S05E01 Pinery Provincial Park Review

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Cell Phone Service: Bell, Telus, Koodo & Virgin Mobile - cell service was poor. Very limited connection. Very unreliable. Area around the store seemed to work best. Worked for texting and phone calls. If you've been to this park please let us know your experience with cell service, especially if your with a service provider different from the ones mentioned.

[@CanadianCampaholic]

Cell service is always worse in any of the Riverside campgrounds due to the topography of the hills and forest between those areas and Highway 21. Dunes 1 (probably the most popular campground) has surprisingly good cell service on Rogers and Bell (despite the proximity to the dunes). Cell tower location in the local area must influence this. I can't speak for Burley or the other sections of Dunes.

[@muzakmike]

If dump stations have big lines. You might have a bit of a drive, but some sewage treatment plants have a place to dump black tanks. Some “truck stop” style gas stations have dump stations as well.

[@LarryJohnson7]

He just found your channel we are from southwestern Ontario love the camping content. We subscribed.

[@mbirch1593]

Love your little cartoon avatars!

[@alisonlee6800]

Me too!

[@valroberts1527]

Great review! Loved the flash Back pics…and as always…the out takes

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks. Luckily there's never much of an outtake shortage.😊

[@shawnsprague7401]

Great start to the camping season, and another great review. Pinery is such a great park, if they would only add a few more dumping stations it would shorten the long lines on weekends and don’t wonder off the trial’s or you will get poison ivy …unfortunately I know 🥴

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Yikes, there's a lot of poison ivy there. Too bad you found out the hard way.

[@alisonlee6800]

I loved the map walk through! It was very helpful. We are heading out there this summer. I’m not looking forward to ticks but it is what it is. One of my dogs has black fur so it’s going to be harder to find. ☹️ I did like your preventative clothing attire on the hikes! Look forward to the next video 😊

[@Moe-ge6vv]

Great info! Thank you!

[@supergoodcamping]

And Vanna's showing you right now. 😂 There will be many that won't get that reference, youngster. Loving the fact that you both wear helmets while you bike, and PFDs on the water. Love the duck fat hack, too. It's fantastic to cook potatoes in as well. Great video as always! Thanks.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks Tim and Pamela for your astute observations. Vanna did a great job on this one. Thanks for watching. Ben

[@OJPulp22]

We were just here this past Friday

[@OntarioAtOrion]

My dad developed the neighbourhood just before the pinery called Huron Woods and i had a cottage there right next to the tennis courts overlooking the ausable river. I explored all the woods with my dog and grew up on the beach there. The beach ended right where the Pinery Beaches began. There were little paths that led from the Huron Woods neighbourhood over to the beach. My cottage also backed onto the property of a little antique shop that would have a flea market on weekends called DeWitts and im pretty sure its still there and much bigger than it was when we lived summers there. (It's a different flea market than you visit in this video, although I love that flea market as well, it used to be waaaay bigger I think. I remember cars lined up down that highway 21 to get into the flea market there). It was 1988 till 1993 we had that cottage. I love camping at the Pinery cuz i feel close to that great time i had there from age 8 to about 13. There was a pond over a little dune by my cottage and every year a HUGE beaver had babies and i got so integrated into the environment there that i was able to get right next to the beaver and babies. I was a rubber boot wearing, nature child and ended up with poison ivy so much,, but it was worth it. That area is very nostalgic for me

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I'm glad our video helped to bring you down memory lane. Those are some great stories.

[@RitaSim-yx8sg]

Hi there, love your videos. I've b to many of the parks as well, usually back camping and day use. But now we have a trailer and plan to explore in a different way. In your video of top 5 parks you use paddle board and kayaks but both don't have room for stuff and Jack. I think you guys should consider a canoe. We have one and we find it's great for our 2 dogs and stuff. Have your paddle boards but also a canoe. Looking forward to seeing more of your adventures of 2024

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks for the suggestion. Enjoy your new way to explore in a trailer.

