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    Home » Campground Reviews

    Marten River Provincial Park

    Published: Oct 2, 2025

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    Marten River Provincial Park is a vibrant campground and natural area near North Bay. Here's everything you need to know about camping there!

    A calm river with reeds and kayakers. Overlaid text says the ultimate camping guide to Marten River Provincial Park.

    The penultimate campground in our impromptu summer tour of Northeastern Ontario saw us spending a few days at Marten River Provincial Park.

    Located just 40 minutes north of North Bay, the area is seen as the “Southern gateway” to the Temagami area, and all that has to offer - like the Temagami Fire Tower.

    The first time we were in the Temagami region, it was just passing through, on our way back from Northwestern Ontario back in 2023. We noted the parks in the area, and made a mental note to check them out some time!

    The signature draw of Marten River Provincial Park apparently isn’t Martens (boo!), but rather a replica logging camp and museum.

    Nothing against the logging museum, mind you... we just LOVE Pine Martens. We usually see them on our winter camping trips to Algonquin Provincial Park. So cute!

    Anyway, we ended up visiting Marten River over the August long weekend. Originally, we’d planned to spend Labour Day weekend at Samuel De Champlain Provincial Park, meticulously planning that trip out 5 months in advance.

    ... but Mother Nature had other plans, I guess. Hopefully the park will recover from the storm damage soon, and we’ll be able to check it out next year or the year after.

    Anyway, that disaster had us scrambling to find another holiday weekend park, along with everyone else who had lost their reservations... looking at the same pool of campgrounds that had been booked out 5 months ahead of time!

    It was stressful, but somehow we managed to find a spot at Marten River park!

    Anyway, let us tell you all about it!

    Marten River, on a calm sunny day.

    The Basics:

    Campground Name: Marten River Provincial Park
    Address: 2860 Hwy 11 North, Marten River, ON P0H 1T0
    Website: https://www.ontarioparks.ca/park/martenriver
    Price Ontario Provincial Parks uses a pricing matrix across all their parks. See 2025 Camping Fees for more details.
    Reservations: Ontario Parks Reservations
    Park Classification: Recreational
    Season: May 15, 2026 to September 20, 2026
    Park Warden Phone Number: (705) 493-1977

    The Marten River Provincial Park highway sign.

    Logistics

    Some information to help you plan your stay at Marten River Provincial Park:

    Registration and Check In

    As I mentioned earlier, our booking at Marten River Provincial Park was a little more ... chaotic... than usual.

    Usually I’ll book 5 months in advance, at 7 am. That was not the case here, but it worked out fine. We ended up with a great site for the entire duration of our stay, no need to break the stay up across multiple sites.

    As always, booking online via the Ontario Parks reservation portal was quick and easy. I did preregistration at that time, and did online check in the morning of our arrival.

    The check-in message advised us to see park staff for our printed permit, which was quick and easy - friendly service as always.

    The Marten River Provincial Park gatehouse.
    The Gate House

    Maps and Signage

    Some basic information to help you get around Marten River Provincial Park:

    Park Map

    The park map handout was a full colour, glossy 8.5 x 14", double sided map.

    I am always happy to see professionally printed maps at the parks - I swear that the low-res photocopies end up being a red flag, and a precursor to more headaches!

    One thing I LOVE about the map is that one way roads are indicated clearly with arrows - including at the Trailer Sanitation Station. Not that I expect people to actually pay attention to that, but still!

    Everything is really nicely laid out on the map, with the electrical, non-electrical, and barrier-free sites all colour coded, the generator free areas highlighted in pink, and a little inset trail map.

    That’s just a preview of the actual trail map, which is pictured on the back of that page. It is GLORIOUS - all the trails (hiking & biking trails, as well as canoe routes) colour coded, with distance and suggested completion times listed for each.

    I wish they’d list difficulty instead of completion time, but you know... we’ve had such a spate of bad maps lately, I’ll bask in this little bit of cartography joy for a minute.

