Lake of Two Rivers Campground

During our recent stay at Mew Lake Campground in Algonquin Park, we decided to get a closer look at Lake of Two Rivers.

We’d checked it out briefly on an earlier stay at Algonquin, and it looked like a great spot! The large sandy beach was beautiful and - we thought, anyway - would be a great place for aurora hunting.

Being almost right in the middle of the Highway 60 corridor, it seemed like the right place to set up “base camp” for a few days of adventure - relatively close to almost everything Algonquin has to offer the outdoor enthusiast.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to luck into a reservation this season. I guess booking a stay over a long weekend in the summer may not have been the best idea, LOL!

Anyway, Lake of Two Rivers campgrounds is the oldest of the Algonquin PP campgrounds, having been established way back in 1893.

It’s also the one with the most entertaining name, and the most likely to trip us up when talking about it.

Having grown up in Manitoba, “Lake of...” is generally followed up with “The Woods”. I can’t tell you how many times I said “Lake of the.. Rivers?” when talking about this campground.

Then, there’s the matter of the popular abbreviation of the name - LOTR. Pretty much everyone in all the camping Facebook groups we’re in use this, and - let me tell you - it was really confusing at first.

All that talk about Lord of the Rings in a camping ground seemed so random, LOL.

Anyway, obviously we took to referring to it as “Lake of the Rings” and “Lord of Two Rivers”, so I’m going to have to work to NOT slip into that, when reviewing it.

My brain farts aside, it really is a great campground - let me tell you all about it!

The Basics:

Campground Name: Lake of Two Rivers, Algonquin Provincial Park
Address: ON-60, Unorganized South Nipissing District, ON K0J 2M0
Website: https://www.ontarioparks.ca/park/algonquin/lakeoftworivers
Price: Ontario Provincial Parks uses a pricing matrix across all their parks. See 2024 Camping Fees for more details on reservation fees.
Reservations: Ontario Parks Reservations
Park Classification: Natural Environment
Season: May 10, 2024 to October 27, 2024

Logistics

Some basic information to help you plan your stay...

Registration and Check In

This is definitely one of the campgrounds where you’ll want to be sitting on the Ontario Parks website before 7 am, 5 months in advance of your arrival date, logged in to your account, with your best campsite loaded on one computer, and a backup choice loaded on another.

During the peak seasons, the reservations Hunger Games stress is real! SO many people competing for so few campsites!

Anyway, the odds were not in our favour, this year.

Algonquin Provincial Park campgrounds are all on paperless permits now. If YOU get lucky, registering your license plate online - ahead of time - means you can skip the campground check in process on arrival.

You know, unless you need a map or need to ask the park staff something, anyway.

Maps and Signage

This is a really simple, straightforward campground layout, so the map is super easy to follow.

There isn’t a ton of signage around the campground, but it covers the basics. You won’t get lost here, especially if you have a map on hand.

Services

There’s one main trailer sanitation station for the vast majority of Algonquin Provincial Park, which is... less than ideal. (To put it MILDLY, on long weekends!)

It’s about 4 km east of the campground, just off Highway 60 - directly across from East Beach Picnic Area.

The Poop Loop is 2 lanes, with no bypass lane. There are 2 dump platforms, then 2 fill platforms, and it’s notorious for having hours-long waits on weekends.

Might want to bring a book. Maybe something Tolkien... You might actually get through The Silmarillion on a long weekend Monday, from the sounds of it!

Anyway, there’s a second trailer sanitation station at Rock Lake Campground, but that’s a lot less convenient to get to - it’s further up the highway, then ~8 km down a rough road.

Accessibility

So, LOTR Campground has both comfort stations as being barrier-free, and there are two barrier-free campsites. The campsites are next to the comfort station in the section closest to the beach, so that’s nice.

The beach has one disability parking spot, I think. The signage is confusing, and seemed to be generally ignored.

As far as accessibility goes, that’s about it. There are no disability accommodations in place at the beach (Rock Lake Beach has a Mobi-Mat and a water wheelchair, though).

If you’re otherwise mobility impaired, this campground should be fine. It’s smallish, laid out so everything is pretty close to everything else, etc.

The sand at the beach is the heavy, hard-packed kind, so pretty easy to walk on.

Outside of the campground specifically, the visitor centre, Spruce Bog Boardwalk Trail, and Logging museum are all wheelchair accessible.

Pets

There’s a small, partially fenced-in dog beach and pet recreation area on the beach.

It’s supposed to be an on-leash area (it’s not fully separated from everything else), but no one seemed to be following the rule when we were there.

So, if you have a reactive dog, just keep in mind it may be *functionally* an off-leash area.

As a note: The park’s website says it’s north of the main beach, it’s not. It’s on the south end of the beach parking lot area, as indicated on the map.

In person, it’s not labeled well... and people without dogs seemed to be using it as overflow storage for kayaks.

Parking

The sites are generally big enough to accommodate at least one extra vehicle, and most are walking distance from the beach. The comfort stations have a few spots each, and didn’t seem particularly busy when we went through.

