Have you ever gone camping for Thanksgiving? We did the other year and had an absolute blast!

Autumn colours, cool nights and a cozy rustic cabin made for an ideal Thanksgiving getaway at Bonnechere Provincial Park. Enjoying some of the last warm days before fall took full effect, our group had a fantastic time exploring the park and taking advantage of the somewhat quiet conditions that fall camping allows for.

 

While the rustic cabins seemed booked up, the campground itself looked to only be 1/2 or 2/3rd full. Considering the weather was better than most of the summer, we felt lucky being able to go hiking on the trails, and canoeing down the river in relative peace and quiet, save for the sounds of busy birds, beavers, squirrels and chipmunks running around.

One fun highlight at Bonnechere that cracked us up was the McNaugton Trail with its “Footprints in Time”, which we dubbed “infologs” instead, as we thought it was a catchier name! it was actually a lot of fun reading and learning about the traditional local First Nations history and culture in a traditional way.

 

By the light of the moon, we even did a midnight paddle down the river all the way to the lake. So peaceful, except for the occasional “splash” from an animal slipping into the water as we paddled by.

We even had time to take in a few games of horseshoes! How about that? Bonnechere was a surprising park for all of us. It had been on our radar before, but we were impressed by the range of trails, the nice beach area and the overall features of the park. While we are not camping for thanksgiving this year, it is quite possibly the start of a new tradition for years going forward.

 

What is a Rustic Cabin?

First off, it isn’t too rustic!

By rustic they mean it doesn’t have a washroom on-site, so you have to use the communal bathrooms and showers just as if you were car camping. But the rustic cabin does come with a screened in porch area, a spacious living room area and kitchen, plus two bedrooms.

 

Outside you get firewood included, a BBQ area with propane BBQ included and a canoe for your use as well! Pretty sweet, if you consider that the cost of those extras can add up pretty quickly.

In fact, we had so much space around our cabin at Bonnechere that we were able to take advantage of the nice weather and play some lawn games like bocce ball and spikeball when we weren’t enjoying a campfire.

 

The cabin kitchen had a kettle and mini-fridge and microwave that were handy. We did bring a couple of coolers along to keep extra food cold on the screened in patio, since it was Thanksgiving after all and we BBQ’d a turkey breast, along with all the extras for a special dinner.

We spent our days exploring the park, and sitting by the campfire, or lounging in a hammock we put up near the river. It was a hard camping experience to beat. With more and more Ontario Parks adding some rustic cabins, yurts or other accommodation options, this is the way to go for those early season and late season weekends where weather might not always cooperate – or where you simply want some extra comforts compared to sleeping in a tent.

 

We did have a short time of rain on our camping weekend, but a high-stakes game of Yahtzee in the cabin quickly turned that into a fun time too. A visit from one of the park wardens was fun too, giving us some insights into what it is like working at Ontario Parks, seemed like quite an interesting gig!

We can imagine this park to be a popular, busy place during peak summer months. It has a lot to offer for families with kids and the beach was impressive too. While we didn’t go swimming on Thanksgiving weekend, we were tempted! maybe we’ll have to return to go for a dip next time?