    Well, just for a minute, anyway. A couple issues:

    1. There’s no accessibility information on the map. (I’ll rant about this in a bit)
    2. There are a bunch of paths and trails in the campground and park area that aren’t on the map at all.

    Anyway, you can find downloadable pdf copies of these maps on the Marten River Provincial Park website: Marten River Provincial Park Map , Marten River Provincial Park Trail & Canoe Route Map

    The Marten River Provincial Park maps.

    Signage

    The signage at Marten River was mostly decent. We were definitely confused for a bit, trying to figure out what one icon meant - there were no accompanying words.

    As it turns out, it was a logging sled. A pretty good representation of the actual thing, as we saw at the Logging Museum it was directing us to!

    That said, getting around the campground loops can be a bit weird - it’s best to have a map in the car, even with the road signage.

    A blue and white directional road sign.

    Waste & Water Services

    The water fill station is a half loop on the side of the road, located soon after you pass the gatehouse on the way into the park.

    It’s definitely designed to be accessed on the way in, but you CAN turn into it when leaving the campground - it’s just a bit of a tight turn.

    The fill station starts as a wide single lane before splitting into 2 lanes. There’s a fill station on the outside of each lane, with a third fill platform and hose located in between the two lanes. All hoses are threaded.

    The Trailer Sanitation Station is located a bit further into the park, shortly after the bridge, and right before the main road splits off into the two campgrounds.

    This is most easily accessed from the Assinika Campground (on the way out of the park), but you can access it when leaving the Chicot Campground, or on the way into the park - it’ll just be a tight turn.

    Anyway, this is a half loop on the side of the road. The road of the loop is quite rough and hilly, with a steep hill down after the platform. If you have a trailer, expect to hit your hitch - it was clear that many people have done just that.

    Anyway, this is a single lane with no bypass, with one dump platform. I would imagine it gets quite busy at the end of a weekend, given the size of the park.

    2 part image showing the Marten River Provincial Park Trailer Sanitation Station.
    The Trailer Sanitation Station
    In terms of garbage and recycling, we didn’t see any areas to collect waste in the campground areas, but there’s a large garbage and recycling depot at the front of the park, across from the water fill station.

    The recycle bins are on ground level, but throwing away your garbage involves walking up stairs to a platform, and throwing it over a gate into a trailer.

    The garbage and recycling area at Marten River Provincial Park.

    Connectivity

    Our cell reception was a bit ... wonky.

    Upon arrival, we had absolutely no cell reception at our site, but really good reception pretty much anywhere else through the park - best at the main comfort station, less great at the logging museum.

    Porter was running speed tests on our connection at the campsite a few times - it was stark enough, that he wondered if someone was running a jammer nearby.

    As evening approached on the first night, I ended up with really good cell reception at our site... while Porter still had none.

    We’re both on the same account at Rogers Wireless, so it felt a bit weird running a hotspot off my phone, for him to have any reception at all!

    A small boat on the Marten River.

    Accessibility

    The first thing I noticed in terms of disability accommodation at Marten River Provincial Park is that there is no accessibility information marked on the map.

    The park’s website mentions flush toilets, showers, swimming, and the nature/visitor center (I’m assuming it means the logging museum?) as being barrier-free, so I’m not sure why they don’t have those features marked by the accessibility symbol on the map.

    There are multiple comfort stations and multiple beaches, after all. It’s not written in such a way as to specify that ALL are barrier-free, so we had to drive around to see what was the deal.

    Also - and I’ve said this before - information is an accessibility issue. Where the park doesn’t have reliable cellular activity, people shouldn’t need to have to look at the park’s website to access barrier-free information during their stay.

    Anyway, in terms of actual accessibility:

    One of the accessible campsites and one of the accessible showers.
    One of the accessible campsites and one of the accessible showers.
    The garbage dump is not wheelchair accessible - you have to go up a set of steps and throw your garbage over a railing into a trailer below.