The parking at the beach, however, was abject chaos.

If you’re able to walk to the beach, that’s probably a better idea than driving there.

Connectivity

We had really good connection on/near the beach area, especially when we went late at night for photography.

I found that internet got spotty in some campground areas, the further from the lake / road you got.

As always, your mileage may vary. We really haven’t spent enough time in that campground to get a solid feel for when/where the good connection is, beyond the beach being fairly reliable.

Miscellaneous

Lake of Two Rivers Campground is in an area with very little light pollution, and is great for night sky photography - SORT of.

The south side of the beach - near the dog beach enclosure - gives you a pretty good view of the northern sky, as well as a great view over the lake itself.

The thing is, Highway 60 has a lot of traffic - even late at night - so if you’re looking to shoot the Aurora Borealis / Northern Lights, you’ll constantly be contending with those headlights.

Also, when camping in the summer - expect a fairly steady stream of headlights into the parking lot. We were shocked at how many people we picking up canoes at 11 pm, or just hanging out in the parking lot in the dark.

We did get some fantastic photos of the Milky Way, though. Aiming the camera up - and away from the highway - skirts most of the location issues I mentioned.

Campground Amenities & Info

Here’s some basic information on the amenities at Lake of Two Rivers Campground:

Creature Comforts

There are two comfort stations in the campground, one on either side of the main campground road. Both of them have showers, flush toilets, and laundry facilities.

Aside from the two comfort stations, there are 3 vault toilets - 2 sets of 2 on the west side of the main road, and 1 set of 2 on the east side.

Weirdly, the east side is the one next to the beach. I’d hate to see what condition THAT set of outhouses is in. 4 stalls for that busy of a beach? Yikes.

Park Store

Lake of Two Rivers Store is located just outside of the campground, and there’s a short, direct trail to get there from the Turtle Campground.

This serves as the main camp store for the entire park, selling souvenirs, camping supplies, groceries, ice cream, etc. Bike rentals are available, as well.

There’s also the Lake of Two Rivers Café and Grill, which has a pretty interesting menu AND the ability to order online for pickup!

Visitor Centre

There are 3 separate areas that function in the realm of “visitor centre” in Algonquin Provincial Park.

The first is the actual Visitor Centre, which has a small bookstore, café, and some museum-quality displays. Outside, there’s an outlook over the forested area behind it, and a little ramp up to a fire tower lookout.

The second is the Logging Museum, a (mostly) outdoors museum. This is also one of the only 3 “easy” difficulty trails in the park.

See our Canisbay Lake Campground for more details on these two amenities.

Beyond those, there’s also the Algonquin Art Centre, an art gallery.

Each of these are located along the highway, with the Art Centre and Visitor Centre being ~10+ km away (opposite directions), and the logging museum being around 25 km away.

Day Use Area

There’s a bit of a day use area at the LOTR beach, with a volleyball court near the beach. I don’t remember seeing a picnic area there, though.

There’s also the Lake of Two Rivers day use area... which is actually outside of the campground and down the highway a bit. That’s got picnic tables on a large grassy area by the lake, with parking right off the main highway.

Slightly further down the highway is the East Beach Picnic Area.

Campsite Details

Lake of Two Rivers has car camping campgrounds on either side of the main road (going from the entrance straight to the beach), and each of those campgrounds is divided into 2 lobes - 3 named campgrounds in all.

The two campgrounds on the side closest to the beach make up the Madaouskarini Campground (“People of the Shallows”). The lobe closest to the beach parking lot is made of all electrical sites, while the other lobe - closer to the highway - are all non-electric sites.

Generally speaking, the roads are in better condition in this section, than in the two campgrounds across the road. The campsites are pretty crammed together, with *zero* privacy.

In my notes, it says “HOPE YOU LIKE PEOPLE!”, LOL!

Anyway, sites 77-82 have really nice views and are a bit more private *from other campsites* than the rest of the campsites in this area, BUT they open up onto the road to the beach, so would get a wild amount of traffic during the day.

On the other side of the road are the Mikiziw (Eagle) and Mikinak (Turtle) Campgrounds - both with pretty rough roads throughout.

Turtle Campground has very little privacy, and the sites seem to blend together. They’re also really slopey and not level, in general.

Eagle campground has big sites, some with weird shapes, and also really un-level. There’s a little more privacy in this section, though ... and sites 261-232ish are along a bit of a cliff, with a cool view.

Entertainment and Activity

The location of Lake of Two Rivers Campground - almost right in the middle of the Highway 60 corridor - gives you great access to a lot of the activities Algonquin Provincial Park has to offer.

Here are some details:

Hiking

There are a bunch of different hiking trails throughout Algonquin Park, of different distances, difficulties, and terrain/views.

Weirdly, we haven’t done any of the ones closest to LOTR Campground! These are:

Bat Lake Trail, 5.6 km, moderate. Located at km 30, this one sounds really cool - it takes you to Bat Lake, which is an acidic lake!

