“Take some birdseed, and just hold your arm out,” instructs park ranger Sarah Masotti.
It’s a mid-morning in July, and we’re on the Red-Wing Trail of the Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary (UCMBS), which winds through both marshland and woodland. About 150 bird species can be spotted within the 9,000-hectare sanctuary, and, according to Masotti, friendly flyers will often swoop down to eat seed right out of visitors’ hands at the scenic stretch of boardwalk where my family of four is standing.
The writer’s kids, Lawrence and Caroline, in the Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary.
Truc Nguyen
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A few curious red-winged blackbirds come close to take a look, but it’s not until we continue to the wooded part of the trail that some friendly finches start snacking from our palms. My kids, ages six and eight, are so delighted, we immediately decide to return the following day to try our luck again on the boardwalk. Happily, we’re staying in a cabin right inside this nature reserve.
It’s our first time camping in Eastern Ontario, and we’re spending a long weekend in the Parks of the St. Lawrence — a stretch of 10 waterfront campgrounds, six day-use areas and relatively gentle nature trails — located along the St. Lawrence River from Kingston to near the Quebec border. Altogether the parks offer more than 1,500 campsites and more than 600 RV sites, as well as cabin accommodations.
Travellers wanting to stay within the Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary can book cabins.
St. Lawrence Parks Commission
We’re staying at two sites: one, the birder’s dream, is located inside UCMBS, near Cornwall; and the other is in Ivy Lea, about 30 minutes outside Kingston. One advantage of camping in this part of Ontario is the ability to fully disconnect in nature, while remaining close enough to other attractions — like Upper Canada Village and the 1000 Islands — to hop in a car for easy off-site adventuring, all on the same trip.
Over the course of our stay, we swim and picnic at the Ivy Lea beach and diver area, and enjoy the playground and lively crowds at the sandy Mille Roches beach. The latter, the largest public beach on the St. Lawrence corridor, is at the end of the scenic Long Sault Parkway, which strings together 11 small islands and offers three campgrounds.
By night, we watch the sun set over the river, make s’mores and play charades by the fire. By day, we take excursions to the surrounding region. Tickets to Upper Canada Village come with camping reservations, for example, and the sprawling museum, which aims to transport visitors back to the 1860s, proves to be a trip highlight. We walk through working woollen and flour mills, banter with 19th-century tradespeople, and marvel at the restored buildings and homes.
The Ivy Lea campground is adjacent to the 1000 Islands, an archipelago of 1,864 islands in the St. Lawrence River, and we explore the area on a two-hour “Palaces & Palisades” tour with Rockport Cruises. It’s a relaxing way to learn about the area’s history, and we even briefly venture into U.S. waters to see Boldt Castle, built by the millionaire George Boldt for his wife, Louise, over a century ago.
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Camping in this part of Ontario means you’ll be close to other attractions and activities, like Treetop Trekking in the 1000 Islands.
Truc Nguyen
There are some quirkier attractions near the parks on our to-do list, too. We visit Split Rock Farms, getting up close and personal with members of the herd — 90 alpacas and three llamas — on the Red Solo Cup hayride tour. The Discovery Course at Treetop Trekking is also a big hit with the kids, and I discover the thrill of the zip-lining tour, which is brand new this year.
Still, the best moments of the weekend aren’t the ones we could plan. On the last twilight, after the fire has died down and we’re about to get ready for bed, we spot a distinctive, lightninglike flash between the trees, just beyond our campsite at Ivy Lea: fireflies.
The kids happily spend the next hour chasing after these magical, glowing beetles, until it’s almost pitch black out (and the mosquitoes become too much to bear). It’s simple but feels like the stuff of core camping memories — a serendipitous little nature show they won’t soon forget.
Do your research before selecting a site. Review campground maps and details carefully — if you’re in a tent and need quiet, for example, you might prefer a location further away from trailers. The Parks of the St. Lawrence are not part of the Ontario Parks system, so visit reservations.parks.on.ca to book.
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Bring your pooch. Dogs are allowed at all campsites and select cabins, as long as their leash stays on at all times. (Note, however, that dogs aren’t permitted at any of the beaches within the Parks of the St. Lawrence.)
Ask the staff about free programs for all ages. “There are always activities on the go at all the parks, and lots of great nature programming based around different ages or activities and time constraints, ranging from scavenger hunts to predator-prey tag,” says UCMBS park ranger Sarah Masotti.
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