S03E04 Rondeau Provincial Park Review

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Cell Phone Service: If you've been to this park please let us know your experience with cell service.

[@Sandi-hp4tf]

I’m here right now watching this video lol… sometimes slow but generally pretty good… I’m with Telus

[@willstuart4504]

Can I just say .....what an amazing way to spend your time off, or holidays.. ( or retirement even better😌 ) The MEMORIES you guys are creating with these incredible journeys is truly priceless. ❤ Thank you for another great video.👍👍

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks. I'm retired but keeping busy with some side projects and Cheryl works part time so we have the benefit of taking lots of time off for camping. I started making the videos so that we could look back on them years from now and remember the good times. I'm glad others are finding them helpful when researching parks they want to spend their precious and limited holidays at. Happy camping!

[@nickyp310]

I could not agree more. ❤

[@lynnej.9357]

Rondeau is my happy place. My aunt had a cottage there on the lake and I spent some time there every summer when I was growing up. We also camped there when our kids were young. It was great. We could walk to the beach, or the pier (that's gone now), the ice cream store, the grocery store, or to my aunt's cottage! And, we have started camping there again with friends, in early September. We also like to visit for the day and ride our bikes in the spring or fall. Thank you for this video!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I'm glad watching our video allowed you to reminisce about the good times spent there. There are still many more memories to be made. Happy camping!

[@erins3974]

Thank you for this video! I camped there in the 80s/90s every summer with family and friends. Seeing this brings back such amazing memories. As others have said, I am sad to see the dock on the bay side gone. We would buy ice cream at the store and then walk out on the dock in the evening after dinner, eating our ice cream. The beach also used to be less rocky and grassy. It was beautiful sand. They have really let it fill in. Same thing with the camp sites. Many of them in the middle of the north camping area were basically a grassy field with almost no trees. So, it is nice to see the sites filled in more with trees. Gives a bit more privacy as the sites are close together. Also, back about 20-25 years ago, a tornado went through there and damaged a lot of the larger trees. I remember my friends were hiding in the washrooms. I remember in 1994, it was their 100 year anniversary and there were tons of activities. They brought in the Wakami Wailers to do a concert, there was a sand castle competition and we won first prize. Amazing memories!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I'm so glad that we good help bring back some great memories for you. Happy camping!

[@UguysRnuts]

I hope you intend to defend your title next year at the 120th Anniversary. Thanks for sharing.

[@nickyp310]

The memories are flooding back.

[@corrimac]

You folks are now my GO-TO for camping reviews!!! My spouse and I are new to camping and have learned so much from your videos along with the comments folks leave on them. We are going to be at Rondeau park and our site says "Conditions: Split Level Site" can you, or any of your amazing followers explain this to me please!!!! Google is useless haha

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Can you tell me what site says split level? I know some parks have sites that have a lower level where you usually park and a couple of stairs up to a higher level for your tents. There is often a wooden retaining wall that's a couple feet high. I can't think of any of those sites at Rondeau though.

[@corrimac]

@@CampingwiththeColes Thank you so much for the reply. It’s South campground site 159.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Ok, I see it. It has two flat spots. the lower spot is where you'd park your car and the upper spot is flat for where you put your tent and basically set up camp. Rondeau has a bunch of sites that are two levels like that. The site we were at in this video was like a split level but reversed from 159 where the low part was in the back and the high part at the front. Made it tricky to back in the trailer.

[@bostoncreamdonuts]

I love how excited Ben gets about the new rating graphic 😂 another great video guys! I will have to put Rondeau on my list!! Thanks!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks for the support. Happy camping!

[@shawnsprague7401]

Thanks for this video, will be there in 4 days for a couple day’s.... Can’t wait

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@lindaleblanc1959]

love your park reviews they are very helpful for us in choosing our destinations keep them coming ,the fresh water and dump station reviews are a huge factor in choosing a park as some parks can be a nightmare when arriving and leaving the park, your tip on the Pinery dump stations was very helpful on our recent trip there ,the one inside riverside was packed and the one near the entrance was empty great tip thx guys

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Glad you like them and are finding them helpful. We'll keep doing them and hopefully help out people in choosing where to spend their precious and limited camping time.

[@Propainus]

Cheers from the Bayview Market! Nice meeting you guys! ps. love the magnet

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Nice meeting you too. Happy camping!

