Last Updated on April 6, 2024 by Cory Kawa
Grundy Lake Provincial Park Review
I’ll keep this simple. We’ve been fortunate enough to visit many different provincial parks, each fantastic in its own way, but year after year, Grundy is the only one we keep coming back to.
The park and surrounding area has many great things to offer, including:
🐠 – Fantastic fishing, with one group telling me they caught 21 pike on Clear Lake a few years back.
🚽 – The pit toilets are flush toilets. No smell, no mess, simply fantastic.
🍔 – Just south of Parry Sound is Canada’s last Licks location. A personal favourite stop for a fantastic burger, amazing onion rings, and the best chicken fingers north of Toronto.
🏪 – The Grundy Lake Supply Post is located just outside the park, offering canoe rentals, ice cream, fast food, and all the last-minute supplies you may need.
🍽️ – The French River Trading Post, located just north of Grundy, is a massive cottage-type store and restaurant. A great place to visit, especially if you head north to French River Provincial Park.
⛽- SN Gas, about 5km south of Grundy, is a First Nations gas station offering the best gas prices in Ontario.
🏞️ – Free access to French River Provincial Park and the Recollet Falls hiking trail.
As much as there are many great things, there are a few things to be aware of:
🐻 – We’ve encountered many park bears during our visit. They’ve never bothered us, but if you don’t keep your garbage and trash locked away, you will have a close encounter of the bear kind.
🐍 – Although they are harmless, we have seen a few Northern Water Snakes near the beach on Clear Lake.
Beaches
My favourite part about Grundy is that it feels like many different parks in one.
With approximately 400 sites across 9 campgrounds, Grundy is a large Provincial Park that feels small. It’s spread out well, with excellent spacing, and offers six beaches on three lakes.
Hiking (Grundy and French River)
Swan and Gut Lake Trails: Two of my personal favourites. Both are short hikes of thirty minutes to an hour, easy to moderate difficulty, offering great diversity and expansive views over rocky ridges, wetlands, and the Canadian Shield.
Beaver Dam Trail: This is an easy but longish 5 km loop through expansive wetlands. It’s a great walk, but depending on the time of year, it may be the most mosquito-infested hiking option.
Recollet Falls at French River Provincial Park: Ten minutes away is French River Provincial Park and the Recollet Falls trail. A 3km out and back, the trail offers unique views of the French River, a beautiful waterfall, and the opportunity to see one of Canada’s most historically significant waterways. If you’re (un)lucky, you may even encounter the Masssasauga Rattlesnake, as my daughter and I did many years ago.
Cliff Jumping at Grundy
Cliff jumping is visible from the fishing dock on Gut Lake and accessible via a short paddle or a short walk through White Spruce Campground and the Gurd Lake Dam Trail.
I don’t believe the park endorses cliff jumping. Please exercise extreme caution, as water levels can change, and the risks of severe injury and worse are real.
There’s jumping for all abilities, including short jumps for the kids.
And much higher jumps for those a little braver.
Trail Running at Grundy
I recently picked up a GoPro and attempted to film my trail run. I’ll apologize in advance for the unsteady camera, but at least you can get a quick idea of what the trails have to offer.
Final Thoughts on Grundy
It’s an amazing park, perfect for the whole family, and far enough from Toronto to be quieter than most but not too far. We love it, and I hope you will too.
Thanks for reading,
Cory
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