Chutes Provincial Park is a small - but STUNNING - campground just north of Manitoulin Island. We had a fabulous stay, here's our full review!
Originally Posted September 10, 2023, Updated on 7/8/26.
It’s located just a short drive up the Trans-Canada highway from Sudbury - where we did a quick tour of Letterkenny filming locations - and a bit north of Manitoulin Island, and Lake Huron in general.
It’s a GREAT park! A quiet campground on the Aux Sables River with amazing hiking and gorgeous views of waterfalls throughout.
As the only Provincial Park between right on the highway Sudbury and Sault Ste Marie, I kind of happened across it as a default when planning our 2023 fall trip.
Sault Ste. Marie was a bit further than we wanted to drive on that leg of the road trip, so it was an obvious choice.
We returned in 2024, 2025, and 2026 - we’re going to make a point of coming here at least yearly, going forward. Default stop or not, this was a fantastic park. In 2023, I predicted that it would end up one of our favourites, and it has - top 10, at least!
They had been postponed from the Canada Day weekend - the area had been under a fire ban at the time.
The practice rounds of mortars they were setting off that afternoon were maybe a bit less fun. Explosions on a random afternoon that sounded like gunshots in the distance/through the trees aren’t exactly my idea of a good time!
Luckily, the park office was easy to reach and knew what was going on, when we called.
Anyway, lots of photos* to share and stuff to talk about, so let’s get to it!
* We took WAY too many photos. Even after selecting them down for the post, we had a ton! Be sure to scroll to the end of the post for all of the “short list” pics that didn’t fit in this review itself!
The Basics:
Campground Name: Chutes Provincial Park
Address: P.O. Box 37, 650 Imperial Street North Massey, ON P0P 1P0
Website: https://www.ontarioparks.com/park/chutes
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 15, 2026 to October 13, 2026
Park Warden: Day: 705-862-0648 / Night: 705-863-2964
Logistics
Some information to help you plan your stay at Chutes Provincial Park:
Registration and Check In
As always, booking was quick and easy on the Provincial Parks website. Check in was similarly quick and easy - it did require going into a small building at the entrance of the park on our first stay.
At some point, it converted to a paperless permit park. Now, you can do your check in online - the morning of your arrival - and just head straight to your campsite!
Maps and Signage
I really like the park map at Chutes. It’s an 11 x 17, double sided, full colour map.
I had to Google - apparently Biscotasi is 3.5 hours worth of driving from Chutes. So... we didn’t do a field trip!
Anyway, signage throughout the park is decent, but it’s a small enough park that you almost don’t need it.
Waste & Water Services
None of the campsites have water or sewer hookup, but there are potable water taps throughout the park and a dump station / fill station up front.
The Trailer Sanitation Station is a single lane loop - no bypass lane - with a dump platform and then a fill platform.
The hose on the fill platform is a threaded one.
May 2025 Update: There was some weirdness during this trip. There were signs all around the campground that said:
“The local Medical Officer of Health has issued a boil water advisory. Elevated bacterial counts in the water may pose a health rise to consumers. Users are advised to boil for five minutes all water used for drinking, food preparation, and dental care.”
The Ontario Parks page for the park said that “No potable water is available at this park.” We had filled up before arriving at the park, but had intended to fill up on the way out.
We’d seen plenty of trailers filling up at the sanitation station during our stay, so we assumed the signs and website to be outdated info. Just to be safe, I called the office.
... they weren’t aware that there was no sign on the filling station, and said that people “definitely shouldn’t be drinking that water”.
So. If you stayed at Chutes on the May Long weekend and drank the water ... may the odds be EVER in your favour?
The recycling center is large and easy to reach - right next to the comfort station, on the main route to get in / out of the park.
Connectivity
There is no wifi offered through the park, but our cellphone reception was at least decent the whole time - our first trips.
We lost reception a few times, momentarily... but we were also able to stream some Better Call Saul on Netflix, our first trip, and KAOS on the second. No buffering issues at all!
