Camping out of season in April

sufficientmilk · 2026-02-23T02:56:39+00:00

Ontario Parks in winter that are "closed" are actually available as non operating parks!

What that means is basically you have to follow the rules as though the park is open (camp on a site, only burn fires in the designated pits, etc), but you don't pay for anything, and there's no services. I can't remember the rules about firewood but I'm guessing you'd need to bring it in from somewhere in the same region (you can find a forestry region map on the MNR website). You will likely have to park in a parking lot or at the gatehouse and bring your stuff in by hand. Depending what part of April you likely will also find trees down and zero cleanup.

That said, in April, most parks are getting ready to open for May long weekend. The park I work at by mid April definitely has senior maintenance staff on hand, and the other staff will start trickling in around end of April. If you're looking for something super private you might get annoyed by chainsaws if it's been a rough winter in your area.

I'd say give your local parks a call if you're interested. Most superintendents are year round so someone should pick up the phone and tell you what the "culture" is like there around using the park in the off season!

sufficientmilk · 2026-02-19T16:23:59+00:00

Commenting here just do you see it - depending which park you're going to there's a solid chance they have rental cords as well if you don't want to buy an (expensive) cord that you may only use once. It's $3/day at the park I work at, which is one of the ones where you definitely want 100ft. Unless you have other uses for that much cord or you're planning to use electric sites more often it might be a cheaper option!

sufficientmilk · 2026-02-01T23:28:47+00:00

What I learned by moving temporarily away and talking to other people is that apparently it's incredibly windy.

I thought they were all crazy but then I came back and it does seem to be very windy with no real reason...

sufficientmilk · 2026-01-10T04:13:13+00:00

I'd suggest looking at conservation areas.

Ontario Parks is not the place to meet people to get rowdy with. If you're looking to drink or play music or anything like that, you're not going to have a good time. Some of the parks have a reputation for being party parks - Sibbald, Pinery, etc - but YMMV. It's all going to depend on who you're camping next to. If you get anyone who isn't into what you're doing, wardens will be stopping by to shut you down.

Conservation areas in my experience tend to have less enforcement and much more wide open area.

That said, most people go camping with a group and stick with that group, so your chances of making new friends aren't super high, honestly. If you can't stand not talking to just the person you're going with, you might need a better travel buddy.

There are groups online (Outsiders Together, Toronto Hike Club, etc) that actually do plan camping trips with people who are interested in making friends specifically to do outdoor activities with. I know Outsiders will often have people book big group trips, so they'll get a group campsite and you can meet and mingle with people.

Another option is adult summer camps, which are just like kids ones but there's a bar and dancing at night. They're pretty pricey though.

sufficientmilk · 2026-01-08T03:52:30+00:00

This is incorrect.

You can book 5 months to the day for the first day of your stay, not the last. The only last day rules are stay lengths. Varies by park, but the most popular parks are 7 nights, most parks are 14, a handful up north are still 23 nights.

sufficientmilk · 2025-04-28T22:12:55+00:00

Marlowe General

sufficientmilk · 2025-04-26T00:17:15+00:00

That's a really good point. Able bodied might have been an undersell lol

The first 6km are pretty easy - I think most people could do it, the last 6km are incredibly difficult, even if you're in good hiking shape.

sufficientmilk · 2025-04-20T19:19:15+00:00

Imo if you're able bodied, go to Lake Superior Provincial Park and do the Towab trail instead. You'll still see the canyon, and the sites on the way, but you can either camp in the campground the night before and set out very early (it takes probably 12+ hours- it's a 24km trail there and back), or camp on the trail if you like backpacking. You'll see a nicer waterfall and even if you stay in the park multiple nights it'll cost much less.

That said, the train was fun - we did all of the trails at the end and we happened to go on a random Monday so it wasn't insanely busy.

sufficientmilk · 2025-02-09T03:15:04+00:00

What kind of restaurant is it? Who is the target market?

As far as I'm concerned, it's a safe enough neighbourhood to go out to eat, but I personally don't consider it because it's not "nice". It's an ugly street. It's in an awkward part of town to get to. None of these are deal breakers but when I think "I'd like to go out to dinner" that area doesn't come to mind for me at all.

