Georgian Bay is easily one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
The southeastern part of the bay is home to Georgian Bay Islands National Park and its gorgeous Beausoleil Island, where sugar maple forests of the St. Lawrence Lowlands meet the exposed granite of the Canadian Shield. Unmistakably, camping in Georgian Bay is an incredible experience.
Feel the transition beneath your feet as you move from soft soil woodland to hard rock shield. Look up and find windswept pines and colourful sunsets. This is a truly magical place, and its location just 2 hours north of Toronto makes it the perfect weekend getaway from the city.
In this post, I’ll explain everything you need to know to experience Beausoleil Island & the surrounding Georgian Bay Islands National Park for yourself.
Growing up, I spent 12 summers as a camper and eventually counsellor at one of two camps located in the park, so I’d consider myself a bit of an expert on things to do and see in the park.
In this guide I’ll go over:
- Getting to Beausoleil Island / Georgian Bay Islands National Park
- Camping on Beausoleil Island
- Hiking & Other Things to Do on Beausoleil Island
- Special Considerations for the Park
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About Georgian Bay Islands National Park
While Georgian Bay itself is large, covering 15,000 square kilometres, this national park covers only a small portion of it. Georgian Bay Islands National Park protects 63 islands in the southeastern corner of Georgian Bay.
The area has deep roots – there are traces of human activity on the island as far back as 5,500 years.
The largest island and primary destination for visitors are Beausoleil Island (Beausoleil means “beautiful sun” in French, and if you spend any time on the island you’ll understand why).
This island is so synonymous with the park, that many people incorrectly refer to it as Beausoleil Island National Park.
Additional Recommended Reading:
How To Get to Beausoleil Island / Georgian Bay Islands National Park
To visit Georgian Bay Islands National Park, you’ll need to make your way to Honey Harbour Boat Club Marina, located 140 km north of Toronto. Then, you’ll need to catch the ferry to Beausoleil Island. There are a few options for getting there.
Getting to Honey Harbour Boat Club Marina
Self Drive: Set your GPS to Honey Harbour Boat Club Marina. Honey Harbour is a two hour drive from Toronto (allow 2.5 hours if coming from downtown, and 3 hours if driving Friday and Sunday afternoons).
You go straight up the 400 highway and exit at Port Severn. At the boat club, you’ll need to purchase a parking pass.
Parkbus: Parkbus offers transportation to the park for day trips in the summer. They do pick-ups in downtown and north Toronto and bring you all the way to the park – that’s right, this option provides transportation to Honey Harbour AND a boat ride to Beausoleil Island.
If you’re going to Georgian Bay Islands National Park for a day trip, I recommend this service.
Getting to Beausoleil Island
If you are taking the Parkbus, you don’t need to organize boat transportation to the island. Otherwise, you will need to arrange a boat to take you from the marina to the island. Here are your options:
DayTripper: Parks Canada has the DayTripper shuttle, which provides transportation for visitors making a single day trip or staying overnight in either a cabin or oTENTik. The DayTripper is not available for visitors camping in tents.
Water Taxi: You can also arrange a water taxi to take you to the island from Honey Harbour. You can find contact information on the Parks Canada website.
For the DayTripper, Water Taxi and Parkbus, it is imperative that you register ahead of time.
Camping in Georgian Bay Islands National Park
If you’re interested in staying overnight (which I would recommend because the sunrises and sunsets are unbelievable) you have a few options.
Tent Camping
There are eight campgrounds on the island for, as Parks Canada likes to call it, “Primitive Camping”. I’ve included a quick overview of each campground below.
All of the campsites are accessible by water taxi and are connected by a series of trails. Use the map below to plan where you want to be dropped off and what campsites you want to use.
Campsites on the south side of the island:
- Beausoleil Point: This campsite is right at the southern tip of the island. Beausoleil Point is nice because you have a great 360-degree view of the bay. The water is shallow and sandy and fun to play games in on a sunny afternoon.
- Tonch South/North/East: Tonches, as the collective campsite is referred to, are on the east side of the island and not too far from the visitors center. The area is forested woodland and not that different from campsites in other Ontario parks.
- Cedar Springs & Thumb: These two campsites are the closest to the visitor center and where the DayTripper drops off visitors, so these areas tend to be busier. However, if you want to do some fat-biking on the island, you’re nearby the trails and rental facilities.
- Sandpiper: I haven’t stayed at this campsite myself.
Campsites on the north side of the island:
- Honeymoon: This campsite is the furthest north on the island. It features great views of Georgian Bay and quick access to some of my favourite hikes. However, you’re most likely to see boaters here. Nonetheless, if I was choosing a campsite for myself, it’s most likely Honeymoon.