[@jenniferconron2268]

I love Rondeau! The best for leisurely cycling.

[@willymueller4587]

Thanks for the review, on our list for July 2023

[@alisonlee6800]

bawhahaha. The mosquito kill was hilarious. Nice review!

[@michellegeorge3359]

A co-worker recommended your page. Question out all of provincial parks you been what are your top five favorite?. I love your reviews awesome page

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Glad you found us. Our top 5 would be #5 Grundy Lake, #4 Killbear, #3 Bon Echo, #2 Lake Superior (Agawa Bay), #1 Algonquin Park (Pog Lake). Here is our video from earlier this year with our top 10: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYaydKKcptGZsLM

[@Connollyoutdoors]

Thanks for all the info my son and I are going to Rondeau next weekend for a camp 🏕️

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@sooleyoutdoors2728]

always saw the sandwich toaster at the stores. cool to see you using it. great idea. another good review

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Ya, we've been using the pie irons for decades. Pie Iron Pizza is a camping staple for us. We also use them for making deserts like apple pie etc. Thanks for the support. Happy camping!

[@OntarioHikingTrails]

Love the video I am going to plan a trip in April I hope

[@j.v.7283]

Another excellent review. Keep it up !

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks, will do!

[@FreeRangeFisherman]

Keep it up! 🔥 🎥 🔥

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks! Will do!

[@davidabreu1718]

cutest ever so glad i stumbled upon this channel cheers, my brother has a place not even 10 mins from there

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Glad you enjoy it! Happy camping!

[@debbbee-q7k]

We were there the same time as you guys! I wish we had run into you. We were tenting. Packed up in the rain. ! I love the trailer rating graphic!!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We love meeting people. Too bad we didn't meet when we were there. Happy camping!

[@gnucci3958]

I LOVE this park ..Soooo much to do!

[@ottawa875]

Great review! It would be interesting to know what water temperatures are through the season.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

It's Lake Erie so it's pretty warm and even warner in Rondeau Bay. Great for swimming in.

[@korimorningstar1867]

Rondeau is our favourite park. We have stumbled back to our campsite from Rondeau Joe's a few times! Lol The beach, biking and hiking trails are our favourite things about the park. We only live just over an hour from Rondeau so we go a few times a year.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Sounds great! Happy camping!

[@paulrioux3588]

Great info. Love the dog beach topic. Need WIFI and cell coverage in the area for us working from home/RV. Thanks and keep it up. Big Fans

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks. I try to remember to include cell coverage but I keep forgetting. When it works I don't think about it. It worked well at Rondeau for Telus, Koodo, Bell and Virgin Mobile. I don't know about the rest. Happy camping!

[@Djanthony28]

You guys are really good on your presentation

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thank you so much!

[@mrp6674]

Great work on all your videos!! Can you you suggest a good site for a 26ft TT ? i,m not a big fan of having a fire under my awning lol.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Sorry I can't really. You'll just have to look at the pictures of the sites and see if you'll fit.

[@ottawa875]

Pro tip, use Pilsburry Pizza Crust in the pie irons. Ohh soo good!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We've done that and used pie filling for great desert treats. Mmmmmmm

[@camper69]

I've had 2 very bad experiences at Rondeau due to rowdies. I will now only camp there in the shoulder season.

[@louisag5410]

Another great review...I knew from the opening this would get a high ‘Coles rating’ lol... Any plans to expand beyond Ontario Provincial parks once you have reviewed them all ???

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Wow! After we've reviewed them all! That's a lot of parks to review. I don't know if we'll ever get there. We love doing road trips to the US and in 2019 we did a couple reviews of parks near Nashville. Now that the border is opening up maybe next year we'll do another southern road trip with more park reviews. We love the Natchez Trace Parkway and would love to spend some time there at various parks. We'll see what the future brings. Happy camping!

[@louisag5410]

@@CampingwiththeColes oh!! Did not realize there were that many (not being from Ontario)... Do enjoy all your travels!!!

[@TheSillyKitchenwithSylvia]

How were the toilets and comfort stations?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

As far as we can recall there were lots of toilets by the various beach access points and they were in pretty good shape as well as the comfort stations.

[@TheSillyKitchenwithSylvia]

@@CampingwiththeColes thanks so much! We are heading there next weekend!