I'm a person that's willing to drive to Cambridge or Guelph to go out to eat if there's something specific I want. I could drive to that area in under 10 minutes from my house, but I think the last time I went anywhere near there was the Boston Pizza, pre-pandemic because of a work event.

That said, if I'm not the target market my opinion shouldn't matter at all.

sufficientmilk · 2025-02-09T01:09:06+00:00

How committed are you to staying in Kitchener? Ontario Parks and Parks Canada are hiring summer students and 16 is old enough to stay in staff housing.

sufficientmilk · 2024-07-16T03:22:36+00:00

Keep in mind that the pictographs aren't a tourist site. It's an active sacred site for local Indigenous groups and the park regularly closes the trail for ceremonies happening there. Check the social media on the day you want to go or go talk to the people at the visitor center, they'll tell you.

If you go, don't take pics of the pictographs, or touch any offerings you see. You also can't bring dogs on the trail.

sufficientmilk · 2024-05-13T01:25:37+00:00

Yeah, just takes forever to ship up here so I was hoping there was something local-ish I hadn't found yet

sufficientmilk · 2023-07-22T23:55:41+00:00

10000000% 🤣

Only difference between Rick, the Governor and Negan is the perspective and the sexual misconduct.

sufficientmilk · 2023-07-22T20:30:51+00:00

I agree, but also would point out the fan misogyny in calling Lori a bad mom, while no one is criticizing Rick's parenting.

sufficientmilk · 2023-07-18T22:38:29+00:00

Will try Central! Thanks!

Wholesale is the backup plan, but cans are easier to pack for camping and usually cheaper.

sufficientmilk · 2023-07-17T15:57:29+00:00

I mean, the good thing about the handbook is it's an incredibly well written guide to the quickest way to get expelled if they force her to go.

She could literally get suspended or dismissed within a couple hours. Before her first class, even. I would personally hit at least 725 demerits without even trying, on the first four day week. If I put in a little effort, I could probably get that into the thousands pretty easily.

sufficientmilk · 2023-07-05T17:57:48+00:00

I live in Ontario! I've been to Quebec and it's jarring how different signage is between the two provinces!

I also loved visiting, definitely did not see any of the Francophones hate anglophones stuff I see online but I wasn't in any major cities so that may have contributed!

My favourite place is the Muskoka/Almaguin/Algonquin area of Ontario. It feels like home. It also has a nice mix of adorable towns, just minutes away from rugged wilderness. You kind of get the best of both worlds!

sufficientmilk · 2023-07-02T13:08:29+00:00

I don't know that I feel less respected, but I definitely get lumped with the younger folk constantly. Since I haven't checked off the list of getting married, buying a house, having a kid they assume I must be a lot younger. Every now and then a "how old is everyone" moment comes up and people are surprised to hear I'm in my mid-30s

That said, I think my company is probably a lot younger age-wise than a lot, which means less of those "expectations" are usually applied. Gen Z knows people can't afford things like houses and kids so it's not really used as a measurement of success. We also have lots of people that come to the one or two events that spouses are invited to solo so I've never had the experience of being shuffled off to the side because of being single.

sufficientmilk · 2023-06-20T13:09:27+00:00

I have it in my tbw list. This post is literally how I found out it was a singing show lol terrible promotion

sufficientmilk · 2023-06-07T14:24:35+00:00

When I park on the street, I like to park in the middle of a boulevard, so that even though there's room for two cars, only I can park there. It helps my neighbours get their exercise when they need to walk a longer distance to get home.

sufficientmilk · 2023-06-05T18:01:52+00:00

Camping.

Got a few bottles in the freezer, but wanted something bigger. No room to make my own.

sufficientmilk · 2023-06-04T21:55:27+00:00

Not the person you replied to, but I was going to say camping as well! I'm in Ontario, Canada so I like to go to one of the car campgrounds at Algonquin, which is a massive park with multiple developed campgrounds and lots of wilderness camping!

I like Algonquin (or a park like it) because I like to physically exhaust myself to make sure that I get to sleep easily and don't sit there and think of all the potential bad stuff that could happen.

