If you’ve never heard of Awenda Provincial Park you’ve got company. Nobody I’ve spoken with who lives in southern Ontario has ever heard of the park and yet there is fabulous hiking in Awenda, particularly on the Bluff Trail and an untouched slice of the Georgian Bay coastline.
Awenda Provincial Park sits at the edge of the Penetanguishene Peninsula on the Georgian Bay, 164 kilometres due north of Toronto. It’s just a two hour drive away. Go hiking in Awenda in spring when the forest is a sea of green and trilliums are everywhere.
Return in the summer for the Georgian Bay beaches. In the fall this park needs to be on your destination list. It’s considered to be one of the top places in all of Ontario for a fall show of colour.
There is a cost to visit Awenda Provincial Park. Day use permits for vehicles in summer are $15.50 for adults and $12.50 for seniors. There is a reduced rate for Ontario people with disabilities.
What you see hiking in Awenda Provincial Park
Awenda Provincial Park is home to a mixed deciduous forest – with sugar maples that are reportedly up to 260 years old.
You can see from the pictures in spring that the forest is nothing but a sea of lime green. It’s absolutely glorious – especially with an understory of white, red and painted trilliums.
The Bluff Trail hike in Awenda Provincial Park
I did the Bluff Trail hike in Awenda Provinical Park – a 13 kilometre circular route, accessible from many points within the park.
The Bluff trail is easy going with little in the way of elevation changes. It will probably take you under four hours even with stops – though there are certainly additional trails you can hike from it.
One I’d recommend is the 5 km circular Wendat Trail that takes you around Kettle Lake, an area that’s great for wildlife viewing.
I saw no one on the Bluff Trail the day I hiked it. Fortunately there aren’t any bears to worry about, but I did see three deer, one owl and heard loads of birdsong.
That comes as no surprise as there are over 200 species of birds that go through the area. If you’ve got a good pair of binoculars be on the lookout for the hooded warbler – a summer resident.
The Bluff Trail hike does take you across and alongside roads on a couple of occasions – so it doesn’t offer the full on wilderness experience. It’s not a wild and out there kind of hike. But I can’t think of another place I’ve ever been where the forest took my breath away just because of the colour.
Although the Bluff Trail hike takes you on top of the Nipissing Bluff, the views out to the Georgian Bay aren’t nearly as good as I’d hoped for.
Perhaps if you came in the winter for cross-country skiing when there isn’t a leaf in sight you’d get some views out into Georgian Bay over to Giant’s Tomb Island.
Awenda Provincial Park is quiet in spring
Hiking in Awenda Provincial Park in May and early June is particularly lovely as the park is so quiet. I can well imagine by summer the campgrounds have filled and it’s far harder to find the solitude I enjoy so much.
Accommodation options in Awenda Provincial Park
There are a total of 333 camping sites in six campgrounds, many suitable for RV hookups. All campsites in the Snake Campground are dog free. There is radio free camping in Bear, Deer and Snake Campgrounds.
There is also roofed accommodation on the shores of Georgian Bay.
You can reserve by calling 1-888-ONT-PARK (1-888-668-7275) or 1-519-826-5290 if you’re outside North America. You can also reserve campsites in Awenda Provincial Park online.
Visit the beaches on the Georgian Bay
Don’t miss a chance to see the Georgian Bay close-up either. The beaches are in much the same shape that they were 500 years ago.
And there is a 2 km (one way) trail that allows you to walk past the four beaches that are in Awenda Provincial Park.
Final thoughts on Awenda Provincial Park hiking
I highly recommend a visit to Awenda Provincial Park. It’s a perfect destination for families and in spring and fall the beauty of hiking in the forest will take your breath away.
Further reading on hiking in Ontario
- The Top 10 Hikes in Ontario
- A Challenging Hike on the Lake Superior Coastal Trail
- The Hike to Agawa Falls in Northern Ontario
- A Hike on the Ganaraska Trail – Northumberland Section
- A Day From Hell on the Coastal Trail in Pukaskwa
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