My first visit to Restoule Provincial Park took place in September 1999, and it was memorable—but not exactly for the right reasons. Chris and I were greeted by absolutely horrible weather: relentless rain and cold so penetrating that after a short, stubborn attempt at “real camping,” we admitted defeat, rented a cottage, and spent the next ten days there pretending that this was the plan all along. Still, the park made a strong enough impression that we returned in 2000 and again in 2011 . Clearly, Restoule had not scared us off permanently.
In 2013, Catherine and I came back once more and spent about a week camping on paddle-in campsite B-3 (46°04'35.8"N 79°45'55.4"W / 46.076617, -79.765383), located just one kilometer from the parking lot. That trip was wonderful in every sense—quiet, scenic, relaxed—and it reinforced my belief that backcountry sites, even those very close to civilization, offer a completely different experience.
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| Main entrance to Restoule Provincial Park |
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| Our campsite B-9 on the island which resembled a butterfly |
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| Stormy Lake parking and our departure point |
We arrived at the park on Monday, June 23, 2025, in the afternoon. The Stormy Lake parking lot was almost empty, which allowed us to unpack slowly and methodically—something that rarely happens in popular parks. We launched the canoe and began transferring our belongings. And yes, there was a lot of stuff. As always. I was genuinely glad no one was watching, because anyone witnessing the process would have assumed we were settling in for a month rather than a single week.
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| Stormy Lake Parking, as seen in the movie ("Backcountry"), where the couple parked their car and departed on their journey. We also parked our car here and departed on our trip-unlike the movie characters, BOTH of us returned! This clip is from 2013. On the opposite shore is campsite B-3, on which Catherine and I were camping just before the movie was made at this park |
Somehow—almost magically—everything fit into the canoe. Even more astonishingly, there was still room left for us. It was a little windy. The waves themselves did not worry us, but the headwind did not make paddling particularly pleasant. Still, we pressed on and reached the campsite in about 45 minutes.
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| The canoe is extremely spacious! |
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| Bear-proof container |
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| The "thunder box", a.k.a. toilet. Excellent ventilation and view! |
We pitched our tents close to each other, secured all food in the container, and finally relaxed. Due to the strong wind, we decided against having a campfire that first evening. The wind, however, had a major advantage: it kept mosquitoes at bay and significantly reduced the number of horse flies and deer flies, which were otherwise quite active. As on previous trips, we attached sticky patches to the tops of our hats. The results were immediate and satisfying—flies love hovering around heads, and within no time the patches were impressively populated, contributing noticeably to the local insect population decline.
Overall, mosquitoes were not too bad. They usually appeared in the evening and disappeared after about an hour. I believe there were some black flies as well, judging by a single unpleasant bite. At night, when I read with my headlamp on, tiny flying insects occasionally swarmed me, sometimes forcing a tactical retreat into the tent. There were also mayflies, though thankfully they did not seem overly interested in us.
Naturally, we had a campfire the next evening—and every evening after that. There was plenty of firewood everywhere. Numerous birch trees had fallen and were slowly rotting. While birch is not the easiest wood to burn when damp, once it dried sufficiently, it burned just fine and kept us warm and entertained.
From our campsite we could see motorboats speeding by, anglers trolling or casting, as well as kayakers and canoeists. Some were out for a leisurely day paddle, others were heading to or returning from their campsites. We chatted with several fishermen, all of whom reported that fishing was not particularly good. We tried ourselves, hoping at least for one fish for lunch or dinner, but without success. Fishing directly from the campsite was also challenging due to trees along the shore that interfered with casting, and rocks that eagerly grabbed our lures. Before long, our enthusiasm faded. Over the last two years, despite genuine effort, we had caught exactly three fish per year. The only comfort was that many other anglers—with far more expensive and sophisticated equipment—were doing no better. At least we were failing in good company.
Wildlife sightings were limited. We saw a chipmunk, a squirrel, a water snake swimming along the shore, and a snapping turtle. In the mornings we heard birds, and occasionally the distinctive drumming of woodpeckers echoed through the forest. At night, the lake came alive with the unforgettable calls of loons—yodeling and wailing—accompanied by barred owls whose voices carried far across the water. I was fairly confident that no larger animals—deer, raccoons, moose, or bears—visited our campsite.
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| Loon (source: Wikipedia) |
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| Gerry's General Store in Restoule |
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| Bucher's Store in Restoule |
We also drove around the park’s drive-in campgrounds. They appeared to be completely full, with no vacant sites in sight. Some offered more privacy than others, but in my opinion even the least impressive backcountry campsite surpassed the best drive-in campsite in terms of seclusion, peace, and overall wilderness experience.
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| Wow, what a brave and wonderful family! |
Over the years, I have met many people who were afraid to camp in provincial parks because they believed their children were too young—often when the kids were already 7 to 12 years old. “We’ll go when they’re older,” they would say. Ironically, when children grow older, they often no longer want to go camping with their parents at all. Even fewer parents imagine taking children canoeing, assuming it is dangerous and unsafe. Yet I have encountered loaded canoes carrying camping gear, two parents, and very young children—sometimes as young as two or three. The children wore special life jackets designed to flip them face-up if they fell into the water. One couple told me they had even practiced a canoe capsize with their kids, and the life jackets worked perfectly. They had no concerns about safety, only confidence and experience.