    The Assinika Campground comfort station has no parking spots anywhere near it, though it’s wheelchair accessible itself if you can get to it. It’s located right across from one of the two barrier-free campsites (#163). The washroom on the back side of that building isn’t marked with an accessibility symbol, but it is barrier-free.

    As for the other comfort stations, the Chicot Campground Comfort station is the same as the Assinika one, but with parking. It’s also located next to a barrier-free site - #49.
    The main comfort station - in the middle of the camping area, near the Trailer Sanitation Station - is by far the most accessible, with the best facilities. It doesn’t have a designated accessible parking spot, but then again... neither did the other two. At least this one has a huge parking lot!

    None of the beaches were barrier free. If the park actually had a MobiMat, I definitely would have expected to see one out at the end of August. Sometimes they pull them up at the end of the season, but I can’t see any park doing that before Labour Day.

    That said, the Assinika Beach is going to be the easiest to access/get out onto, for those with Mobility issues. The day use area beach will be the most difficult - it’s down a hill. Unfortunately, the accessibility of each beach is inverse to how I’d rank them, in terms of which I’d most like to hang out on.

    The Logging Museum is in no way barrier free. I’m still questioning why the site said “nature/visitor centre”, but really... the Logging Museum is the only amenity that serves that purpose at the park.

    Anyway, it’s a 0.75 loop of outdoor exhibits. Very hilly, relatively rough ground, nothing is paved. Even if you’re not using a wheelchair, this can be really difficult for those with mobility issues - it really did me in!

    Finally, none of the trails are wheelchair accessible, and the difficulty rating isn’t even specified (info is an accessibility issue!). None of the boat launches have mobility accommodations, either.

    Marten River, on a calm sunny day.

    Pets

    While not mentioned on the park’s website, there is a dog beach at Marten River Provincial Park. It’s located at the boat launch in the 81-100 loop of campsites.

    As a dog beach, it’s super cute - there’s a marshy area off to the left, and nice views of the river. Several dogs were using it when we first got to the park, and they were clearly having the time of their lives.

    One thing to note:

    The dog beach is literally the boat launch. I’d imagine it gets a bit awkward or chaotic when people are looking to use the boat launch AS a boat launch.

    There’s a small parking area there, but none of the picnic tables or benches that I usually see near dog beaches.

    Beyond that, dogs aren’t allowed on any of the other beaches, and all the usual Ontario Provincial Parks rules apply: dogs must be leashed and attended at all times, not allowed to harass other campers/animals/vegetation, can’t make excessive noise, and must be picked up after.

    The dog beach at Marten River Provincial Park, with several dogs and people playing in the water.
    The Dog Beach

    Parking

    Overall, parking shouldn’t be an issue for you at Marten River Provincial Park, with a couple exceptions:

    1. If you’re looking to visit the beach in the Chicot campground, the only parking for it is at the small parking lot at the boat launch next to it.

    2. The trail head for the walking trails only has about 3 parking spots, and it was frequently full during the first day of our stay. (The campground cleared out the second day!)

    Miscellaneous - Night Sky Info

    Marten River Provincial Park is located in an area of very low light pollution, but with some small pockets of light pollution around it. Temiskaming Shores, Timmins, and some other - tiny - towns are scattered to the north, Sudbury to the west, and North Bay to the south.

    That said, those pockets of light pollution are all pretty isolated, and relatively far off.

    So, Marten River Provincial Park is a great place for night sky viewing. The best, most open view of the sky is probably at the main day use area, near the bridge. The beach has a wide open view of the sky.

    In terms of aurora borealis, your best bet for seeing the northern lights is probably from the beach or either boat launch in the Chicot Campground. They’re north facing over the river - and the horizon is decently far off.

    The caveat here is that there are some cabins and such on the other side of the river, so you might get some degree of light pollution from those.

