Emily Provincial Park is located near Peterborough Ontario in the heart of the Kawartha Lakes region.

Emily Provincial Park was established in 1957. It has 4 campground areas with roughly 300 campsites.

This was a last-minute trip for us and when we booked there were only a handful of sites still available that could accommodate our equipment and that also had electric hook-up. Needless to say, we did not get the best site that Emily Provincial Park has to offer.

Site Review:

• Emily Provincial Park is located along the Pigeon River, but there are only a couple of non-electric tent sites that have direct access to the water- most sites are a good distance away.
•  The Lookout Hill and Circle campgrounds offer large private sites that can accommodate various types of equipment ranging from tents to large RVs. Many of these sites offer electric hook-up.
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• Our site was #296 in Circle campground. The ground cover was mostly dirt which made for a very muddy campsite. We tried to position our motorhome to avoid the worst area and that essentially cut our usable campsite space in half.
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• There is good visual privacy between sites.

Activities:

Emily Provincial Park is a disappointment in the activities department. It is not at all what you would typically expect from an Ontario Provincial Park.

Swimming:

There are 2 beach areas at Emily: North Beach and South Beach.

North Beach is located in the Day Use area and is downright gross. There are floating clumps of algae and water vegetation mixed with manmade litter making the water un-inviting. To be honest I didn’t see anyone actually swimming there.

South Beach was better in the sense that some effort has been made to keep it maintained. The sand appears to be groomed and a specific swimming area has been marked off.

Canoe/kayak:

You can rent canoes, kayaks, pedal boats and SUP boards from the camp store and pick them up at North Beach. Prices vary depending on the duration of use.

Boating:

Emily Provincial Park is located on the Pigeon River which is part of the Trent Severn Waterway. Pleasure craft boating options are pretty much unlimited.

There are 2 boat launches in the park. One is near North Beach in the Day Use area and the second is beside South Beach. There are boat docks available to secure your boat.

Hiking:

There is a trail that is currently under construction and not yet completed.

Fishing:

Fishing just might be Emily’s main claim to fame (and maybe it’s only saving grace). On the day we visited Emily there was some kind of fishing contest and as the boats were returning, the fish that were coming in were huge. Emily also sponsors a Learn to Fish program and rents out tackle and gear.

You can fish off the boat docks and also from shore- you will need an Ontario Fishing Licence that must be purchased before arrival to the park. Ontario Provincial Parks do not issue fishing licences.

Things to Know:

1. The sites are large (even by provincial park standards)
2. Fishing/boating are the main activities. Unless you have your own boat and can participate in these activities, there is not much else to do here.
3. The park is actually rather loud. I don’t really know why, but just the overall din and conversations of normal campground activity seem to carry in this park. You can distinctly hear everything from dogs barking to car doors closing to the sound of dishes/pots/pans being moved around.
4.  The Day Use area is in need of rejuvenation.
5. Sites #1-5 are very close to the Trailer dump station.
6.  There is a camp store that is better than most at Ontario Provincial Parks. You can get wood, ice, souvenirs, some sundry items, as well as ice cream. This is also where you would rent self-powered watercraft or sign up for the Learn to Fish program.

IMO:

I am not a fan of Emily Provincial Park. I have grown to expect more from Ontario Provincial Parks and Emily is definitely not on par with these expectations. Balsam Lake Provincial Park is about an hour away and provides a better experience in my opinion.
For the RVer who is a boating/fishing enthusiast and brings their own equipment, this park might be ideal due to its access to the Trent Severn Waterway. As for a typical weekend stay, I would not recommend this park as an RV Place to go.