[@amyf2230]

Loved the family photos! We are a young family, our first child is 3. We haven’t camped since our little one was born but we are looking forward to making a lifetime of memories at our Ontario parks with our family ❤ Thanks for sharing and for all the wonderful information!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We hope that you can get a lifetime of memories camping with your kids like we did. It's an amazing experience.

[@shaydillon6388]

Love your review as always. It too is one of our favourites. Might have to plan a trip there this year.

[@OntarioAtOrion]

Dunes area 1 is always where i camp, if we can get it. Me and my daughter camp there often and we always try to get spot 91 i think or 92. Its so private and you have your own sandy beachy area its so nice. We are big First week of September Campers.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Dunes Area 1, around site 110 is where we've spent a lot of time over the years. The last few years we've gone have been in the shoulder season, so we didn't need to be near the beach, so we did Riverside for the access to the river for kayaking.

[@OntarioAtOrion]

@CampingwiththeColes I love that area in the Dunes. It feels ancient or something. Like full of happy families going back a long long time The Riverside sites are perfect for that reason. It's a great river, so full of life!

[@brendashreve2267]

Love the Pinery. Have spent a lot of time with our family camping.

[@GYH.2023]

Love the countdown of kilometres to the entrance of the park Thank you

[@creativeconcepts9223]

I have so many good memories at the Pinery

[@gregorylowe1066]

Just missed you in May! Going back next week, good reminder for the ticks. Great family photos, gotta remember to take more myself.

[@mikestephenson2887]

Another great review! Thanks Coles. Can’t wait to start our Camping season.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

You're most welcome. Have a great camping season.

[@ZinaWinter]

Another great review...just back from a 5 day trip to Pinery!

[@conifergreen2]

I camped there in the sixties and seventies. I have such wonderful memories of the place I still think about it from time to time. Maybe one day I can camp there again before I pass away.

[@lukezhang3715]

Great timing Coles, tomorrow we're going there for the first time. Thanks for the great review!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We planned it that way just for you. 😇

[@terrylalonde7637]

I started camping there in 1950. it sure looks different now. I loved it

[@danaborealis]

We were at Pinery same weekend, we saw you around a couple of times. Excellent video as always. Such a pleasure to watch it.

[@gurpreetchahal9663]

❤ on way to MacGregor point and watching your review on route. Thats what we do every time as it makes njoying the park far better. See you guys some day ❤

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Awesome! Have a great time.

[@colleens.2541]

And they need to improve their entrance. But we love the Pinery in April

[@manondesrochers5729]

I was so looking forward to visit this park on our 2024 summer trip but nothing the tick, I’ll pass. Thank you for pointing that out.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We still love this park and keep going back. We're aware of the ticks and take precautions to keep us safe. It's a shame to miss out.

[@beatnpotatoes]

It was so cool to meet you guys. This is one of my favourite channels and to have you just a few sites down from us was really cool.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

It was nice meeting you too. Have a great season!

[@ExploringCanadaInfo]

Loved this so much!

[@stephlittle1997]

Love your videos! They have definitely helped me choose different parks to explore this season!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Great to hear the videos are helping in your park research. Happy camping!

[@lisam7036]

Love this park and your review. We tent camp and our favourite section is Burley. Also love going to the park store for supplies and to people watch. Thanks again for the review.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

The area around the park store is great for people watching. It's a big gathering place for people.

[@DayHikerFromTheSix]

OK, I just started the video and I have to comment already...that opening shot is awesome! Love it!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks. I was trying something new. It's a fake drone shot (no drone used).

[@timewellwasted3341]

Thanks for another great video! We just finished a week at Balsam Lake as our first 2023 trip.....cheers from Orillia

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Cheers. Nice to get out and get the season started eh.

