Fitzroy Provincial Park

Located in the Ottawa Valley, Fitzroy PP is a smallish recreation park that FEELS fairly rural, while still being pretty close to the Ottawa area.

(It’s about an hour away from downtown Ottawa, and a 25 minute drive from Arnprior.)

We knew pretty much nothing about this park, as it doesn’t tend to get mentioned in the Ontario camping social media groups we’re in.

While our trip ended up being cut short by a day, we had a great time exploring this park.

Spoilers: It was a weird mix of beautiful natural environment, and ... closures.

We have a lot to tell you about, so let’s get right to it!

The Basics:

Campground Name: Fitzroy Provincial Park
Address: 5201 Canon Smith Drive, Fitzroy Harbour, ON K0A 1X0
Website: https://www.ontarioparks.ca/park/fitzroy
Price: Ontario Provincial Parks uses a pricing matrix across all their parks. See 2026 Camping Fees for more details.
Reservations: Ontario Parks Reservations
Park Classification: Recreational
Season: May 8, 2026 to October 25, 2026
Park Warden: 612 355-4946

Logistics

Some basic information to help you plan your stay at Fitzroy Provincial Park:

Registration and Check In

As part of a multi-stop trip through Eastern Ontario, I made sure to book our site 5 months in advance, right at 7am.

We were staying over some weekdays in May, though - right after the long weekend - so that proved to be unnecessary - very few people staying in the park at the time!

Check in was quick and easy, as usual.

The park office had some extra brochures about the park and its trails, so Porter made sure to grab one of each. He then had to go back in to swap one out, as one of them was completely in French!

So, for those who are monolingual like us - be sure to pay attention to which brochures you’re taking. Unlike some other places - with each brochure being bilingual - the ones at Fitzroy Provincial Park are completely in either English or French.

Maps and Signage

Some basic information about finding your way around Fitzroy Provincial Park:

Park Map

The Fitzroy Provincial Park Map is generally pretty good - and you’ll want it with you, your first couple of times through the park, as the signage situation isn’t great (more on that in a minute!).

That said, it’s not without its... quirks. A few things I noticed:

1. The actual trailer sanitation station and the single, separate water fill station are both marked as being “Trailer Sanitary Station” on the map.

Usually, a solitary fill platform will have a separate symbol to denote it as such.

2. All of the sites are colour coded as being electrical, non-electrical, or barrier-free electrical on the map. Love to see it ... except that’s the only accessibility info marked on the map!

If only one of the two were going to be marked on the map, I guess I’d prefer to know which facilities are barrier free, rather than the campsites. (Especially because Fitzroy actually has some barrier-free washrooms *aside* from in the comfort stations!

3. On that note, the map doesn’t differentiate between traditional outhouses / vault toilets, and the nicer, newer composting style in little brick buildings.

A lot of the parks will have separate types of facilities marked differently on the map - something I love, as someone who will do anything to avoid using the traditional style outhouses!

Signage

Our experience with directional signage at Fitzroy Provincial Park definitely started out on a bad note.

Due to the way the trailer fill station was situated at Voyageur Provincial Park, we opted not to fill our water tank there, and just do it when we showed up at Fitzroy PP.

The set up at Fitzroy - which we’ll get more into in a minute - made that a bit of a hassle, with us having to loop back by the gatehouse, then back around through the gatehouse.

The thing is, there was a fill platform to the right of the gatehouse, in what was the trailer parking area.

Not only did we needlessly loop around a few times because there was NO signage to indicate that, we also parked kind of in front of the building, not knowing that we were supposed to park in that area to the right.

Completely unmarked... from the road it really looked to be an employee parking area, not where we were *supposed* to go!

We were staying in site #221, the campground loops weren’t marked with the site numbers from the main road.

A slight misunderstanding on which right we were supposed to take ended up with us having to take the second (also unmarked) entrance to our loop, which involved an incredibly steep hill up and around the corner.

Honestly shocked to see such a big hill in an RV section, it was a bit scary while towing a car!

