Fitzroy Provincial Park is located less than an hour from Ottawa, in Ontario.
Site Review:
Fitzroy Provincial Park is situated on the Ottawa River in the heart of the Ottawa Valley. There are over 235 campsites divided between 2 campground areas. More than 100 have electrical service.
Pine Grove Campground
- 135 sites
- all sites are in a wooded forest setting
- privacy of sites is generally good
- flush toilets and hot showers
- close to park store
- no beach
- close to the hiking trails
- about 37 sites have electric service
- 18 sites along the Carp River are considered premium sites and charge on average about $4 more per night
Two Rivers Campground
- 100 sites (most with electric hook-up)
- sites vary some are private
- some have no privacy between sites (sites# 255-266 are very close together)
- There is a beach
- access to an easy pathway to the Day Use area
- flush toilets and free showers
- There are 5 premium sites with access to the Ottawa River (also charging about $4 more per night)
Carp River
It should be noted that the Carp River meandering through Fitzroy Provincial Park is basically an intermittent creek overgrown with rushes and marsh plants.
It is not possible to canoe or kayak on this “river” at all. The spots that are not overgrown with vegetation are incredibly shallow. Swimming is not an option- you can barely get your feet wet.
The Carp River view from sites #21, #61 and #62 look like this:
The Carp River view from sites #6 – #19 looks like this:
The premium sites along the Ottawa River in the Two Rivers campground are much nicer and do have river access.
We had site #266 in the Two Rivers campground. It is directly across from the beach. 
This site, however, did have easy access to the water. It was perfect for launching my kayak. The campground wasn’t particularly busy when we stayed, so increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic wasn’t an issue, though it probably could be on this site. There was no parking for the beach and I found campers who drove tended to park wherever they wanted (even though there were no parking signs posted) including on the front portion of the site.
Activities:
Swimming:
There is a large marked off swimming section in the Day Use Area. The slope is shallow and the bottom is sandy.
There is a secondary beach area located in the Two Rivers campground. It is very shallow.
Hiking:
Carp Trail:
This trail is about 1 km in length. It is a linear trail and follows along the Carp River and meanders through a wooded setting. 
Terraces Trail:
This trail is about 2 km in length and is in a forest setting. There are some stairs but otherwise, the trail is an easy walk.
The trail features a lookout point which is disappointing. The view is basically of power lines.
And I think there is supposed to be a waterfall here.
Boating:
There is a boat launch for small fishing boats. Though to be honest I wouldn’t want to boat here. The Ottawa River in the area of Fitzroy Provincial Park is very shallow in spots and there are numerous and I mean NUMEROUS large rocks concealed barely below the surface. I saw a couple of small fishing boats but nothing larger than that and no one was was going very fast. The rocks are unexpectedly located and there are no marker buoys. Boating is treacherous.
Canoeing/ Kayaking:
My very favourite thing to do at Fitzroy Provincial Park is kayaking. You can rent kayaks and canoes from the Park Store. Rates depend on the duration of use.
What makes kayaking interesting here is the variety of ways to enjoy this section of the Ottawa River.
- You can paddle around the islands. Kedey’s Island across from the main beach and Alexandria Island across from the second beach at the Two Rivers campground.
- Alexandria Island has a walkout pier that you can travel under or beach your kayak and investigate on foot.
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- You can check out the Chats Falls Dam (generating station) located directly across from the second beach at the Two Rivers campground. Keep a safe distance there are lots of signs posted.
- You can also see Chats Falls. The water is pretty swift here so know your skill level.
- Enjoy an evening paddle and the sunset.
It should be noted that you can not canoe or kayak the Carp River at all.
Day Trip to Ottawa:
Technically, Fitzroy Provincial Park is within the city boundary of Ottawa but in actuality, it would take you about an hour to drive to the main hub of the city where the parliament buildings are etc. Click here for some ideas of things to do in Ottawa.
If you are in the Ottawa area. Rideau River Provincial Park, as well as Voyageur Provincial Park, are also camping options.
Things to Know:
- There is a small park store that is lightly stocked with some basic supplies.
- Wood and ice are available for purchase at the camp store.
- The Carp River is a shallow creek not suitable for swimming, fishing, kayaking or canoeing. In many sections, it is just a boggy marsh.
- Boating is not an activity recommended for this section of the Ottawa River despite the boat launch within the park.
- Most campsites are of good quality, level and afford privacy from other sites.
- Fitzroy Provincial Park is located conveniently to the city of Ottawa.
- The Day Use area is large with many picnic tables in a shaded section. There are flush toilets and a small children’s playground.
IMO:
I like Fitzroy Provincial Park. It is nicely spread out. The Day Use area is great and the beach is larger than you find at many other provincial parks. The activities available are typical for Ontario Parks. I like the Ottawa river for kayaking despite stranding myself on a rock a few times.
I had read some reviews concerned about the Chats Falls generating station. You can only see it from the second beach at the Two Rivers campground (maybe from the boat launch) and you can barely hear any activity from it all, so I’m not sure what the concern is.
It is a good park to visit and I would definitely recommend Fitzroy Provincial Park as an RV Place to Go.