Staying in the Seven Sisters Circle during our May 2025 trip, we had next to no reception. That held true for most of the park - not sure what happened since last year - usually you’d expect conditions to improve, if anything.
Accessibility
I was pleasantly surprised at the accessibility of this park.
To start off with, the barrier-free facilities are marked on the map - including the campsites.
Also, the website gives more detail about those barrier-free sites than I tend to see with other parks - but that’s the only accessibility mentioned. They definitely undersold the accessibility of the park!
Barrier-Free Camping
First off - Chutes Provincial Park has 2 barrier free campsites, both of which are near the comfort station.
Each of the two barrier free campsites has a vaulted fire pit and a picnic table that is SLIGHTLY longer on one side.
The extension isn’t quite as long as most of the wheelchair-accessible tables we’ve seen at Ontario Parks, but it’s there.
Row 2: Site #2
Barrier-Free Facilities
The comfort station itself is designated as barrier free.
It has a single wheelchair accessible shower, as well as a single wheelchair accessible stall in each of the multi-stall, gendered washrooms.
I think the handheld shower head is placed a bit high to actually be wheelchair accessible, but I could be wrong.
Two of the outhouses in the park are also barrier-free. One is at the far end of the red pine road campground, near the group camping sites and next to site #16.
The other is at the day use area, between the picnic shelter and the parking lot.
Row 2: Outhouse Next to Site #16
Row 3: Day Use Area Outhouse
Barrier-Free Activities
None of the trails are wheelchair accessible, but the first big leg of the Twin Bridges Trail - as far as the end of the second bridge - could definitely be done with other types of mobility aids.
There’s one part that would be difficult to navigate with crutches, but a boot, braces, cane, whatever - shouldn’t be a problem.
The beach isn’t wheelchair accessible, but the trail to get there is short and can definitely be handled with other types of mobility devices.
I was having a bad tendon & knee day on the first day of our stay, and went down there twice that afternoon / night. On one of those trips, there was a woman in a walking boot.
Note: There IS a relatively steep incline involved, and I’ve had to avoid it on some trips, as it’s a bit much.
The viewing platform next to the falls (as listed on the map), across from the swimming area?
It’s wheelchair accessible!
There’s a fine gravel path to get there - fairly flat and even, pretty well packed. It transitions directly to the platform, no steps or anything!
Pets
This is a dog friendly park - actually a bit more pet friendly than it may look, at first glance!
On the park map / flyer, it points out the dog exercise area - a large, fenced enclosure that’s an off-leash dog park.
This is located over on the end of the day use area, just a few metres down the trail that goes to the swimming area.
The map shows the swimming area on both versions of the map on the sheet, and one specifies “no pets allowed”.
Weirdly, it cuts off the section of beach that’s specifically labeled as a dog beach. (The corner off to the right on the map that labels it as “no pets”.
Just note: access to both the dog park and the dog beach were barricaded off during our May 2025 visit. The entire beach area was under water!
Parking
The sites all seem big enough to handle at least one vehicle besides your camper.
Aside from that, there are several small parking lots throughout the park, near every place of interest - the comfort station, the swimming area / day use, the viewing platform, etc.
Miscellaneous
Some random info you might want to know:
Seasonality of Water Levels
More so than any other campground we’ve been to, seasonality REALLY impacts your stay, as far as water levels go.
In the early spring, the beach tends to be completely flooded out, and the access down to it barricaded. We’ve seen this over multiple years.
In mid-June 2026 we showed up right after they got rid of the beach ban, so I guess the water had receded.
We definitely saw evidence that the levels had been WILD, though - the driftwood up on the rocks was much higher than last year before.
We hadn’t been there for the height of it - I’m assuming that was about a month earlier - but comparing our photos from June 2026 to mid-May 2025, the water had was MUCH lower this June.
Beyond access to the beach, this also affects the way the waterfall looks. In the early spring, there is WAY more flow than there is in the fall.
Bottom: June 2026
New Campsites
In early June 2026, we noticed that it looked like they were adding some new campsites in the day use area. When we returned in July, they were already numbered.