    If you’re interested in possibly seeing the northern lights, check out our posts: Aurora Hunting, How to Photograph the Northern Lights, Can I See the Northern Lights Tonight?, and Where to See Northern Lights in Ontario.

    2 part image showing a hand  pointing north from the Marten River Provincial Park dog beach, and the northern lights from the same vantage point.
    Northern Lights, as seen from the dog beach / boat launch.

    Campground Amenities & Info

    Here’s some basic information on then amenities at Marten River Provincial Park:

    Creature Comforts

    There are 3 comfort stations at Marten River Provincial Park: 1 in each campground, and a main comfort station in between the two campgrounds.

    The campground comfort stations are tiny - each is basically a shower building with flush toilets also available.

    Each of these has a bear-proof food storage locker outside it and are basically the same, though only one has any parking - the Chicot Campground.

    One of the mini comfort stations, and 2 outhouses.
    One of the mini comfort stations, and 2 outhouses.
    The main comfort station is located near the Trailer Sanitation Station - you turn towards Chicot campground, then take the first left.

    This is a much nicer, more modern comfort station than the other two, with flush toilets, showers, and laundry facilities. It also has a lot of parking available.

    Beyond the comfort stations, there are a few vault toilets scattered throughout the park.

    5 part image showing various aspects of the main comfort station at Marten River Provincial Park.
    The Main Comfort Station

    Park Store

    There’s a cute little campground store located in the Park Office, near the park entrance.

    It’s got a fairly big selection of clothing, as well as books, firewood, ice, maps, and various other souvenir items. The display of stuffed animals was especially cute, and it felt a bit like a small museum gift boutique.

    Unfortunately, they were out of park stickers at the time of our arrival.

    Usually we order the stickers for all the campground we plan to visit in a season, but with this trip being so last minute, we’ve been buying the stickers at each park.

    6 part image showing the Marten River Provincial Park store.
    The Park Store

    Visitor Centre

    There’s no formal Visitor Center at Marten River Provincial Park, but that basic function is served by a replica logging camp.

    Located near the day use area, it’s a series of log buildings and old equipment (from the early 1900s, if I recall correctly).

    There’s also a museum and theatre, apparently - they must have been in one of the buildings and closed when we visited, as we didn’t see them. Probably in that first building, as I don’t recall seeing other identification on it.

    Anyway, the attractions are all laid out along a loop of trail with some interconnecting paths. Walking the outer loop is about 0.75 km from the parking lot and back. The trail is over rough ground, with some hilly and steep sections.

    Along the way, you’ll see buildings like a blacksmith shop, cookery, hay shed and stable. Each has a sign outside with some information about the building, so you can still learn, even if the buildings are closed at the time you visit.

    Some also have a sign with a QR code, inviting you to watch a video about that particular display.

    8 part image showing various views at the Marten River Provincial Park logging museum.
    The Logging Museum
    Once you pass the section with the buildings, you’ll find the equipment displays.

    These were pretty cool - again, each with a sign talking about the history and/or use of the item you’re looking at. We saw and learned about a cadge sleigh, large water tanker, logging sleigh, wooden plow, and more.

    The most interesting piece, IMHO, was the “crazy wheel”. It was a type of winch they used for helping lower sleighs down steep hills.

    All around, a unique attraction to visit when camping!

    8 part image showing various views at the Marten River Provincial Park logging museum.
    The Logging Museum

    Day Use Area

    The day use area is SUPER cute.

    There’s a large, very well maintained beach volleyball court overlooking the beach, with a playground off to the side.

    Just past that playground - kind of around the corner and out of view, near the bridge - there’s a set of horseshoe pits.

    The picnic area kind of sprawls as grassy area over and around the beach, and the whole area gives you great views of all the action down on the water.

    There was a LOT of activity in the area, during our stay. Jet skis, kayaks, stand up paddle boards, people fishing, etc. I think it’s the most active day use area we’d seen in a WHILE!