[@Ultrafrozen]

Love the Park reviews. Any plans to come up to northeastern Ontario?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We're going east in August to Murphy's Point, Bon Echo and Silent Lake. Next year we hope to go much further north. Happy camping!

[@melkoopman8117]

We were just there last week!

[@the_tofu_junkie6487]

Hey! Any opinions on the best possible electric site to get here?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Sorry I can't really suggest anything. Everybody has their own opinions on what they are looking for in a site.

[@the_tofu_junkie6487]

@@CampingwiththeColes fair enough, thank you!

[@danaborealis]

what a great video, as usual. What drone do you use?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks for the support. I use a DJI Spark for the drone shots. Happy camping!

[@danaborealis]

@@CampingwiththeColes thank you. It takes beautiful video

[@stephenwebb5425]

I enjoy your videos

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks. We enjoy making them. Happy camping!

[@stephenwebb5425]

@@CampingwiththeColes I appreciate the effort that goes into making them. The information you share is very useful and I enjoy the b roll of y'all just doing camping things. I just sold my tent trailer a month ago and we're picking up our new Freedom Express 287bhds on August 20th. Your videos turned me on to the Freedom Express line of campers for sure. We're in the Ottawa area so I look forward to seeing your Bon Echo video later this year. Bon Echo was the last place I took our tent trailer before selling it. Needless to say the experience wasn't so hot for us that trip and we had to cut it short.

[@saniyarathod8454]

Is it going to be so cold in april 7th?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

It probably will be. Check the forecast before you go, so you're prepared for whatever the weather is.

[@mancini2020]

Excellent review! Question - are you guys filling in your Provincial park passport?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks for the support. That's a good question. Instead of getting all the crests, Cheryl bought an Ontario Parks Buff that has all the park crests on it. At every park we go to she finds the crest and puts the buff on with the crest on her forehead and I take a picture of her. Eventually we'll do a montage of all the pics. I put the pic for each park at the very end of every park review video. You might miss it because it's the very last clip of the video. Happy camping!

[@mancini2020]

@@CampingwiththeColes oh right. I believe I've seen those pictures. Canadian Tire also has a scratch map of all the provincial parks as well. It's fun for our kids, we've added to our trailer wall. Cheers!

[@russellamb8783]

I love the park especially being closer to home. My grandfather went there his whole life, my father aswell and my mother once they married. I will say that although I love it, it simply isn't what it used to be. The heart of the park was the dock that got destroyed by ice a few years ago it was there over 100 years I believe people used to drive cars on it back in the day before my time. I don't think they will ever replace it because the parks are simply under funded. The beach used to be way better until they decided to let the wild grass grow back shrinking the beach quite a bit. There's a few other things I could mention but I feel like I'm being a bit negative. Always love this park....if you guys feel like going somewhere a little more out there where less people from the city are willing to go to try wakami lake provincial park...a true escape imo.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I'm glad you were able to reminisce about the past from watching our video. We would have loved to have seen it back in the day. Thanks for the trip on Wakami Lake PP. We have friends heading there tomorrow. We asked them to report back to us as we are thinking of heading that way next season. Happy camping!

[@russellamb8783]

Are you going to wakami lake this year

[@martincurrie8195]

You need a Thermacell mosquito repeller !...

[@lindabeswick5783]

TICKS!! our dog came home with more than a dozen ticks...grr

[@CampingwiththeColes]

YIKES! We didn't see any there but we didn't have our dog there. Ticks are everywhere in Ontario now but especially along the shore of Lake Erie. We hope your dog was ok.

[@jason.3011]

Mississauga here

[@robertsitch1415]

The cottages in Rondeau have become a simular controversy to logging in Algonquin Provincial Park.

[@Salvador-Mateu]

Rondeau Provincial Park for me is a NO GO, we have been twice and it is full of mosquito and horse fly, to many swamps around the park , for me is a 3 of 10 due bugs. for biking it is awesome .

[@CampingwiththeColes]

It definitely has to do with the time of year. I didn't see any horse flies and the mosquitoes were mostly at dusk which is to be expected. I've been to many places that have been much worse. Happy camping!

[@lynnej.9357]

We don't go in the summer any more, but I remember some trips when the flies were unbelievable! Riding bikes out the road closer to the bay and our backs were completely covered in flies. Came back on the road by the lake and it was much better. However, swimming, only the parts underwater were not bothered by the flies.