[@elenaelizabethramirez244]

Nice park. I wiil be there in July. I am from Argentina. This place is similar Patagonia in Agentina

[@CampingwiththeColes]

@@elenaelizabethramirez244 have a great time!

[@TheAverageTourist]

We were there on the long weekend - first time to the park and we loved it! Seems like you have a long history with lots of memories made here 😊

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Lots and lots of great memories at this park.

[@JamesMcLaren1000]

Your photography is great, but it keeps getting better and better with each season. Really great on this one, I really enjoyed it.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks. I tried something new with this one. It's kind of a fake drone shot. I put my GoPro on the end of my golf ball retriever and extend it out. I used it in the initial shot of the trailer from outside and for Cheryl paddling away on the river. I'm not much of a photographer or videographer so I have to try for some unusual shots.

[@JamesMcLaren1000]

@@CampingwiththeColes I think it worked really well. I like those unusual shots.

[@OntarioCamping]

Great review

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks Sander.

[@canadian_tabarnak]

Last year I tried Pinery with family which was influenced by you guys. I wasnt able to do any hiking because of rain and from being busy from canoeing and going to the beach. Going here again in June with friends and look forward to doing more activities than last time cheers

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Good that you're going back. You should give it another try with nice weather. 🤞

[@MK-hn8mm]

We were at The Pinery the same weekend, was such a great weekend to kick off the season.. A shame we didn’t cross paths as would love to have shared our appreciation of your videos in person. Best Ont. Parks reviews out there, thanks for all your amazing work.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

If you eventually see us out there, don't hesitate to say hi.

[@markm6028]

Here we go!

[@Kerry6691]

I had to laugh at the slow motion video of Jax shaking off at the beach, it kind of reminded me of the video of Ben in the water with his long hair that Cheryl loves so much...would have been so funny to see them back to back. But in all seriousness, another great video and love the old pics from years gone by. We are at Point Farms June 1 and we were hoping to see your review of it before then as it will be our first time there. Thanks for another great park review. Cheers

[@kevin8274]

Great review, love the pinery and its the closest park to us. looking forward to point farms review. We were there this week as well. Great sunsets.

[@atclb2356]

Family with kids, came back 2 days ago from P.P.P stay there 2 nights at the yurt. Loved it, enjoyed it. Not sure, but wish they have/could/would do an online booking for the Canoe/Kayaks etc, so if a large groups shows up, families don't have to stand in line ( we got stuck behind a line of about 30 young kids, who were one group) lol, all good though.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

That makes a lot of sense. Ontario Parks are you listening?

[@3rdSalimo]

one video that I'm waiting for is your rig setup and camper walkthrough. it would be nice to know what seasoned campers like yourselves must carry for a camping trip

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Lucky for you then, we did a tour of our trailer last fall! Here is the link kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2nXaIedhK-Zotksi=NVUgE1gORcJkDj97

[@maureenadam5980]

Another great review!! Thanks Coles. We get our 2023 Grand Design on Thursday! Excited is an understatement 😂. Love seeing Jax but wondering about your other fur baby 🥰

[@CampingwiththeColes]

It's such an exciting time getting a new trailer! Have a great time with it. Thanks for asking about Kingston. He's staying at home during our camping trips. He's 14 and much slower than he used to be. He's content to stay home with our daughter and take a break from Jax, the energetic puppy.

[@HikingWithKathleen]

A great review of our favourite Provincial Park. My spouse and I are not hardy enough to camp in our travel trailer in the winter but do love renting their cabins during the off-season. I'm always interested in others' perspectives of this park. I love it and am likely biased since I worked for there for years, years ago. I think that because of its rating as a natural environment park that that is likely the reason there is no playground equipment. The focus for children might be the children's program where they learn about the inhabitants of the park, plus they have naturalist-led hikes, evening programs, etc. Those services may not exist in the parks under the recreation classification - which might be where playground equipment would be found. Not absolutely sure about that but it's my guess. Burley meadows found in Burley campground is a very sensitive habitat where foot traffic is concerned due to the many rare and uncommon orchid species that live there so that campground remains closed the longest for that reason. We also choose to camp in Riverside too, because we bring our kayaks plus I often hike along the Ausable several times a day to video wildlife there. And biking to the beach at Dunes is very easy and close. A very enjoyable review and glad you brought us viewers along on a couple of the trails. Enjoy Point Farms next week - we've never been there. We're off to McGregor Point tomorrow!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks for all the great info. Have fun at MacGregor. Another park with great sunsets.

