S04E06 Grundy Lake Provincial Park Review

[@CampingwiththeColes]

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

[@sandrabrown9861]

We camped at Grundy end of July 2024 in Jack Pine. We are on the Rogers network. We found cell service to be very good most of the time in most places, including for streaming. There were very occasional periods of dropped signal.

[@andriyko1604]

Well done guys! I liked the part about those deer flies. It is always important to be prepared.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Oops at the beginning of the video when showing the Ontario Map, we say that the Park is located on Hwy 11. It's actually on Hwy 69. Sorry about that.😜

[@erinvanvliet4420]

We just got back from Grundy and had to rewatch this one! We loved it. Now being there I agree with you! We have 4 little kids and loved all the programs they had.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I can't believe I forgot to put in the video of the jumping rocks. That's a big part of Grundy and I recorded it but forgot to put it when when I edited the video. Oh well...We're glad you had a good time. It's a great park.

[@erinvanvliet4420]

@@CampingwiththeColes you will have to go again 😜 did you talk about the slippery rock? When we were there orange air had to come pick up one rock jumper and a ambulance picked up another two different days.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Nope, missed slippery rock too! Our kids loved the slippery rock when we camped in the group sites years ago. Wow, never heard about injuries requiring Ornge or ambulances there. Sounds like you had quite the experience there.

[@joannamarzec102]

Grundy is awsome, one our favorites

[@HusbandnWifeDuo]

Awesome video! We agree with your rating. We were here from June 03 to 10 this year. This is the best park we have ever visited. The advantages of visiting in the shoulder season was that there were no pesky mosquitos or flies, less crowd, good daytime temperatures to do lots of hiking, cycling, and canoeing. The disadvantages were no children activities, nearby restaurants were not yet fully functional, not all showers were fully functional, etc. There was a bear prowling on our campgrounds (Hemlock campsite), but park rangers told us that it was a friendly neighbourhood bear. We took a shot of a 4 months old coyote pup. Beaver Pond Trail was bad in the sense we hiked on it during a hot day. Saw dragonflies, damselflies, and garter snakes.

[@stuartcairnie9985]

Enjoy seeing your videos, I imagine no soap in the loo is also for bears.

[@chantalpike8316]

great Video.Looking forward for the next video.

[@thehipbeekatherine9520]

Grundy is one of our favourite Provincial Parks. With slipper slide rocks, cliff jumping, swans, canoeing, biking it’s awesome! ❤️❤️❤️

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I can't believe I forgot to put the cliff jumping in the video. I'm getting too far behind on the videos that I'm forgetting to put in important stuff. Interesting bit of info is that the staff aren't allowed to call it the "cliff jumping rocks" they are supposed to call it the "look out rocks".

[@judyfeldman5066]

Ok, those deer flies were brutal! I would be flying on my e bike too!

[@TWPRP]

I think KZbin is broken.... it says 9.8k Subs..... surely thats suppose to be 9.8m MILLION.... You guys are awesome and i really enjoy your videos.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks so much. If you can think of a way to "fix" KZbin, we'd love to hear it. 😋

[@lydiapostma6380]

Thank you for the video. We love Grundy as well. Last year we stayed in Jackpine #730. We had the best views of the lake and water access from the rocks. One con I would like to add is, poor water drainage. With all the rain we had last summer, parts of the park were very muddy, with the main road closed and some sites flooded. I feel this is why your friend’s site was spongy. Looking forward to your next review. Happy camping!

[@Chris.J.A.B]

Amazing video! Ontario Parks should have you on the payroll! Will be visiting Grundy for the first time this July, 2023 with my young family. Biking, paddle boarding! Thank you!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks for the compliments. You're going to love Grundy!

[@trishaharrison6183]

What a beautiful park. Now I’m really itching to get get camping and kayaking. Thanks

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Grundy has it all!

[@user-vi1jt7ho3e]

Well Hello! Just discovered your awesome channel and excellent reviews! We are binge watching now to catch up! We have been Provincial Park Visitors for 50 years! You have given us more ideas and parks to continue our adventures! Thanks and see you in your next video!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Welcome aboard! We are very lucky to have so many amazing provincial parks to explore. Happy camping!

[@maureenadam5980]

So glad I found your channel! What an excellent review of amenities, beaches and campsites. Thanks Coles! 👍

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Our pleasure. Lots more coming over the next few months.

[@joanneduclos3550]

Love, love, love you guys! Happy camping ! ❤️❤️❤️❤️🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks and happy camping to you too.

[@willhammond-s1h]

I've been camping at grundy lake my entire life and i know the exact campsite you are at!