Beyond that, the signage will mostly get you where you want to go in the larger area of the park. One exception to that is at the Terrace Trail, as you approach it from the front of the park.

The turnoff to the road has an arrow sign pointing to the left - along the main road - which makes it seem like you’re NOT supposed to turn into the parking there.

We did anyway, and that was the right way to go - the other end of that single-lane road was marked as “do not enter”.

Water & Waste Services

As mentioned, the Trailer Sanitation Station - as well as a separate fill platform - are located at the front of the park.

The Trailer Sanitation Station is definitely set up to be accessed on the way out of the park. As you’re leaving the park - near the gatehouse - there’s even a long, marked lane designated for it - so they appear to be set up to deal with long lines!

There’s no left turn into it from the way in, so you’ll need to drive up by the gate, pull a U-turn, do your thing at the Trailer Sanitation Station, then turn left out of there to head back towards the gatehouse.

Turning left out of the Trailer Sanitation Station isn’t a problem at all, though. One thing to note there, though: Like at Presqu'ile Provincial Park, which lane you use for dumping/filling determines where you’re supposed to turn.

So if you’re leaving the park, it’s best to take the right lane to dump and fill. If you’re headed in, dump and fill on the left.

Anyway, it’s a two-lane setup, with no bypass lanes. It starts with two dump platforms, then two fill platforms with threaded hoses - all on the driver’s side.

The fill station will be on the passenger side of your vehicle, but it’s equipped with a long hose *on a hose reel*. Love to see it!

Beyond that, there are potable water taps located throughout the campgrounds, marked on the map.

Connectivity

Prior to arriving at Fitzroy Provincial Park, most of what I’d read about the cell reception there called it spotty at best.

I had hoped for the best - sometimes those reviews aren’t up-to-date - but was a bit worried when we lost reception as we got close to the park, on the way in.

As it turns out, we had good reception - we even managed to stream TV in the evenings, no problem at all.

We’re on Rogers Wireless - and the park was pretty empty at the time of our visit - your mileage may vary.

Accessibility

All that the park’s website has to say about accessibility is that “All comfort stations offer barrier-free access. There is also a wheelchair ramp at the day use area.”

That’s... not quite true, and definitely not comprehensive information. You wouldn’t know that from the map, though - it ALSO doesn’t feature much (any!) in the way of accessibility info.

Barrier-Free Camping

There are 3 barrier-free campsites at Fitzroy Provincial Park: #48 in the Pine Grove Campground, and #228 and #238 in the Two Rivers Campground.
Interestingly, they all have signs specifying that you must have a disability permit for those sites - love it!

Both of the sites in Two Rivers showed up as being unavailable, but they weren’t behind the barrier - not sure if that’s a long term thing or what.

Anyway, if you’re a wheelchair user, I DEFINITELY recommend going for #48, even if those two other sites do become available. It’s located directly across from the MUCH more accessible of the two comfort stations.

Barrier-Free Facilities

As previously mentioned, the comfort station in Pine Grove Campground is much, much more accessible than the one in Two Rivers Campground - a lot newer, too.

That one has a barrier-free shower that was in great shape and really well outfitted - there’s even a little divider between the toilet and the shower area.

There are also two single-stall barrier-free washrooms, each with a change table.

Interestingly, all the little signs at the side of the door handles are worn so bad you can barely see them ... but they have braille.

Pine Grove Campground also has two “outhouses”, which are both wheelchair accessible composting toilets.

None of the same can be said of the Two Rivers Campground. There was a single barrier-free stall in the multi-stall washroom, and that was it.

There may have been a barrier-free shower, but if there was... it was one of the two that were out of order at the time of our visit. Also, the outhouses in the Two Rivers Campground are all regular (not barrier-free) vault toilets.

Beyond the campgrounds, the washroom buildings at both day use areas are stalls are barrier-free and have flush toilets.

Neither of the day use washrooms are marked as being barrier-free on the map ... but then again, neither are the comfort stations.

Barrier-Free Activities

There’s not a lot in the way of barrier-free activities at Fitzroy Provincial Park.

