the map and while it's pretty and simple, if you don't happen to do this trail while here, trust me it's no big deal. GO TO ALGONQUIN PROVINCIAL PARK! Not an option, you cannot come to this campground and not go take advantage of the hiking trails at Algonquin for 17$ for everyone in your car to have access. It's an hour away down the 60 and my gawd! You have to do this! Wildlife: apparently there was an "Active Bear in Campground" for most of the days we stayed but we never ran into him/her. Plenty of adorable, obviously hand fed, chipmunks (they came right up to our feet without anything in our hand to offer them). Even saw some kool turtles basking on the fallen logs in the marsh behind our site. Plenty of different birds, friendly blue jays, even saw a Pied King Fisher!! Also saw a coupla turkey vultures chilling on posts on the roads. Tons of frogs and toads of all sizes. Caught plenty and plenty of pumpkinseed sunfish, someone else caught a pike n someone else caught a large mouth bass. Overall if your goal is Algonquin and you waited too long to book your site there...go ahead and come here but still plan your days to go to Algonquin. Otherwise, if you have a boat or don't have a dog you will seriously love this place!

    Photos
    Bonnechere Provincial Park - The park store

    The park store

    Bonnechere Provincial Park - A mushroom on the FIT Trail

    A mushroom on the FIT Trail

    Bonnechere Provincial Park - This lil guy came to greet us right at our feet within minutes of arriving!

    See all

    This lil guy came to greet us right at our feet within minutes of arriving!

    Ride Muskoka - Ride's new adventure! At Touchstone Resort on Lake Muskoka

    Ride Muskoka

    1.0(3 reviews)
    62.7 km

    Seems to be a common theme here. I rented a jet ski and, without telling me, they processed a…read more$2,000 "deposit" against my credit card. I returned the jet ski and they said they would credit the deposit. Then, when I followed up, they claimed there was damage to the jet ski, which I know is not true. They then said they would provide an estimate for repairs and that I could see the alleged damage before any repairs. This was 3 weeks ago and, so far, no estimate, no information and the owner, Paul Neddow, is not getting back to me. I drove to their rental shop to see the jet ski but it wasn't available for inspection and the manager said he doesn't know where it is. Still not word.

    They will try to scam you for repair damages - do not rent from them! I rented from them during the…read moreCanada day weekend and while they seemed friendly at the time, little did I know the extent to which they would try to rip us off later. First, I found it strange that they collected a security deposit of $2500 for the rental which seemed quite high to me. Admittedly, during our rental, we had a minor collision with the dock when offloading the jet ski which resulted in some minor damage to the jet ski (minor scratches to the hull and outer protective rubber coat). The jet ski was in great working order however, other than the minor (not even visible) cosmetic damage. They reassured us, including the manager/owner on duty, that the damages did not look that severe and they took photographs to document the damage. Boy was I surprised when they charged the entire $2500 security deposit to my credit card. I subsequently looked at their google reviews and found it full of reviews like this, where countless people were scammed using the security deposit as a tool to rob people of extra money. It seems to me that the security deposit is a major source of revenue for these crooks. Do yourself a favor and DO NOT rent from these people. It will save you a lot of money.

    Balsam Lake Provincial Park - History information board

    Balsam Lake Provincial Park

    2.6(5 reviews)
    69.3 km

    The park is not TOO shabby…read more The facilitaties are on the older side. The gravel on the roads is too dusty, generating respiratory hazard clouds every time someone drives their SUV to a shower. The beach is quite rocky. The park store is on the smallish side. Nevertheless, we enjoyed it. One of the best parts was that staff actually enforced "no radio" rule in "no radio" zones. And our hike was quite easy even with a toddler (who was able to sleep during the hike). I also liked that they sell pins for their trails, allowing to "reward" kids for their effort. Fenelon Falls, a nice touristy town, is a small drive away. We went there to get breakfast and the diner On The Falls was amazing.

    Camped here for the Canada Day Long Weekend, understadably busy campsite due to holiday but very…read morepoorly laid out. Way too many campsites crammed together side by side, with nothing but a thin layer of trees between each site. No privacy whatsoever, and a lot of noise at all hours of the day. 3 sites down a party went on until 4 AM, while 2 sites over a baby cried all night. I got up to use the restroom at 4:30AM and had to wait in line. It was that busy. Walked the park for half an hour the next morning and never found the lake, nor did we see any large hiking trails although the map claimed to have a few. Just encountered hundreds of campsites, parents screaming at their kids, and well, kids running wild all over the place. There are a lot more parks in driving distance with actual wilderness to be enjoyed without feeling like you're living in an apartment building with no walls. Never again.

    Photos
    Balsam Lake Provincial Park - Map of the park

    Map of the park

    Balsam Lake Provincial Park - Park store

    Park store

    Balsam Lake Provincial Park - Kayak rentals

    See all

    Kayak rentals

    Dorset Lookout Tower - lakes - Updated September 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...