Camping at Bon Echo Provincial Park - Part 1
Hello,
This next trip will be broken down into two posts so that I can include more details and not make each post too long.
We went on a three night camping trip with my family at Bon Echo Provincial Park. In total we were 15 people (6 kids ranging from 2 to 7 years old and 9 adults) and we shared three sites (two for tents and one was a yurt). We ended up putting up two tents on one site and moving the picnic table over to the middle site where we had one tent and two big shelters to cover the picnic tables.
We only built a fire at the middle camp ground and we kept the double burner stove there for cooking and cleaning dishes. We did have a BBQ at the yurt, so we made good use of it for bacon, sausages, burgers and grilled veggies.
We all arrived around 4:45 pm on the Wednesday and even though they weren't calling for it, it was lightly raining! So we all quickly set up our tents and shelters before the ground was too wet, and luckily the light rain did not last. We went over and were able to celebrate my eldest niece's birthday with mac and cheese (and veggies) and some strawberry cupcakes (made by my talented mother). Of course, we had to have roasted marshmallows while sitting around the fire as well.
The first night went alright. I believe at least one kid from each tent ended up having to get up at some point to go pee. Brock somehow got "lost" in his sleeping bag and couldn't figure out how to get out.
We got up the next day and it was quite chilly. We made our way to the middle site and had breakfast. We then headed to the Main Beach to participate in a children's program. The park staff was great as they showed the kids how to not just look at the big things (mountains, trees, etc.) around them but to look closely to the ground to find amazing things. The kids created their own "trails" identifying cool things they saw along the way (such as mushrooms, pinecones, holes in trees, bugs, etc.). This nicely kept the kids entertained and interested in the things around them.
After lunch back at the site we headed out for a hike. We had to catch the ferry to take us across the water in order to complete the Cliff Top Trail (about an hour, with lots of stairs). The kids were excited to go on the ferry across the water and they were able to walk, run, jump around, climb and pretty much be free (within eyesight).
I made a point to say "within eyesight" because one of my sisters hung back at one point and ended up running into a lost child. She was fortunately able to find his parents, but it could have been much worse. They had sat down for a picnic and he had wandered off, exploring the nature around him. Not only do you have to be careful of yourself when out on a hike, but if you have children, you must make sure that they are safe and within a reach that makes sense for their age and your surroundings. A bit of a public service announcement and I don't want to tell anyone how to do things, but they are our future and we should make sure every one is safe and has a good time out on the trails.
We were able to enjoy the beautiful view and some snacks at the top. I had Zoé on my back and she slept most of the hike so she missed it all. Let me say, this trail was awesome. It has about 200 stairs that you need to climb and this doesn't include the rest of the trail and the fact that you need to do it all in reverse. I was pretty tired by the end of it having had her on my back the whole time, but I would do it again. It was beautiful and a great challenge.
Once we took the ferry back, we went to our campsites and enjoyed some supper all together. We sang a few songs accompanied by ukelele and put the kids to bed. It got really cold that night. I was happy I packed tuques for the kids and I. I think it actually went down to 6 degrees celsius.
Well, that about covers it for the first half of the trip. I hope you enjoyed this part and that you will come back to check out the second part soon.
If you would like any more information or if you have any questions, please feel free to comment and I'd be glad to respond. Or if you have any suggestions or topics you would like me to cover, I'd be happy to do that as well.
See you soon.
Rachel
This next trip will be broken down into two posts so that I can include more details and not make each post too long.
We went on a three night camping trip with my family at Bon Echo Provincial Park. In total we were 15 people (6 kids ranging from 2 to 7 years old and 9 adults) and we shared three sites (two for tents and one was a yurt). We ended up putting up two tents on one site and moving the picnic table over to the middle site where we had one tent and two big shelters to cover the picnic tables.
We only built a fire at the middle camp ground and we kept the double burner stove there for cooking and cleaning dishes. We did have a BBQ at the yurt, so we made good use of it for bacon, sausages, burgers and grilled veggies.
We all arrived around 4:45 pm on the Wednesday and even though they weren't calling for it, it was lightly raining! So we all quickly set up our tents and shelters before the ground was too wet, and luckily the light rain did not last. We went over and were able to celebrate my eldest niece's birthday with mac and cheese (and veggies) and some strawberry cupcakes (made by my talented mother). Of course, we had to have roasted marshmallows while sitting around the fire as well.
The first night went alright. I believe at least one kid from each tent ended up having to get up at some point to go pee. Brock somehow got "lost" in his sleeping bag and couldn't figure out how to get out.
We got up the next day and it was quite chilly. We made our way to the middle site and had breakfast. We then headed to the Main Beach to participate in a children's program. The park staff was great as they showed the kids how to not just look at the big things (mountains, trees, etc.) around them but to look closely to the ground to find amazing things. The kids created their own "trails" identifying cool things they saw along the way (such as mushrooms, pinecones, holes in trees, bugs, etc.). This nicely kept the kids entertained and interested in the things around them.
After lunch back at the site we headed out for a hike. We had to catch the ferry to take us across the water in order to complete the Cliff Top Trail (about an hour, with lots of stairs). The kids were excited to go on the ferry across the water and they were able to walk, run, jump around, climb and pretty much be free (within eyesight).
I made a point to say "within eyesight" because one of my sisters hung back at one point and ended up running into a lost child. She was fortunately able to find his parents, but it could have been much worse. They had sat down for a picnic and he had wandered off, exploring the nature around him. Not only do you have to be careful of yourself when out on a hike, but if you have children, you must make sure that they are safe and within a reach that makes sense for their age and your surroundings. A bit of a public service announcement and I don't want to tell anyone how to do things, but they are our future and we should make sure every one is safe and has a good time out on the trails.
We were able to enjoy the beautiful view and some snacks at the top. I had Zoé on my back and she slept most of the hike so she missed it all. Let me say, this trail was awesome. It has about 200 stairs that you need to climb and this doesn't include the rest of the trail and the fact that you need to do it all in reverse. I was pretty tired by the end of it having had her on my back the whole time, but I would do it again. It was beautiful and a great challenge.
Once we took the ferry back, we went to our campsites and enjoyed some supper all together. We sang a few songs accompanied by ukelele and put the kids to bed. It got really cold that night. I was happy I packed tuques for the kids and I. I think it actually went down to 6 degrees celsius.
Well, that about covers it for the first half of the trip. I hope you enjoyed this part and that you will come back to check out the second part soon.
If you would like any more information or if you have any questions, please feel free to comment and I'd be glad to respond. Or if you have any suggestions or topics you would like me to cover, I'd be happy to do that as well.
See you soon.
Rachel
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