    5 part image showing the day use area at Marten River Provincial Park.
    The Day Use Area

    Rentals

    Marten River Provincial Park rents canoes, kayaks, and stand-up paddleboards. They also have trailer storage available for rent.

    Beyond that, they’re part of the OFAH Tackleshare Program. This is an equipment loaning program run by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, which aims to get people involved in fishing.

    So, there are fishing rods and tackle available to borrow, at no cost.

    A rack of bright red rental canoes and kayaks.

    Campsite Details

    There are just over 200 campsites at Marten River Provincial Park, which are spread out over two campgrounds: Assinika Campground to the south, and Chicot Campground to the north.

    Really, there’s something for everyone in terms of camping at this park.

    About half the sites are electrical, and there are two generator-free areas - one in each campground.

    The Assinika Campground generator free area is all non-electrical sites, while the generator free area in Chicot also has a few electrical sites in with the non-electric sites.

    As usual, each there are fire pits at each campsite, along with a picnic table.

    Beyond those basics, you’ve got a range of styles - some campsites that are wide open to the road, some that have a more private laneway from the road.

    There are some pull through sites, some with a water view - or water access even! - and some are even the style where you park off the road, and carry your tent and gear down to a gorgeous waterfront site below.

    2 part image showing a split level campsite at Marten River Provincial Park.
    One of the split level campsites.
    Most sites are just a short walk from some form of communal water access - a beach or boat launch.

    Some of the roads are relatively narrow, but most are in good condition. There are exceptions - we encountered some pretty rough/hilly road in some areas. Also, it’s a weird spaghetti mess of a layout.

    All around though, a really nice campground!

    8 part image showing various campsites at Marten River Provincial Park.
    Some of the campsites we saw.
    Our campsite was our first stop upon entering the park, and we were pleasantly surprised - I hadn’t remembered that it was a pull through site!

    There’s something almost luxurious about pulling into your site at the end of a drive day, and NOT having to immediately worry about unhooking the tow car.

    We were surprised by the amount of privacy in the site. We could HEAR campers nearby, but couldn’t see them.

    It was also nice and level - no complaints at all!

    One weird thing to note, though: most of the roads were one-way, including the loop with our pull through site. The post with the site number was posted on the EXIT of our little half-loop, though.

    If we hadn’t been paying close attention to the map, we would have had to pull past the entrance to our site in order to find out which number it was, then do another loop of the area to get back to the entrance to the site.

    Marten River, on a calm sunny day.

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    Entertainment and Activity

    Here’s some information on the various types of outdoor activities you can engage in, at Marten River Provincial Park:

    Hiking

    There’s a single trail system at Marten River Provincial Park; Porter called it “The Ice Cream Cone Trails”.

    Yes, on the map it definitely looks like one!

    This is a set of 3 trail half loops, so you can go for a short walk (0.8 km), or longer. The trail names and distances are listed with times, rather than difficulty:

    Pine Marten Trail (Yellow): 0.8km, 30 minutes.
    Old Growth Trail (Orange): 3.5 km, 1hr 15 minutes.
    Transition Trail (Blue): 4.2 km, 1hr 45 minutes.

    Given the way it’s laid out, you can even loop back and forth on them to come up with an even longer trail, given the setup.

    Overall, we’d rate it as a moderate hike difficulty.

    Along the way, you can see a huge old white pine - 350 years old! - in some remnant stands of massive pines, and travel though a variety of forest types.

    Due to the uncertainty about trail difficulty, Porter did the trail alone. Here’s what he had to say:

    4 part image showing various views at the Marten River Provincial Park hiking trail system.
    The Hiking Trails
    “I took the Transition Trail, the outermost loop of trail, which takes you through the Pine Marten Trail, then the Old Growth Trail.