[@camper69]

The Pinery is a great campground. It is one of three that I am a member of the "Friends" (Algonquin & Frontenac are the other 2) I've camped at Pinery in all four seasons. Lots to do there and in the surrounding area.

[@anniec1735]

Bloopers at the end 😂 "those are canoes" 😂😂😂 how's mosquitoes for May? Haven't camped there prior to July.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

No mosquitoes at all when we were there.

[@chrishenderson6979]

😂 please PLEASE! Have a blooper video! Lol

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We have lots of bloopers for sure. We've shown many of them on our year in review videos for 2022 and 2021. You can check them out looking back on our channel.

[@wendingourway]

What a great way to start off the new camping season. Hope to get Otis and I out to some of the provincial parks here in Nova Scotia this year. Just have a tent for now, but would like to get a Class B at some point, but keep on getting priced out. Have looked back at some of your past seasons and really love all those PP's in Ontario for sure...and the pup sure helps too! lol Keep up the marvelous tours! Bruce and Otis

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Hi Bruce and Otis. The RV market, like the housing market, has skyrocketed over the pandemic. I'm pretty sure prices will be dropping soon (atleast I hope so). Dealerships are full of RVs and lots are showing up for sale on the used market. I think that by the end of this season the prices will be considerably lower.

[@donmcconnery5080]

And away we go. Looking forward to a great season. By the way did I mention that the Gaspe Peninsula is like Superior on steroids. Looking forward to your down east trip.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

That's interesting because somebody this morning told us the same thing about the Gaspe Peninsula. Thanks for the tip.

[@donmcconnery5080]

I trucked out there for about 10 years and was always amazed at the beauty of it. Been along Superior countless times as well and Gaspe and Quebec north shore to Seven Islands are incredible. A trip from Quebec City to Baie Comeau cross on the ferry to Matane and tour the Gaspe would be the trip of a lifetime.

[@danaborealis]

We were at Forillon National Park last summer. Such a beautiful place, we had a blast.

[@user-vi1jt7ho3e]

Thanks for introducing and getting us enthused for the upcoming camping season! enjoyed your family memories as well, we looked back at the 2020 review! We are booked at Pinery in mid July. Should be busy, as most parks will be at that time! Great Job Guys!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

It'll be busy then but the parks big enough to handle all the people. You'll have a great time.

[@esthers5772]

I’m love the Pinery. Site 753 is a great site and fun review. I agree the dump situation is terrible. They should really have more fill stations not blocked by dump stations, so you don’t have to get stuck in line with people dumping. I’m wondering about the dog beach. The map you posted showed Beach 1 as the only dog beach. When I was last there Beach 2 was also dog friendly.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

The map of the park only shows it as beach parking area one but when we were actually there we saw that beach parking 2 was actually for the dog beach too.

[@youngjukim9270]

Hello Coles! My family booked a campsite at burley camping ground. It’s our first going there for tent camping. I was wondering how bad poison ivy are in that area. We are concerned since we have 3 kids ( one being a toddler )

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We usually camp at Riverside Campground and I know the poison ivy is plentiful there. It often lines the edges of the campsites and is on many trails. We've never camped in Burley so I can't say for sure but i would think that it would be the same there. Unfortunately, the poison ivy is out of control at Pinery. But, in the many years of us going there and camping with our kids there since they were babies, we've actually never had an issue with the poison ivy.