I should also mention that I brought along a Bluetti Power Station AC2A (300 W) and a foldable Allpowers Solar Panel SP12 (100 W). Charging the power station proved challenging because our campsite was heavily forested, forcing me to constantly reposition the solar panel. Since it was foldable, achieving the optimal angle toward the sun was difficult, so I mostly spread it flat on the ground. I managed to charge the battery to about 66% fairly quickly. Unfortunately, the following days were windy, rainy, and predictably cloudy. Without direct sunlight, the solar panel was essentially useless.
Initially, when trying to blend into South Korean society, she attempted to suppress and hide many of the most painful details of her experience. Eventually, she realized that telling her story openly could help and inspire others. Another powerful motivation was her sister, who had escaped earlier and disappeared somewhere in China for years. Going public was, in part, an attempt to find her. Having watched many documentaries about North Korea, I was not entirely surprised by descriptions of life inside that prison-like country. However, reading about her suffering outside North Korea—in supposedly “free” China—was shocking and profoundly sad. It made for heavy reading, but also important reading.
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| Clip from the movie "Backcountry". The main character (Missy Peregrym) standing at the Stormy Lake parking lot, staring at the lake she and her partner are going to paddle on. Will both of them return? |
• Their brief visit to the park office (the original building has since been replaced by a larger one).
• The parking lot where the couple parked their car, as well as the scene where they depart from the dock on their backcountry trip—both filmed at the Stormy Lake parking lot. Yes, this is the very same parking lot where we parked our car and the same dock from which we departed (and, thankfully, returned in one piece—unlike the couple in the movie).
• Even more interestingly, our backcountry campsite, B-3, across the lake—the one we had stayed at in 2013—can be briefly seen in the film.
• The final scene of the movie was also filmed at the same parking lot.
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| If there is a will, there is a way! |
We left our campsite on July 2, 2025. Naturally, packing the canoe once again required considerable effort and a fair amount of strategic thinking. However, once we started paddling, the wind—so unhelpful upon arrival—decided to cooperate and gently pushed us toward the dock. The crossing took only about 20 minutes. We loaded everything into the car, hoisted the canoe onto the roof, and strapped it down securely. At the parking lot, I chatted with a gentleman who had just finished his fishing trip using a small kayak; he cheerfully informed me that he had caught several bass. Timing, as always, is everything.
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| Rock n' Duck Resto on Highway 124 in Whitestone, Ontario |
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| We always like stopping at this Salvation Army Thrift Store-after all, it's very close to No Frills and Tim Hortons. I spend 90% of my time in the book section, of course! |
Rather than taking Highway 11 straight home, I decided to drive west on Highway 124 and then continue on Highway 400. It turned out to be a very pleasant and scenic drive, a fitting transition from wilderness back to everyday life.
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| In Parry Sound, under the trestle and historical plaque depicting a 1915 painting of this trestle by Tom Thomson, a famous Canadian Painter |
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| TRESTLE AT PARRY SOUND, 1914 Tom Thomson paddled into the mouth of the Seguin River one evening in mid-July, 1914. He had come from Go Home Bay, stopping to stay in the South Channel for a few days. Seeing the new CPR trestle, the longest bridge east of the Rockies, and the Parry Sound Lumber Company aglow in the setting sun, he selected one of his 8” by 10” wooden boards, and made this evocative sketch in less than an hour. Today Tom Thomson is acknowledged as Canada’s foremost painter. Those small wooden boards he gave to friends can be worth more than a million dollars. What he saw in 1914: Fifty years after the lumbering began, logs, arriving down the river, are trimmed and cut into the mills. The river is dammed; both shores are lined with tramways, thousands of boards feet of lumber piled high, waiting to be loaded in ships. The lumber goes to railheads around the Great Lakes to build the cities of North America and the world. Seven years later, the last of the mills had burned to the ground, and Parry Sound had welcomed the first of the cruise ships with visitors to enjoy the natural beauty of the area |
I also took a few photos of the Golden Dragon Restaurant at 2 James Street. Back in 2008, it was a coffee shop, and after meeting Catherine for the first time just three days earlier during a camping trip in a nearby park, Catherine, her friend Jane, Guy, and I met there for coffee, pastries, and drinks on the patio.
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| Currently the Golden Dragon Restaurant; in 2008 it was a coffee shop |
Overall, I had a great time in Restoule Provincial Park. Chris, however, had a longer list of complaints: mosquitoes, deer flies, horse flies, limited space on the campsite for his daily walks, slippery and sharp rocks, and the difficulty of fishing from shore. I listened patiently and suggested that next time he rent a four- or five-star cottage—with a screened porch, an easy-access dock, and perhaps even a professional fishing guide.
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| Our awesome campsite! |
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