    I also took the small side trail to the bike trail, leading to the outlook on the Marten River. Immediately the trail starts off well into the moderate difficulty range, with lots of boulders and tree roots, and moderate inclines throught the entire trail.

    There are boardwalk sections that are easy, but expect rough footing for most of the trail. The forest is lush and beautiful, but it was difficult for birding because it's so thick.

    The 350 year old white pine tree is very large and stands out among the mature pine forest for sure, but there's no sign in the surrounding area so keep an eye out for it.

    Trail junctions for the smaller loops are well labeled; there are colored trail blazes as well. You can simply follow the colors that of the route you choose.”

    4 part image showing various views at the Marten River Provincial Park hiking trail system.
    The Hiking Trails
    “The path that goes to the bike trail is very easy to miss, I only saw it because I was burding in that area and saw a little orange flag at the ground.

    There are little orange flags every several meters on a narrow path that's pretty short. When you get to the bike trail it's another one or two hundred meters to the water. It's a lovely overlook with a picnic table and nice view of the lake.

    Continuing back on the rest of the trail is a similar kind of terrain, kind of alternating between boreal forest areas with boardwalks and dense mature forest with the boulders and roots to walk over.

    I mapped it at 4.78 km but I accidentally started my map late, and since I walked over to the bike path and overlook, my mapping software is not going to be accurate for the actual trail.”

    4 part image showing various views at the Marten River Provincial Park hiking trail system.
    The Hiking Trails

    Biking

    Marten River allows parking on the park roads, but the real draw is the bike trail.

    We haven’t seen a lot of bike trails lately, and this looks to be a nice one. It’s only 2 km long - running more or less parallel to the hiking trail system - but it ends at a picnic area next to the river.

    The bike trail parking is kind of weird, though. There’s a road to a loop with some little alcoves - probably a couple of parking spots each - and it’s not very clear where you're supposed to park legally.

    At the time of our visit, some guy in a big truck parked parallel to the inside of the loop, and was half-blocking the road, as a result.

    4 part image showing various views along the bike trail at Marten River Provincial Park.
    The Bike Trail

    Swimming

    There are 3 beaches at Marten River Provincial Park - one in each campground, and one in the day use area. All are (mostly!) sandy beaches with a bouyed swimming area, and a gradual drop off into the river.

    Some notes on the different beach areas:

    Assinika Campground Beach: This beach has a small parking area across the road from it, and is a bit more marshy than the others. There’s some vegetation in the water to the left of the marked swimming area, and a swing set nearby.

    4 part image showing the Assinika campground beach at Marten River Provincial Park.
    Assinika Campground Beach

    Chicot Campground Beach: There is no parking available at this beach, but there’s some parking at the boat launch that’s around the corner from it.

    2 part image showing the chicot campground beach at Marten River Provincial Park.
    Chicot Beach
    Day Use Area Beach: The largest beach in the park, it’s located down a hill from the day use parking. It’s sandy, but there are a lot of rocks in the sand.

    As always, there are no lifeguards posted at any of the beaches, and visitors swim at their own risk.

    2 part image showing the day use beach at Marten River Provincial Park.
    The Day Use Beach

    Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

    One of the highlights of our visit to Marten River Provincial Park was the young Pileated Woodpeckers! We were thrilled with seeing one on our first drive-through of the park ... then we saw another the same day!

    They are one of Porter’s favourite birds of all time. Basically little pterodactyls, but with red mohawks!

    As he was photographing the second one, a park employee came up to him to tell him that the Logging Museum area was great for birding, with TONS of birds hanging out around the displays.

    Obviously we headed over there, and were treated to a bunch of woodpeckers and warblers.