- Chimney, Godettes & Oaks Les Chenes: The DayTripper and Water Taxi make drop-offs at Chimney, so this is another convenient campground to choose. Godettes is a little further east of Chimney, and Oakes is a little southwest of Chimney. All three campgrounds are close to many of the great hikes the north side of the island has to offer.
My favourite camping in Georgian Bay is on the north side, as I prefer rocky outcrops over sandy beaches.
Note: Georgian Bay Island NP / Beausoleil Island is just one option for camping on Georgian Bay – the bay is simply massive and encompasses many provincial parks too – like French River, Killarney, Killbear and La Cloche!
Do you need to reserve campsites for camping on Beausoleil Island?
To my knowledge, you need to make a reservation for all campsites on Beausoleil Island. Go to the Parks Canada Reservations website, select Backcountry and then Georgian Bay Islands.
If you want to camp anywhere other than Cedar Spring or Christian Beach, select “Backcountry Reservations” in the top left hand corner.
From there, you can select the specific area you want.
Do you need to pay for a permit for camping in Georgian Bay?
Yes, you need to pay for a permit at all campsites. When you arrive at your campsite, there will be a lockbox with a form to fill out and an envelope to enclose your camping fees.
Camping fees vary based on the number of people and the number of nights. I recommend having a variety of bills with you.
Read more: 10 Tips to Help You Sleep Better on a Camping Trip
Glamping – glamourous camping in Georgian Bay
The alternative to “Primitive Camping” is glamping in one of the parks o-TENT-iks or in a cabin. This option is pricier; o-TENT-iks are $140 per night and cabins are between $110 and $150 per night. In both cases, you must reserve for a minimum of two nights. I’ve never stayed in one myself, but I’m sure they’re wonderful if you have the means to rent them.
Read more: 8 Incredible Destinations for Backcountry Camping in Ontario
What to do on Beausoleil Island
The big draw to Beausoleil Island is the hiking. Canoeing and kayaking are also great activities, however, visitors need to bring their own boats to the island as there isn’t a service to rent boats on the island. There are also bike rentals available on the south side of the island.
Hike the many trails of Beausoleil Island
There are 12 hiking trails on the island and you can read more about them on the Parks Canada website. The trails are divided into Northern and Southern hiking trails because of how different the terrains are.
Northern hikes are on the Canadian Shield (think exposed granite and spiny wine pine trees) while southern hikes are in the woodlands of the St. Lawrence Lowlands (forest all around and flat woodland ground).
Fairy Lake: I’m doing a special call-out to Fairy Lake as this is my favourite trail and the one I most recommend if you have a limited amount of time in the park. Situated on the northern part of the island, Fairy Lake is a lake on an island on a bay.
There’s absolutely no boating or swimming allowed so it’s considered an “untouched” lake. On this hike you’ll also reach the highest point on the island and be greeted with wonderful views of Georgian Bay.
Go swimming at Honeymoon or Beausoleil Point
Realistically, you can go swimming anywhere (except Fairy Lake!) but these two spots are my favourites. And you don’t need to be staying at the campsites to enjoy the area.
Pack a backpack hike from the top of the island to Beausoleil Point (~8 km each way), stopping for lunch and a swim in the beach water. Alternatively, head to Honeymoon or Frying Pan Bay for some of the best swimming on the island’s north side.
Bike along the trails on the south side of the island
You can rent trail bikes from the Cedar Springs Visitor Centre. Three trails are open for biking: Huron, Christine and Georgian.
The first two are smooth, easy trails while the latter is on a rockier trail and more challenging. You can also combine the trails for biking-hiking adventure.
Watch the sunset
The sunsets at Georgian Bay Islands National Park are unbelievable. The sky explodes with colour – blues, pinks, yellows, reds and purples all on a single night.
Contrast that with the intricate lines of the windswept pines and it’s a photographer’s dream destination. I recommend watching the sunset from the northern part of the island, near Honeymoon campsites.
Special considerations for camping on Beausoleil Island
Bring your own water purification. That can either be Aqua-tabs, a filter or a water pump. There isn’t fresh water available in the park, so make sure you bring something to purify the water from the bay.
Bring a cooking stove. Fires are only permitted in designated fire pits. If it’s a dry summer, there might even be a fire ban in place. Alternatively, if it’s been really wet, it may be hard to find dry wood. Bring a cooking stove with you.