[@youngjukim9270]

@@CampingwiththeColes Thanks for a quick reply. We changed the campsite to Inverhuron instead. Hope you guys will be enjoying this nice weather for this weekend too! Happy camping!

[@dugario]

Mind if I ask, what kind of a lock are you using to secure the surge protector to the post? It's a brilliant idea and I'd like to pick one up. BTW... Thanks for the excel spreadsheet :) Again, brilliant!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I use a Master Lock Python because you can tighten it right up to the pedestal. Here is the amazon link for it amzn.to/43pOW3j

[@robcusson1736]

Great review. Watching your reviews for years. Just want to emphasize the cell phone issue. You did say it was hit and miss, but in my visits i see it as almost impossible. You are lucky to get 1 bar, or even a signal from any of the 3,4,5 Lte versions. Most cases it is so bad that a 100 % battery in the morning would be low by the afternoon, without using your phone at all because it is constantly searching for a signal. For emergencies, and especially if you are at a non-electric site that you cannot charge your phone - i suggest only turing your phone on at the main store that has wi-fi. I did notice that one of the few places that did get me a signal was at the beach. And even then it was hit and miss - sometimes it took 10 minutes to send a text message. What did we do 30 years ago without cell phones? LOL

[@CampingwiththeColes]

You'd think for such a big park and in Southern Ontario that it would have much better service.

[@scottanderson2980]

you can get a get a tick and flee stuff you sqeeze on the back of the neck of the dog that will kill any ticks for up to i think 3 weeks very easy to use

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We use Simparica Trio which is a once a month chewable treat.

[@AndrewMcGhie]

I noticed a lot of the sites there under "conditions" say poison ivy. What was your experience with your site, or others around you. We have an almost 2 year old who is quite mobile haha.. I don't plan on letting him run off through the bush, but I'm curious how much we would have to worry about it on the perimeter of the sites. Thanks

[@CampingwiththeColes]

@@AndrewMcGhie unfortunately many of the sites are lined with poison ivy as we'll as the trails. It's really out of control at Pinery.

[@AndrewMcGhie]

@@CampingwiththeColes Thank you!

[@673Piper]

What do you do on a very rainy day at Arrowhead Provincial Park? Watch the Coles of course.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Of course! What else would anybody do?🤣

[@beebro1405]

Considering a winter cabin stay! Is it really worth it??

[@CampingwiththeColes]

If you have kids it's definitely worth it. We've never camped in the winter without kids. We'll probably try it this year.

[@darylpaponetye8656]

I will like to know the best time to go when there is no deer flies

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Actually, I've never known there to be deer flies at Pinery. I think it's far enough south to avoid them. I'm not positive of that but that's my recollection.

[@GF-pc5bt]

What is meant by barrier free ? Thanks

[@CampingwiththeColes]

@@GF-pc5bt that's the term that Ontario Parks uses for wheelchair accessible.

[@GF-pc5bt]

@@CampingwiththeColes thanks your response time is amazing… happy campy

[@livinginavwvan207]

Love the dog beach there but didnt like camping, sites are too close together and zero privacy. I like point farms better for camping (just up the highway from the pinery)

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I think it depends what campsite you're in. The privacy at our site wasn't too bad. You might want to give it another try sometime. The park has a lot to offer.

[@djspx]

I've heard there are many sites at Pinery with a cockroach infestation, did you ever hear about this or find this to be true?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

That's interesting. We've been going there our whole lives and have never seen a cockroach there.

[@anniec1735]

There are but not a lot. It didn't bother us. It does NOT look like house cockcroaches. These are sunny yellow small things. When I see them...I say sunshine 🌞 don't let these stop you from enjoying Pinery

[@mpeters1524]

They are not cockroaches they are wood roaches. They cannot live indoors, like your commonly known cockroach.

[@Colin32269]

Im headed out camping next weekend @Owen Sound Harrison Park