[@bgreydanus8248]

Another park to add to my list!

[@belle998]

we love you guys, we always look for your episodes bedore heading to the campground..very informative....thank you

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Awesome. We're glad you find our videos helpful.

[@gracespace1]

It has been a long summer without your videos. Grundy Lake is definitely on my bucket list. Thank you for the loo reviews Cheryl. Very much appreciated.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We'll the drought is over. We'll be sharing a new video every Saturday morning 8 am for the next few months. Thanks for your patience.

[@Principal9999]

Awesome video. Love the content. So appreciate your honest, thorough insights. Thank you. 😊

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Our pleasure. Thanks for watching.

[@pamdanyluck8639]

Just booked a site for August here. We are not right on the water, but have a great view from our site. Looking forward to doing a lot of Kayaking. We actually picked out the sites we liked on our way home from Restoule last year and lucked out at getting one on our list.

[@jep8625]

Just got back from Grundy on Monday. I didn’t want to leave! So much to do. Thank you for this great review. Love your videos!!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks so much.

[@angelahall6461]

Thanks so much for posting this. We couldn’t get up to Killbear, Grundy or French River this year partly due to injury and illness. It made me very happy to visit through your video. Can’t wait to see the rest of your tour. Hope you have a great summer 💗

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We're glad this helped a little bit. Hopefully you can get out again sometime soon.

[@ianlindsey3616]

Excellent review!!!! We went to Grundy for the first time this year perfect for canoeing and kayaking. Thx!!!!!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks. We love the small paddling lakes.

[@sparky-pp4dq]

Fantastic video! Were heading there early September for the first time, so lots of good info for us

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks for the support. Have a great time.

[@robertpearson8798]

We have a neighbour who really likes to camp there, I think we’ll give it a try when we retire. As an older couple I love family oriented parks and like to see couples with young kids come in. Generally speaking they tend to be quieter at night and the sounds of kids playing during the day doesn’t bother us in the least.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We agree, we love seeing and hearing the kids playing and having a good time. Lots of good times to have there.

[@daveconnell8364]

Love the video guys! Thank you for doing them. The intro footage gave me nightmares of the 400. Grundy is one of our absolute favorites. Never had a problem with deerflies but that was pretty funny. Could hardly understand you Ben breathing so hard. Kim and I definitely want to get e bikes. Lol. Looking forward to seeing the Northern parks reviews

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks for watching. We try to avoid the 401 and 400 as much as possible. It's much better when you get further north and can actually enjoy the drive.

[@femmereaper]

We will have this park on next year's list! Hope you enjoyed the Superior Park. Born and raised in Wawa , so my heart is up there for sure!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Long time no hear Femme Reaper. You were the first person to ever recognize us from our videos in a park a couple years ago. Stay tuned for the rest of the Lake Superior trip to recognize some places from your neck of the woods. Happy camping!

[@jeffeberhard6272]

That is the best amphitheater I have ever seen at a provincial park, right by the lake and pretty big size.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

What a beautiful view from the amphitheatre. You can see the jumping rocks from it.

[@Ken-nc3ev]

Nice editing Coles! I can see how much fun you had creating this video. First ever camping trip was here at Grundy at 611 site. Love all your videos 🥰

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks a lot. Still learning the whole editing thing. Lots of KZbin tutorials to figure it out.

[@MsCmcginn]

Our family had a great stay at Grundy the last week of July. Bears everyday in Popular but the mosquitoes were crazy during the day. We also checked out the French River hiking trail which is amazing. Really enjoyed the pet free areas as well as the slippery and jumping rocks.

[@CampingCompanions]

Hey guys! We’re planning on visiting Grundy Lake next July so really appreciate you mentioning the weather network bug report! Thank you!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Bring your bug jackets and have a good time. It's a great park!

[@bellefamille9884]

Love Grundy! We were there 2 weeks after you and biked Pakeshkag trail with our kids. Really wish I'd seen this before we went...deer flies were brutal!!! My 10 yr old was not happy and I really wish I'd had an ebike like Cheryl. My legs were jello trying to escape them lol. Thanks for the great reviews! 🏕

[@CampingwiththeColes]

But think of the great exercise you got fleeing the deer flies 😂. Thanks for watching.

[@mannyn4159]

Excellent video. Every season it gets better. Maybe you can make videos for Ontario parks. We were at grundy the week after you for a week. Absolutely loved the park. We were at site 654. We saw bears almost every other day. Second last day we were there one walked right through our site as we were sitting there. We would almost put it up there with Algonquin. Hopefully one time we'll run into you guy during our travels. Looking forward to your next one. Especially pancake bay cause we've been there before.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Hey, thanks so much for the support. We make videos for the love of it. We sure wouldn't want to work for somebody to make the videos how they want them made. Pancake Bay was awesome. That video should be out in 4 weeks. Happy camping!