    During our entire stay at Marten River park we heard and/or saw:

    American Crow, American Redstart, American Robin, Black-and-White Warbler, Black-Capped Chickadee, Blue-Headed Vireo, Blue Jay, Broad-Winged Hawk, Brown Creeper, Canada Warbler, Cedar Waxwing, Chipping Sparrow, Common Grackle, Common Raven, Downy Woodpecker, Golden-Crowned Kinglet,Hairy Woodpecker, Hermit Thrush, House Sparrow, Killdeer, Magnolia Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Northern Flicker, Northern Parula, Pileated Woodpecker, Pine Siskin, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, Red-Eyed Vireo, Ruffed Grouse, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, White-Throated Sparrow, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Yellow Warbler

    20 part image showing the birds listed in the caption.
    Row 1: American Crow, American Robin, American Robin (Juvenile), Blue Jay
    Row 2: Chestnut-Sided Warbler, Cooper's Haw, Downy Woodpecker, Hermit Thrush
    Row 3: Lincoln's Sparrow, Mourning Cloak Butterfly, Northern Flicker, Ovenbird
    Row 4: Pileated Woodpecker, Ruffed Grouse, Song Sparrow, Swainson's Thrush
    Row 5: Swamp Sparrow, White-Throated Sparrow, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-Rumped Warbler
    At one point, there was a snake in our campsite, which I was less than thrilled about.

    It was trying to eat a huge toad, though... so I’d imagine that toad was even less thrilled about the situation than I was!

    A garter snake trying to eat a large toad, as the toad looks at the camera.
    The American Toad was having a bad day.

    Finally, we saw a ton of wildflowers and fungi during the course of our stay. The wild flowers definitely looked to be at the end of their season, though.

    20 part image showing various wildflowers and fungi.
    Some of the Flora & Funga we saw.

    Boating

    Boating - and watersports in general - were HUGE at Marten River Provincial Park, at least during our stay. We constantly saw canoes, kayakers, people paddleboarding, and jet skis out on the river.

    There are a few boat launches throughout the park, and they’re all wildly different in terms of set up, approach, etc. Starting at the NW corner of the park and working our way around:

    Dog Beach Boat Launch

    This is a small, kind of weird boat launch. As mentioned earlier, the entirety of the boat launch ALSO serves as the sole dog beach in the park.

    It’s a cute area, though. As a heads up, the road down to that boat launch has moderate water runoff damage, with big channels carved into the road.

    2 part image showing the dog beach boat launch at Marten River Provincial Park.
    The Dog Beach Boat Launch
    Chicot Campground Boat Launch

    This is the one located in the center of that campground, next to the beach.

    It’s got a fairly large parking lot, and there were some boat trailers parked there when we visited.

    Several small motor boats were pulled up on the shore along the area.

    The actual boat launch spot was off to the left, with a pretty rough approach with a short drop.

    2 part image showing the chicot campground boat launch at Marten River Provincial Park.
    Chicot Boat Launch
    Park Office Boat Launch

    I don’t know what else to call this one, it’s the boat launch located at the front of the park, right after you pass the gatehouse on the way in.

    The turnoff isn’t super well marked, and we’d wondered if we took a wrong turn, looking down that road.

    As it turns out, the road took a turn at the bottom of the short hill, into a bit of a parking lot.

    Anyway. This was probably the best boat launch for actual trailers, despite not having a TON of parking. (Chicot was best for parking).

    The road down is solid and even, and it’s the only boat launch in the park that actually has a concrete ramp. It’s short and steep, but it’s there.

    It’s also the only one in the park with a dock.

    The front boat launch at Marten River Provincial Park.
    The Boat Launch by the Front Gate
    Assinika Campground Boat Launch

    This is located at the southernmost point of the park (next to site #135), and it’s the least attractive option of all the boat launches.

    Very pretty area, but logistically not great - there’s no parking, and it’s definitely the roughest drop into the water of all the boat launches.

    It’s very uneven road with a rough, sharp drop - over the edge of some large rocks - into shallow water. I definitely think it’s best seen as a canoe or kayak launch, than anything you’d want to drive a boat trailer into.