This a set of 4 small, non-electric sites, around the outside of the loop around the playground. Not really our cup of tea, but would be a great location if you have kids and/or a dog.
Not only is the playground right there, but the beach and dog exercise areas are also conveniently located to that area.
Northern Lights
Had the northern lights made an appearance during our stay, that beach would have been an AMAZING place to view them - the falls are almost directly north of the beach.
We didn’t have any luck with that on either trip, but on our second visit to Chutes, we spend some time stargazing down on the beach.
On a clear night, the effect is stunning. Out in the middle of the beach, you’re almost centered in a run of trees, with the sky overhead. Looking up, it feels like you’re in a planetarium!
Anyway, we didn’t get any northern lights photos, but we did take some of the Milky Way.
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.
It wasn’t a huge show - and we were thrown off by not having access to our normal viewing area - but we got a bit of a show at the main waterfall viewing platform near the day use area.
Unfortunately, we were both absolutely inexperienced with the conditions. We could get the lights to look good, or have the waterfall in the photo - not both.
So, it was a learning experience. Sorry for the crappy photo!
Campground Amenities & Info
Here’s some basic information on the amenities at Chutes Provincial Park:
Creature Comforts
The park has a single comfort station, located on the main road and fairly central to most/all of the campgrounds.
There are 5 usually clean showers - one of which is a barrier-free shower - as well as two multi-stall, gendered washrooms.
The laundry room has two washers and two dryers, with the washers costing $4/ load, and the dryers at $5/load. They all take Loonies only.
The machines at the Chutes Laundry facility are a bit bigger than some other parks, but - IMHO - not enough to justify being twice the price.
Also of note: the parking spaces at the comfort station now have signs that say 1 hour parking.
There are also vault toilets located throughout the park - one on each campground loop, and one by the day use area.
Think less “public library”, more “take a book, leave a book”. Love them!
Note: It was gone in May 2025, but we visited during opening weekend. It was back in place by our next visit, so maybe it’s seasonal?
Camp Store
Need to buy some extra cords of firewood or provincial park souvenirs?
The park office at the gate has a small campground store. They also loan life jackets, with a $25 deposit.
Visitor Centre
There is no Visitor Center at Chutes Provincial Park.
Day Use Area
There’s a small day use area near the beach, just up the road from the Falls Lookout.
There are a few picnic tables scattered around the area - mostly by the parking lot - and two picnic shelters. One is a large picnic shelter that can be reserved for group use, and one is much smaller, more for a single family.
A little past that, towards the beach, you’ll find a small playground. Well, a swing set anyway!
You can use the vehicle pass you get when checking in for a campsite to park there, or - if you’re just coming to the park for day use - you can buy your parking pass online. (Up to 5 days ahead of time).
Campsite Details
This seems to be a nice, quiet campground, with spacious campsites.
As with all of the provincial park campgrounds we’ve been to, Chutes PP is a mix of electrical sites and non-electric sites - probably about 50/50 split.
Utility posts are very close to each campsite, so far as we could see.
Our site was a good size and gorgeous!
Fairly open, not a ton of privacy - there was a path from our site to the toilets, and a BIG frontage onto the road - but we weren’t disturbed by anyone.
One loop - Big Chute Crescent - is a radio-free area.
There are the COOLEST tent camp sites down on the loop closest to the day use area - I think it was 124, 126, and 128 - where the camping area is actually set back and DOWN from the road. They looked super cosy!
We didn’t see any bus type campers, I’m not sure if they can be accommodated or not - the roads are pretty narrow, but there are a handful of pull-through sites.
Everything looked very clean and well maintained.
Note: I would probably recommend avoiding the sites on the west side of Trillium trail (115 & 117), as they’re awfully close to a residential area.
Also, sites 90-96 are all close enough to hear the falls. Personally, I LOVE that - but if the sound will bother you, you might want to plan around it.
Group Camping
There are a couple of non-electric group camp sites on the far end of the Red Pine Road loop. They have easy access to a barrier-free toilet building and the trail.