[@lionsden3437]

Thank you for showing how to look up The Weather Network camping report!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

No problem. Not a lot of people know about it but it's a helpful little app.

[@lionsden3437]

@@CampingwiththeColes I agree

[@carolandkenlunney5430]

For the deer flies and horse flies you should try Dragonfly Wingmans. They clip on your hat and deter them from coming near you. They do work...but if you wear them in your kayak...they don't float..

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Other people have mentioned those too. We'll have to look into getting some. Thanks for the tip.

[@beerfanboy]

We stayed at site 643 last year. The lake level was really high when we were there (last week of July) and sites 646 and 645 were under a foot of water. They used skids as walkways. It also rained so hard that the road in front of our site was washed away and they had to bring in a road grader to rebuild it. Fun times...

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Sounds like a real fun time🤪

[@fpsharing]

We stayed at the poplar section in July 1969. I remember seeing motorboats in the lake, at that time. They would drive around spraying a mist of insecticide in the evenings. Wonder how safe that was...

[@CampingwiththeColes]

LOL, times sure have changed. 😊

[@frankgrass3141]

love your reviews. watch all of them. i love to go camping too but the parks have to have fishing do you do reviews on conservation parks

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Conservation Areas are something we may be doing more of in the future. We did a review of Valens Conservation Area last year and this year will be doing a review of Rockwood Conservation Area.

[@kenjohnson28]

Sad to see the road to Pakeshkag Lake is no longer accessible by vehicle. There are only 2 ways to access Pakeshkag Lake from the park and that is by this road (now trail) or Portage from Gut Lake. The portage is difficult for many. Apparently this change was supposed to be temporary but it sure doesn’t look that way. Great video as usual guys. My favorite provincial park!!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We spoke to a park staff member who told us that they closed it as a road because of the turtle nests. The turtles keep nesting on the road and they kept closing the road because of that. Now they just closed it for good to protect the turtles. We rode around the protected nests on our bikes.

[@owenjonker]

was at this park earlier this year, I love it Just actually got back from pog lake

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Two top parks. I'm sure you had a great time at both.

[@owenjonker]

@@CampingwiththeColes absolutely, Pog Lake was a fav

[@OntarioCamping]

love Grundy Park, for an additional day trip, Killarney Provincial Park is about an hour away

[@denniskwasnycia1950]

So look forward to your adventures and bringing us along, this video is great!. One thing I found odd though, you went to a dump station to get water. You have talked against this in the passed. What made this different?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

The dump and fill stations are usually at the same place. I sometimes just call it the dump station. Water ALWAYS comes from the fill hoses for portable water, never the hoses for the dump.

[@denniskwasnycia1950]

@@CampingwiththeColes Ok, just thought about how people use the red hoses at the dump stations and contaminate them sticking them in the dump hoses, in the process of dumping grey and black tanks.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

@@denniskwasnycia1950 absolutely never uses the hoses from the red tower to fill up your fresh tank. They are completely contaminated from doing just what you said. Only use the hoses from the blue tower and there is usually a sign saying it is potable water. It's usually we'll out of reach of the dump spot.

[@owenwing9134]

We were there earlier this month found the park to so pretty! Only issue we had was one of the three rangers we saw during our trip there who had out for our site but the other rangers were great. Not sure if anyone else experienced that there?

[@roxannefarmer3131]

Thanks so much for your tip on the weather network bug report!! Looked at it today!! Grundy Lake is a nice park to camp. Did you get a chance to go to jumping rock on Gurd Lake and see the huge snapping turtle that likes to hang around there to mooch food?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Didn't get a chance to jump off the rocks on this trip. We did last time we were there. Unfortunately I'm so far behind on producing this year's park reviews that I forgot to put in footage of the jumping rocks and the slippery Rock. I filmed it but I forgot to include it. Still trying to work out a better organizational system for these videos. And that's why we're not professionals. 🤪

Like, nice video edition

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks!

[@at8974]

Thanks for making this video! @Ben, how much did the paddle through the three lakes take you?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I'm not a hundred percent sure but I think it was about 2 hours. It's a real nice route.

[@at8974]

@@CampingwiththeColes Thanks so much!