    2 part image showing the Assinika campground boat launch at Marten River Provincial Park.
    Assinika Campground Boat Launch

    Fishing

    We saw a ton of people fishing during our stay, both from out on boats, and while standing on the rocky outcrops along the shore.

    In particular, there’s a spot across the bridge from the day use area, with a little pull-off from the road, a picnic table, etc. A short path over the rocks goes down to the water - this seems to be a popular fishing spot.

    It’s not marked on the map, though. If you’re coming into the park, it’s on the left as soon as you cross the bridge.

    Also note: You’re not allowed to fish from the bridge.

    Anyway, Lake Trout, Northern Pike, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, and Walleye seem to be the list of fish you can expect to find in Marten River itself, but you can venture over to nearby lakes for Brook Trout and Lake Whitefish, if you prefer.

    2 part image showing a day use pull off area next to the bridge at Marten River Provincial Park.
    This area was super popular for fishing during our stay.

    Discovery Program

    Like many of Ontario’s Provincial Parks, Marten River Provincial Park runs some Discovery Programming during the summer months.

    Beyond the actual Discovery Program, the park hosts an annual event called “Lumberjack Days”.

    It didn’t seem to be on during the time of our stay - and I didn’t see the dates on the park website - but it sounds fun.

    The park description mentions various logging contests, being entertained by the antics of chainsaw carvers, a logger’s bean lunch and more.

    I would hope there would be some Log Driver’s Waltz involved, but there is no mention of it. Missed opportunity for some key Canadiana!

    A white board listing the Marten River Provincial Park Discovery programming.

    Niantic Games

    Your best bet for game play in the park is to head to the Winter Camp / Logging Museum area. There are a TON of Ingress Portals/ Pokestops / Pokegyms / spawn points, etc there.

    Also, we had really good cellular reception in that area.

    Beyond that, there are a few portals / etc along the trails, and one at the Assinika campground beach.

    Kayakers on a calm Marten River, on a sunny day.

    Final Thoughts

    We’re shocked that we hadn’t really heard much about Marten River Provincial Park before we actually booked there. It’s a super cute park, with a LOT going for it.

    The first day of our stay - Sunday of the Labour Day Long Weekend - was definitely more peopley than we tend to like, but that’s to be expected. The day after that, the park completely cleared out and it was BLISSFUL!

    We lucked into some gorgeous weather, the birding was amazing, and we had a great time.

    While it’s not one of our top 10 parks (there’s some SERIOUS competition for those spots!), we’re definitely looking forward to visiting again in the future!

    Marten River, on a calm sunny day.

    More Near-North Ontario Provincial Parks & Places to See

    Want to read some more about the parks we've camped and at places we've seen in Near-Northern Ontario? Here are some more posts!

    Near-Northern Ontario Campground Reviews:

    Arrowhead Provincial Park
    Chutes Provincial Park
    Driftwood Provincial Park
    Fairbank Provincial Park
    Grundy Lake Provincial Park
    Kap-Kig-Iwan Provincial Park
    Mikisew Provincial Park
    Killbear Provincial Park
    Oastler Lake Provincial Park
    Six Mile Lake Provincial Park
    Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park

    Near-Northern Ontario Places to See:

    Big Chute Marine Railway
    Fielding Bird Sanctuary
    French River Provincial Park
    Hardy Lake Provincial Park
    Onaping Falls
    Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Provincial Park
    Screaming Heads

    Want to explore beyond Near-Northern Ontario? Check out our full list of Campground Reviews, Ontario Waterfalls, and other Places to See.

    We also have a ton of Camping Recipes to cook up, while on your adventures!

    Marten River, on a calm sunny day.

    Thanks for Reading!

    If you loved this post - or have any questions about it - please leave a comment below! We'd also love it if you would consider sharing the link on social media!

    Marten River, on a calm sunny day.

    Marten River, on a calm sunny day.

    A beach on Marten River.

    A picnic table overlooking Marten River.

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