Neither of the trails are barrier free, though the Carp Trail is easy and short. It should be suitable for many people with mobility issues... when it’s actually open.

The day use area has accessible washrooms - and a couple designated parking spots - but that’s it. We didn’t notice any wheelchair accessible tables, there was no MobiMat on the beach, and the sidewalk to the beach was unusable on account of construction.

Pets

There's a sign at the front of the park that says dog leashes aren't to exceed two meters long... and that’s really all of the information the park provides about dogs.

There’s no dog beach or dog exercise area, and they’re not allowed on either of the swimming beaches.

So, I would assume that all of the regular rules apply: keep the dogs leashed at all times, don’t leave them unsupervised at any time, and don’t allow them to make excessive noise or harass other people, animals, or plants.

They also have to be picked up after, and their droppings properly disposed of. We did not see any poop baggie dispensers, so be sure to bring your own!

Parking

Overall, there’s generally a fair amount of parking where you need it, it just gets weird at some times - like that situation at the front of the park.

The main day use area has straightforward parking. The second day use - closer to the front of the park ... doesn’t have obvious parking.

We’re assuming you’re supposed to park on the lawn along the road, but it’s not marked to direct you to do so. Maybe it’s more obvious later in the season, if the grass gets flatted down with use?

Beyond that, The Terraces Trail has a long driving loop that takes you to maybe 5-6 parking spots right at the trailhead - that’s it.

The Carp Trail has no parking there, but you can park at the garbage area in front of the Pine Grove Campground, if it’s not walkable from your site.

Miscellaneous

A few random bits of info:

1. Fitzroy Provincial Park is in an area of relatively high light pollution, both from Ottawa and Arnprior. It may not be a great place to go stargazing or trying to see the Aurora Borealis. (We were too tired in the evenings to try!)

2. The park’s website mentions both “century-old trees” (white pine) and a “stand of 300-year-old bur oaks”... but no information on WHERE they were. When I Googled, I found a bunch of references quoting them, but absolutely no info on where they actually were!

The park office was closed whenever I thought to call and ask someone... so we never did see those trees. As far as we know, anyway!

3. There’s a set of little paths between the Two Rivers Campground and the two beaches - they’re not all shown on the map, though.

There’s one trail entrance next to site 234 that takes you past a ... I guess it’s a memorial stone? It looks like an amalgamation of multiple stones in a newer concrete setting.

4. An interesting note on the map handout: There is a blurb about Ontario's first modern treaty being negotiated. It covers 13 operating Ontario provincial parks in a 36,000 km square area and Fitzroy's one of them. It ensures people that all 13 parks will continue to be available for public enjoyment.

5. SO MUCH of the park seemed to be gated off or out of service during our stay. One of the trails was out, the boat launch was gated off, and a big section of the campground we were staying in had a barricade.

Flooding seems to be a big issue, but a lot of it had nothing to do with that - multiple showers were out of order - 2/6 at our comfort station alone! - both laundry rooms, etc.

Campground Amenities & Info

Some information on the amenities at Fitzroy Provincial Park:

Creature Comforts

There are a few different types of washroom / comfort station set ups throughout the park: 2 comfort stations in the campgrounds, 2 mini comfort stations in the day use areas, composting toilets and outhouses in the campgrounds.

Pine Grove Campground Comfort Station

The Pine Grove comfort station looks pretty modern. The front of it has four showers, one of which is marked wheelchair accessible. It's across from an accessible campsite and also has one designated parking spot.

The right side of the building has another shower, a non-gendered accessible bathroom, and a multi-stall women's washroom with a change table. There’s also a laundry room, but it was out of order and locked at the time of our visit.

The other side of the building has what appears to be another door to the laundry room, a multi-stall men's washroom, another barrier-free washroom with a change table and another shower.

Two Rivers Campground Comfort Station

The two Rivers comfort stations is a different layout than I've seen it any other park.

The extended front of the building seemed to be linked to 2 doors, but they were unlabelled and locked. I asked about it - this was the laundry room, but it’s permanently out of service now.

