Rideau River Provincial Park is a small park just outside of Kemptville, Ontario. When we arrived there was very little space to park our trailer in order to check in to the office. I can’t imagine having a larger trailer or arriving during a busier time. I’m sure they have ways to deal with it, but luckily we had space to park and no one else was checking in at the same time.
As the name suggests, it lies along the Rideau Canal and visitors can canoe along the river. Motorboats are also allowed, but they seem to keep to the opposite side, which is nice. We didn’t rent a canoe during our stay but we saw several people out in canoes, kayaks and even on SUPs. The river was always very calm and would be a fantastic place to learn how to canoe or to just enjoy an easy paddle up and down the river.
We walked around the campground several times with Chloe, as well as the Shoreline Trail. There is only one trail at the park which is linear and it runs parallel to the river.
The facilities were all in very good condition and the park actually had the best laundry facilities that we had used during the trip. The machines were new, reasonably priced and fast! That kind of thing is important when you are on the road for 26 days!
We were surprised to find that this area did not recycle cardboard or paper products. Every municipality is different, so be prepared to sort your recyclables appropriately depending on where you are camping. I’m just always happy that these parks offer recycling services.
The park had lots of picnic tables throughout the park, mostly along the river and in the day-use areas. It seemed to be a very popular place for people to spend the day, not just for camping.
There was only one trail we did check out some local trails in the area and we were happy to find the Ferguson Forest Trails not even 10 minutes away. If you are looking for more hiking options we’d definitely recommend those trails!
Turns out the hiking trails are on Crown land and they offer recreational opportunities all year round, which is amazing! And, if you have a dog, check out their absolutely wonderful dog park. There are two fenced-in sections and the larger one is huge with trees and tons of room for dogs to run and play. As usual though, if your dog isn’t good with other dogs then either go when no one else is there or skip the dog park and go for a hike instead.
The photo above is from the edge of the smaller section of the dog park for smaller dogs. The trees off to the right are all park of the dog park! I would guess it might be a couple of acres? When we walked by it the first time there was a dog training class being held off in the corner. I wish we had a dog park even half as big as this one near us!
Overall the Rideau River Provincial Park was a nice little park for families and for visiting the area. We only stayed two nights and that was plenty for us, although there were still some other hikes we could have done if we were staying longer.