Hemlock Bluff Trail, 3.5 km, moderate. Located at located at km 27.2, it takes you through some woods to a view over Jack Lake.

Track and Tower Trail, 7.7km, moderate. Located at km 25 km, this one seems really popular - the parking lot always seems pretty busy! Anyway, this one takes you to a lookout over Cache Lake, and has an optional side trail

Two Rivers Trail, 2.1 km, moderate. Located at km 31, it’s a loop trail that takes you up to a cliff. You can access it via the parking lot on Highway 60, or walk/bike the 5.5 km stretch of the Old Railway Bike Trail that goes between this trail, and Mew Lake Campground.

Biking

Part of the campground roads in Lake of Two Rivers Campground are considered a bike trail - from the beach, along the main road to the Turtle Campground, and the loop of road around that campground lobe.

From there, there’s a little bike path that takes you alongside the highway to Mew Lake Campground, and connects up with the Old Railway Bike Trail.

It’s an abandoned rail trail - wide, flat, and level, slow changes in grade. It’s over 16 km long, and goes from Rock Lake to Mew Lake, with an extension trail that goes out to the Track and Tower Trail.

Swimming

Lake of Two Rivers has a beautiful beach - fairly large, actually sandy amazing view out over the lake. I think it might actually be the nicest of the beaches at the Hwy 60 corridor campgrounds.

This is a bit of a mixed blessing - it’s an absolute zoo on a sunny day!

If you need to get away from the crowds, though, there’s another two beach areas on the same lake.

A parking lot on the highway is the access point for a day use area and boat launch, and on the far end of the lake from the campground is East Beach.

Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

Algonquin is known for having recorded over 260 bird species throughout the park, and people come from all over the world to see them. What you may see varies wildly based on the season, weather, and location.

We saw QUITE a few different kinds of birds during our stay (see our Mew Lake Campground Review for more details and photos!)... but not so much in Lake of Two Rivers, specifically.

Red-Eyed Vireo, Blue Jays, and a Common Loon - that’s about it!

Boating

Lake of Two Rivers seems to be a SUPER popular place for all manner of smaller watercraft.

Canoes, Kayaks, and paddle boards are launched from the parking lot area of the campground, and there usually seems to be multiple people canoeing and kayaking all over the lake.

The Madawaska River enters and exits the lake, so you have access to get to Cache Lake from one entry, and out to Pog Lake, Whitefish Lake, and Rock Lake from the far end.

The parking lot gets pretty hectic, and canoe rentals get delivered right to that area.

Beyond that, powered boats are actually allowed on Lake of Two Rivers. It’s only 20 horsepower motors or less, though, and the boat launch for those is on the other side of the lake, at East Beach.

Fishing

The two most common fish you’ll find in Lake of Two Rivers are Lake Trout and Smallmouth Bass, with Brook Trout, Splake, and Yellow Perch also being reported.

That said, the lake is generally seen to be too popular, over fished and with small populations.

All the advice I’ve seen has been to look either for other stocked lakes along Highway 60 (Splake), or go deeper into the park.

If you’re up for some canoeing with portages, you can reach the areas that aren’t hit as hard.

Discovery Program

During the summer, Algonquin Provincial Park has a really robust lineup of Discovery programming and special events.

Most of these - including theatre presentations, live music, and live animal demonstrations - take place at the outdoor theatre in the East Beach Picnic Area, just up the highway a little bit, on the other side of Lake of Two Rivers.

Schedules are posted throughout the campgrounds, and updated weekly.

Niantic Games

There’s a handful of Ingress Portals / Pokestops / Gyms in the campground itself, a couple at the store, and a few more in the day use area a little further up the road.

If you’re camping during an event, though, you might want to head to the Visitor Centre, where there’s a nice concentration of them, plenty of spawn points / energy on the ground, and really reliable connectivity.

Final Thoughts

We’ve really liked this campground ever since we first saw it during our trip to Canisbay Lake Campground last fall.

It was IMPOSSIBLE to get reservations here, for our summer trip. The 7am Ontario Parks Reservations Hunger Games was NOT in our favour, LOL.

That said, when we did a drive around for this post, the number of people *everywhere* kind of made us glad we were at Mew Lake Campground, instead.

It’s a gorgeous campground, the sites are huge, and the beach would be perfect for night sky photography... if not for the crowds.

We’ll probably try again next year, but more on the shoulder season, rather than aiming for the most popular time of the camping season.

We’re just not people-people enough for LOTR Campground in the summertime, LOL!

More Algonquin Provincial Park Campground Reviews

Want to read some more of what we have to say about the campgrounds and attractions in Algonquin Park? Here are some more reviews!

Canisbay Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Kearney Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Mew Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Pog Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Provoking Falls, Algonquin Provincial Park
Raccoon Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Rock Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Tea Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Whitefish Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park

Interested in seeing our other Provincial Park reviews? We've got a huge - and ever-growing! - list of them here: 2 Nerds in a Truck Campground Reviews