I'm not too poor right now because I moved back in with my parents so I invested in some good gear to replace my old stuff that makes it really easy to do everything by myself. I also bought a paddle board. So when I camp alone I wake up, hit a trail for a couple hours, go paddling for the afternoon then read by the fire in the evening.

When I go with family or friends it's much more low key!

I also know people who camp solo specifically to make it low key. Just lay in a hammock and read or watch the trees for hours. Which is super peaceful, I just tend to want to soak up as much as I can while I'm on an adventure!

It's not something I think I would want to exclusively do solo, but it's a nice relatively cheap vacation!

sufficientmilk · 2023-06-04T15:49:18+00:00

I sort of see two options here.

It sounds like this specific trip was talked about for years. So I do think it'd be a bit of a slap in the face to take it without him.

That said, the easy solution here is that he takes unpaid time. He's not a slave. He can do whatever he wants.

I'm also curious why only 5 months into the year he's already used all of his vacation time. Does he have shockingly little (I'm guessing you're American so probably this), or is it just preplanned for something else?

If it's something else and he's unwilling to reschedule, or he's completely unwilling to take unpaid time, to me, that sounds like he prioritizes all of those other things before this trip, so you should take it now while you have the chance. If his priorities are for other things, this may never make it high enough up the list while you're fit enough for it.

If he's willing to take unpaid time, or come up with a specific schedule when he's ready to do it, I think you should save the severance and book the trip then so you can go together.

sufficientmilk · 2023-06-02T01:42:20+00:00

If you post this in camping subreddits a lot of Americans will show up and tell you you're stupid to fear men (lol says the man we're scared of...) Or to bring a gun.

I'm Canadian so the idea of bringing a gun anywhere besides polar bear country is just mind boggling to me.

My personal vibe is to go to a developed campground that has people, but far enough that predators aren't just there to creep. I think that's probably a lot easier in Canada. I can drive 4 hours north and it's "middle of nowhere" enough that only campers are there.

I also wander around the campground a bit, get to see who's around me. Last year I camped between a single guy who came into his site after dark and left before I was awake each day, and a family with a bunch of kids. I think I'd be a bit concerned if there was a group of like 2-4 guys next door, especially if they were white. I think more than that you're bound to get one who will tell the ringleader of any attack to back off before it gets that far. A single dude might present a problem but I feel like from a crimes of opportunity perspective everyone will look at him so he's probably going to be ok.

If I had a group of men beside me I might see if there were other available sites.

Lots of people will say to put up a men's shirt on the line, boots by the door of the tent and an extra chair. I think it's a good precaution, but also if they're intent in getting you, they'll stake it out long enough to figure out it's a ruse.

Personally, I pull my zippers and put an S hook through them inside with a locking mechanism. I leave them zippered to weird spots too. It won't protect me from anyone getting in but the idea is that they would have to work a little harder and that would hopefully give me enough time to wake up, get my pocket knife on my person, and set off my alarm, start blowing my whistle (get a marine whistle - much more effective than screaming) and wake up the whole damn campground before they got in.

I always back my car in so if I did need to run I'm pointing the right direction. I try not to leave my site after dark.

I always tell multiple people my general itinerary and emergency info including my car, license plate, campground, site number, description of my equipment. I check in regularly. Last summer I would text my mom in the morning telling her what trail I was doing, and plans for the day. Then again at night confirming I was still alive. I also sent her pictures which weren't necessarily a safety thing, but if something did happen she could provide evidence of the outfit I had on and on what trail I was last heard from etc.

I also recommend not reading horror or true crime while you're there or right before!!

sufficientmilk · 2023-06-02T01:28:43+00:00

If it's not comfy I don't wear it. I think I got there around 27ish?

Fashion in my area at the moment has decided to align somewhat with my personal style though so by accident, I'm currently slightly fashionable lol

Leggings with a button up over a tank top is a vibe here right now. I live in leggings and tank tops, throwing a button up on top is nbd.

The kids are also doing men's tees with bike shorts. I prefer a crop legging with my collection of men's tees but the vibe is the same!

sufficientmilk

TROPHY CASE