There are two small, multi-stall gendered washrooms, each with one accessible stall, and each side of the building has 3 showers. 2 of the 6 showers were out of order at the time of our visit.

As a heads up, the park is planning on tearing down the whole building and replacing it in the fall. So, this comfort station should be a lot nicer / more functional in the future!

Day Use Area Washrooms

The washrooms in the day use areas are small brick buildings with flush toilets.

Composting Toilets & Outhouses

Which kind of toilet you have will depend on which campground you’re in.

The two outhouses in the Pine Grove Campground are much nicer, newer, and more accessible - little brick buildings with composting toilets. Totally acceptable.

The 3 outhouses in the Two Rivers Campground are the old style vault toilets.

Visitor Centre

There is no Visitor Centre at Fitzroy Provincial Park.

Park Store

The park store is super cute, and really well stocked!

Aside from the usual firewood, ice, and Ontario Parks merchandise, they had a coffee bar, an extensive amount of clothing - including cute little camping themed socks and baby onesies.

They also had some jewelry, kids toys, a robust selection of camping equipment and supplies, insect repellants, toiletries, etc.

On the food front, they had some grocery items, a fridge with items like bacon, beer, cheese, chip dip, eggs, and sodas, a freezer full of ice cream treats, and a scooped ice cream bar. They even had freeze-dried Skittles!

Day Use Area

There are two day use areas / picnic areas in the park - one near the front of the park, and the main day use area at the far end of the park.

For the sake of clarity, I refer to that first one as “Lookout Day Use Area”, as it’s not named.

Anyway, I’m calling it the Lookout Day Use, as the defining feature seems to be a lookout.

The lookout itself is kind of blah, but it has a cute setup to frame it / provide some information!

Some are out in the open, some are shaded. Some are off on their own, some are more grouped together. Something for everyone.

There is a single, double stall washroom building in this day-use area, with flush toilets.

Like the Lookout Day Use Area, this one has sprawling grassy areas with picnic tables all over the place.

Most of the picnic tables in this section are shaded, though - this day use area is a lot more treed than the other one.

Beyond the picnic tables, there’s a beach volleyball court, a large playground - with a cute set of nature learning/identification interactive signs - and a beach.

There’s at least one potable water tap at this day use area, and a washroom building with 6 flush toilets.

Note: The park’s website says that there are 3 separate picnic areas in the park. These two are the only we saw - and the only two on their map.

Rentals

Canoe and kayak rentals are handled out of the park store.

We didn’t see any of the rental watercraft, but there were several stands at the main beach for them - I’m guessing that’s where you pick them up, when they’re available / in season.

Campsite Details

There are - in theory - over 200 campsites divided over 2 campgrounds - Pine Grove and Two Rivers. In reality, a big chunk of those sites (in Two Rivers) were gated off and inaccessible, on account of flooding.

Overall, there’s a mix of electric sites and non-electric sites in both campgrounds. The Two Rivers Campground is predominantly electrical sites, while the bulk of the Pine Grove campground is made up of non-electrical sites.

The vibes in the two campgrounds are completely different.

Those in Two Rivers are more open, and feel like there’s less privacy.

The sites in Pine Groves have heavy tree cover - most probably aren’t any more private than the Two Rivers sites, but FEEL like it, on account of that tree canopy - if that makes sense.

Beyond that, there are a lot of gorgeous waterfront sites in Pine Grove - those are all non-electric though. That campground also has some walk-in / walk-down sites, which are also cute.

Beautiful!

We saw someone fishing down there, one of the times we passed by.

If there was group camping, I’m assuming that’s where it was. Either way... obviously not an offering at Fitzroy Provincial Park anymore!

Entertainment and Activity

Some basic information on the things you can see and do at Fitzroy Provincial Park:

Hiking

There are two relatively short, easy trails at Fitzroy Provincial Park - and there are free trail guides available for both of them:

Carp Trail: 1 km, Easy

The closest parking for the Carp River Trail is across the street at the garbage dump area.