Facilities on the island. At Cedar Springs campground, there are flush toilets and hot showers. Everywhere else only has composting washrooms or outhouses. (Bring toilet paper – sometimes the composting washrooms or outhouses are out).
Beware the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake. The island has two types of snake: the eastern Massasauga rattlesnake and the eastern fox snake. The rattlesnake is smaller and makes a rattle if you’ve come too close to it.
If you encounter one, just back away. They aren’t particularly dangerous, and they are definitely more scared of you than you are of them.
But there is a $150,000 fine and up to six months jail time for harming one of these rattlesnakes (they are protected under the National Parks Act), so leave them be.
Enjoy your time at Camping at Georgian Bay Islands National Park
I really hope you’ve enjoyed this post and are ready to explore Georgian Bay yourself. You should have everything you need to enjoy a magical experience camping on Beausoleil, but if you have any unanswered questions, please leave a comment below.
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I love Georgian Bay! Just came back from a trip to French river where I did some kayaking. So beautiful.
That’s great, Ann! I drove by the French River this weekend (on route to Killarney) and it looked stunning! Never been there myself, but hoping I’ll get to paddle there sometime 🙂
Not too sure if you mentioned it or i missed it but are pets allowed in the island?
Hi! You can bring a pet, but they must be on a lease and you must pick up after them (see here: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/on/georg/visit/reglements-regulations ). The lease one is important because there are rattlesnakes and poison ivy
Hello
Currently the water taxis are not running out of Honey Harbour. How long would you say is a canoe ride to Honeymoon Bay for someone experienced with canoeing?
Hmm, I’ve never done it myself, but from the map I’d say around an hour to get to the east side of the island. Maybe 2 hours to get to the north part of the island. Just be careful of the motorized boats when crossing bays and channels. I’ve paddled around the island and that was something we had to watch out for.
Question. Are there food bins? This was a great addition to Massassauga Prov park camping!
That’s a good question – If I’m remembering correctly, the campground has something for storing food. However for the primitive campsites, the park recommends bringing a 50 ft rope to do a bear hang. I’d recommend bringing a rope just in case 🙂
Hey!! Hope you are safe and healthy. I am going to do backcountry in Beausoleil Island on October I wanted to know which backcountry campsite is best to book and go to?
Personally, I love Honeymoon because it gets beautiful sunsets (there’s also a lookout point really close to it which is great for sunset too). It’s a bit of a hike from the Parks Canada boat dock, or if you have your own boat you can go straight to Honeymoon. Hope that helps!
Are we aloud to use the showers in the main campground even if we are staying on honeymoon bay?
I believe so (I’ve never heard of an issue with it). Though you can ask the park to clarify when you check in. That said, they are quite far from each other.
We are boating up to the park next June with a 28′ and 32′ cruisers. Where can we get all information we need for docking at the 63 Islands. If the magazines listed in your post will give us all the information, I would like to order the magazines? We were up 3 years ago and picked up a great flyer showing a map and all the docks. Can you either mail me the information or send me in the direction of who can help us? I would like 2 sets of information for us and the 32 foot. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me starting our planning for next summer.
Hi Chris, I don’t have any more information on bringing a boat besides what’s on the Parks Canada website: “Boaters should refer to nautical chart #2202 to plan their route to the park.”
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/on/georg/visit/directions
From my experience there, I know docking off of Honeymoon Bay is very popular.
Hi Mikela,
I just booked for September this year, we have a dinghy with a 3.5 hp, wondering how long it would take to get to honeymoon bay, would i be able to beach my dinghy as i am not sure if it would be safe to leave the dinghys docked with all other boats incase its stolen, it can literally fit into any of the big boats lol
Hey! That’s a good question. Honeymoon is pretty secluded and there are fewer people there than at the other campgrounds. My guess is that you could get away with pulling it up to the beach, especially if your boat is light enough that a few people could carry it up onto the shore, but I don’t know what the official Parks Canada policy would be on that.
Hey, great post!
I was trying to book a site through the parks Canada reservation site I am only able to see Cedar spring beach and Christian cabin.
For the honeymoon site, is it first come first serve? and if so, can you stay more than 1 night?
Hey Marcelo! To select Honeymoon, first select “Backcountry Camping” in the top left corner. Then you can select “Honeymoon.” I’ll update the post with this information. Thanks!
Helpful, thanks! I’ve used this blog to help plan my canoe camping trip to the Island next month. Taking your advice to camp at Honeymoon.
Should be fun 🙂
Have a great trip Bart!
would you recommend any 1-5 day canoe trips around the area that you can do from Beausoleil? I know McCrae, Mouth, and the Loop are good options but have you explored beyond those areas?