[@darrylbisson6894]

Love Cheryl's comment regarding the deer flies "I'd rather go thru child birth again than that" 😂😂

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Yeah, she's not a fan of deer flies.🪰🪰🪰🪰

[@Master_SamonVR]

i have been on the bridge in French river

[@annettedeyoung8231]

If you have a park camping pass you can get in free to any other park and their facilities for the day. So no charge for the discovery centers, or just check in out the park for possible future stays. We were staying in Killbear Provincial Park and took a drive down to the French River and it was free for us, just had to show your window sticker.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

That's right. Your park camping pass is good for all parks during the time frame it's valid.

[@happycamper8354]

We were just there site 645 had a bear run along the water at our site Great campground ! Next stop mew lake Algonquin

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Seems like everyone saw a bear there except us.😭

[@TheAverageTourist]

Seems like a great visit! Any bear sightings while you were there? We had a brief visit from a curious bear seeing if we had any food out for him (we didn't!). Bugs were bad when were there in early June - but it was mostly mosquitoes. Need to get back and do the Gurd Lake trail.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I think we were the only people NOT to see a bear. Everybody was telling us about their bear sightings. Sheesh. On a side note, I finished editing the video then watched your Swan Lake Trail video and realized I forgot to put in the footage of our hike on that trail. I then squeezed it in. That's the problem when I'm so many videos behind. I forget some of the cool things we did.

[@carsonk2345]

im surprised you guys did not mention the cliff jumping! the park is famous for its cliff jumping and lots of people go there for that

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Funny thing about that. I filmed the jumping rocks and planned on putting in footage from a few years ago of my family jumping off them. Problem is that I filmed the video but didn't start putting it together until after the next 6 parks. So it was definitely not fresh in my mind. After I posted the video I realized I didn't mention anything about the jumping rocks. By the way the staff at the park have to call them "viewing rocks" not jumping rocks.

[@mbirch1593]

We really enjoyed Grundy Lake when we were there in 2021. LOL! Yeah....I feel the same way about deer flies....childbirth is better. :)

[@willymueller4587]

You can tell on your face’s it’s your happy place

[@stephbearinger7155]

How close are neighbors? Each site looks very close to one another.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

This park has a lot of campsites. They are pretty close to each other but pretty typical of most Parks. Some areas have more privacy than others. We had pretty good privacy where we were.

[@stephbearinger7155]

@@CampingwiththeColes Thank you!

[@georgem2244]

Hello something we where wondering if yous could do a poison ivy rating ..some parks are better than others ...Pinery Provincial Park was brutal compared to Wheatly ..and Point Farms ..we have... and certainly others have extreme allergies..wading thru the poison ivy to plug in the hydro ...not good ...lol...love your reviews really informativev...thx

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Poison Ivy is certainly prevalent is some parks more that others. Pinery is the worst for it. It seems to boarder ever campsite and trail. We'll keep it mind when doing reviews. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@thomvogan3397]

Bug alert on your phone. That's too funny. I'll give you a bug forecast. SUMMER IN ONTARIO. That's why I camp in the fall

[@jason.3011]

Leaving on thursday for camping going to some place in orillia called wasago off grid dark sky idk about this i said to my wife she picked it ww always went to provençal parks

[@willhammond-s1h]

i think you guys missed jackpine campground

[@user-np8fi3ss8t]

Hey guys - QQ: when you were on site 305 (Poplar) are you able to swim off the campsite? Is the water ok or was there weeds and other debris? We have kids and a dog who love swimming therefore we are always looking for water sites that you can swim from so that we don't have to head to the beach every time. Thanks in advance!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I'm pretty sure you can swim right off the site. It's also right next to the Trailer Campground Beach.

[@thefactfindermustafa4172]

Hello, can canoe rentals available at this park.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

You can rent canoes at the store directly across from the park entrance.

[@petarvanj4343]

12:10 😂

[@CampingwiththeColes]

That comment surprised me too. Ben

[@JanerAndArchibald]

Haven’t watched yet. The wife and I try to guess your rating based on the intro. We think 9.5. Seen you in 30 minutes. lol

[@JanerAndArchibald]

9!! So close! 😁👍🏼

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Good try☺️

[@jq9916]

Vault toilet near site 611 = flush toilet?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Yep. It's an RV type flush toilet. You step on the pedal to flush it.

[@martymartin7146]

Those Flys are attracted to your black clothing, speaking from experience lol

[@debo4706]

You really go the distance for your viewers ,I hate deerflies

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Yeah, we're not big fans of them either as you could see.

[@northlander4370]

zero electric and non electric ???

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Huh?

[@northlander4370]

@@CampingwiththeColes isnt zero electric and non electric the same thing ?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Ah, I get what you're saying. For each campground we say how may electric sites there are and how many non-electric sites there are. Some campgrounds have no electric sites so we say that then say the number of electric sites.