Depending on where you're camping, you could walk the road or the short trail next to campsite 300 to the bridge, just cross the bridge and you're at the Carp River Trail.

We had looked at the map to find parking for this trail, and followed another couple in on a little path from the side of the road.

As it turns out, the trail was actually closed - the side path we took avoided the stairs that seem to be the actual start of the trail. On the way out, we saw that the stairs were blocked off, and the other side - facing the road - had a sign that the area was closed.

Whoops!

The trail is flat and fairly wide for a single file hike, too narrow to walk side-by-side in some areas.

It follows along the Carp River for a bit (sorry to wreck the big surprise, lol), then heads into the forest at the split for the loop.

It's a lovely walk through the forest for a while, then you come upon an area that was very flooded during our stay. We assume it's typically a marshy area because there's a long, sturdy bridge/boardwalk to cross the zone.

The trail again goes along the Carp River, back to the split where you walk that same path back to the beginning.

Overall this is an easy trail, the lack of immediate parking and the few steps to get to trail level are the biggest barriers.

The Terraces Trail: 2 km, Moderate

I had really been looking forward to doing this trail, as the park’s description made it sound super interesting: “This trail takes visitors along a geological journey. See shale pillars that stand as testaments to the erosive power of water and fields that are strewn with erratics - massive boulders left by glaciers.”

My tendons had other ideas, though. 🙁 Porter did The Terraces Trail himself, here’s what he had to say about it:

“First off, I love that they have trail guides at the trailhead and they also have a QR code for a digital trail guide.

So, even if they're out of the paper copies you can still get the information you need. The trail guide is very well done, extremely detailed with diagrams. Definitely check it out.

The trail starts out very flat and wide, it's even well mulched. About 30 m in you get to a small waterfall and a bridge. This would be a great spot to have a picnic, but unfortunately there's no picnic table there.”

There are several access roads, or possibly cross country ski trails, that go in different directions from the trail.

There is great signage to direct you in the correct direction for the trail, though. Beyond those intersections it's blazed pretty well but there are a couple of side trails that clearly aren't the official trail.

Signpost four is for these large moss-covered boulders in the trail, which are absolutely beautiful!

It had rained the night before my hike, so everything looked so vivid and lush. The trail is more moderate-difficulty here due to the boulders and a little bit of elevation change but it's still on the easy end of moderate.

Just after that boulder section there is a stairway and a short, somewhat steep section to go up, and then you're back on flat ground again.”

I really appreciate the attention to detail.

For example, one of the signs showed the lookout number 7 to the right and the trail continuing mostly forward but at an angle.

The arrow on the sign was at a slight angle to match the angle of the trail. That attention to detail is really appreciated.

There are railings in areas with steep hills to the sides, and stairs in very steep sections.

Overall I rate this as moderate due to the sections of stairs and short hills, but most of the trail is pretty easy.

I clocked it at about 1.9 km but I was wandering around a bit, such as checking out the overlook at sign post number seven, which is slightly off the trail. I would definitely do this trail again.”

Biking

There are no dedicated bike trails at Fitzroy Provincial Park, but we saw plenty of people cycling on the main road through the park, as well as on the campground roads.

Swimming

There are technically two beaches at Fitzroy Provincial Park.

The main beach is cute - the whole day use / beach area sprawls along the shore of the Ottawa River. It was a decent sized, sandy beach with a nice view - not much to say, it was too cold to go swimming!

The camper’s beach is located in the gated off section of the Two Rivers Campground. Wandering around the trails at the back of that campground, we could see why - massive flooding problem!

The whole beach and most of the parking area for it were completely underwater... but hey, there was a view of Chats Falls from there!

Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

As had been the case with a few stops leading up to Fitzroy Provincial Park, we ended up hearing a lot more birds than we saw, and saw a lot more than we were able to get good photos of!

Overall, we heard and/or saw: American Crow, American Goldfinch, American Redstart, Black-and-White Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-Capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, Brown Thrasher, Canada Goose, Chestnut-Sided Warbler, Chimney Swift, Chipping Sparrow, Common Raven, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Wood-Pewee, European Starling, Gray Catbird, Great Crested Flycatcher, Hairy Woodpecker, House Sparrow, Merlin, Nashville Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Northern Flicker, Northern House Wren, Northern Yellow Warbler, Ovenbird, Pine Warbler, Red-Eyed Vireo, Red-Winged Blackbird, Ring-Billed Gull, Song Sparrow, Tennessee Warbler, Turkey Vulture, and White-Breasted Nuthatch.

Boating

The road to the boat launch was gated at the time of our visit, but we happened across the actual boat launch area when wandering the walking paths from the day use area. (It’s a lovely walk, wide, flat, well-mulched trail!)

The boat launch was flooded at the time of our visit - hence the blockade - but we can tell you a bit about what we DID see:

There’s a very small parking lot right at the boat launch, with parking on both sides. They’re both parallel to the boat launch entry, though, so you can really only park couple of trailers on each side.

The thing is, if there are trailers parked on both sides, you’re not going to have enough room to turn around down there - it’s a weird setup.

From what we could tell, the launch itself is a gradual, gravel path into the water - it looked very shallow. The park’s site did mention this boat launch being for SMALL fishing boats, canoes, and kayaks though - so that tracks.

One big thing to note - whether in a power boat, canoe or kayak - the Chats Falls Ontario Power generating station is right across the river from Fitzroy Provincial Park.

There are signs on site that map out where the dangerous and restricted areas are. See the Ontario Power Generation's Water Safety Page for more information.

Fishing

Depending on the season, you can fish on either of the rivers at the park.

The Ottawa River has Bass, Pike, Walleye, and panfish - you can fish from out on the water, or at the shore.

We also saw people fishing on the Carp River, from the backs of some campsites in the Pine Grove Campground. There were a lot of carp in that river, so it definitely seems aptly named!

Discovery Program

We visited in May, which was outside of the season for Fitzroy Provincial Park’s Discovery Programming - which happens in July and August.

Per the park’s website, it sounds like they mostly do the Exploration Station thing.

Winter Activities

In the winter, Fitzroy Provincial Park has 20 km of groomed cross-country ski trails.

This is done in partnership with the West Carleton Nordic Ski Club, and there are trails for both traditional cross-country skiing and skate skiing.

Niantic Games

There are about 10 Niantic Game features (Pokestops, Pokemon Go Gyms, Ingress Portals, etc) throughout the park.

There’s no real central spot for them, they’re scattered around - you’ll hit quite a few if you walk from the camper’s beach to the main day use area and beach, though.

Final Thoughts

We think that this park has potential to be cute, it’s just unfortunate that we happened to visit during... a period of transition.

As-is, the park just felt kind of cold and unwelcoming. Loads of barricades, amenities not available, etc, had us thinking “well... what CAN we do?”

I actually felt better when I went in to cancel our last day and asked about the laundry situation. The park employee told me about the comfort station being slated to be replaced in the fall.

So, that made some of the out-of-order stuff seem more reasonable. Not a TON of sense throwing a bunch of money and effort into something that would get torn down soon anyway!

I’m not sure if we’ll revisit the park or not. It’s not super conveniently located to other parks we go to, after all. If we do go back, I think we’ll give it a couple of years, and see how things change in that time.

Also, probably not in spring - the flooding definitely seemed to be a big issue!

More Southeast Ontario Provincial Parks & Places to See

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

Southeastern Ontario Campground Reviews:

Bon Echo Provincial Park
Bonnechere Provincial Park
Charleston Lake Provincial Park
Ferris Provincial Park
Murphys Point Provincial Park
Presqu'ile Provincial Park
Rideau River Provincial Park
Sandbanks Provincial Park
Sharbot Lake Provincial Park
Silent Lake Provincial Park
Silver Lake Provincial Park
Voyageur Provincial Park
Winter Camping at Silent Lake Provincial Park

Southeastern Ontario Places to See:

Gariepy Creek Falls
Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park
North Beach Provincial Park

Want to explore beyond Southeastern 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!