Just as a heads up - by “easy access”, I mean the trail literally borders the length of one of them (G1) and a confusing offshoot on the trail could definitely lead to hikers wandering in to G2.
There are signs telling people not to trespass in the group campsites when in use, though.
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Entertainment and Activity
Even though it’s smaller than many of the big name parks, there’s plenty to keep you occupied!
Hiking
The Twin Bridges Trail is quite possibly the most beautiful hike we’ve been on, to date and - IMHO is the real main attraction of the park!
The entire hike is advertised to be 6 km round trip, but it’s very segmented, so you can go as long or as short as you’d like.
That takes you up the west side of the river, with easy walking trails and a few great lookouts over the Seven Sisters Rapids. (The trails get more difficult after the bridges)
From there, you’ll cross 2 bridges - the “Twin Bridges” that the trail is named for - over the Seven Sister Rapids.
Note: As we learned during our May 2025 visit, being able to go out on the rocks is VERY much dependent on the time of year. There was no access in May, as the water level was much higher, covering the rocks we’d walk out on during our fall visits.
We went as far as the second view platform - on the east side of the river - then turned around.
In the end, we had spent about 2.5 hours enjoying every minute of the super nice trails.
What a great trail!
My husband declared “I want to LIVE here!” multiple times during then hike - something he hasn’t said at any park, before this!
Beyond The Second Bridge
On the second trip, we - once again - didn’t do the whole trail system at Chutes, but Porter did explore more of the trail along the east side of the Aux Sables River, going further past the lookout than he had the first trip.
In his words:
“The trail would weave into the woods for a little bit, then come back to the rocky shoreline of the river. In some places there would be a view of the rapids, and in others you could see sections of calmer water.
There were several steep sections, and a couple places where it wasn’t immediately obvious where the trail went. It wasn’t like you were going to get lost, it was more about taking a moment to figure out the best path over some rocks.”
After that point, it’s more of a “lovely walk through the woods” - not as hardcore of a walk, but also not as amazing with the views. Just not as much of a payoff as the first section. So, if you’re getting tired, I’d recommend turning around after that second lookout platform.”
Overall, I very much enjoyed it and will definitely do it again!”
Viewing Platform
Note: If hiking isn’t your thing, or mobility is an issue, there’s an easy to reach viewing platform, RIGHT over the lower falls.
You can drive almost right up to it - there’s a small parking lot, near the base of the stairs that goes up to the start of the trail.
From there. It’s a short, relatively flat walk to amazing views of the falls!
Biking
Cycling is specifically banned from the trail, but allowed on park roads.
There’s not a LOT of park road - and they’re mostly very narrow - so I wouldn’t consider this a destination for getting some biking mileage in.
That said, the Town of Massey isn’t far away, and they’ve got more roads to bike on.
Swimming
At the base of this section of river gorge - near the day use area - there’s a sandy beach area.
It’s mostly very shallow water, with a bit of a sand bar you can wade out to, to get a closer look at the falls.
It was a bit too cold to actually go swimming during our stay, but it was a nice place to unwind after our long day on the road!
Note: The entire beach was under water - and the area barricaded off - during our May 2025 visit. Spring thaw is no joke! The falls were extra gorgeous, though!
Birding, Wildlife, and Nature
I’m starting to think that something about us being cat people is repelling the birds!
This is like the third park in a row where they claim to have many different birds... but we only saw a couple during our stay!
There were a couple of super cute little woodpeckers in our campsite over the course of our stay. The park website says that they have pileated, downy, and hairy woodpeckers here - these were either downy or woody, from a quick Googling.
Also, something flew up off the ground in front of us, while walking the trail.
I didn’t catch a good enough look to figure out what it was. According to the park website, chickadees, flycatchers, kinglets, nuthatches, sapsuckers, thrushes, vireos and warblers are the birds known to show up in the park.
I’ll be honest - aside from Chickadees (thank you, Hinterland Who’s Who!), I have no idea what any of those looked like, before Googling.
Those all look pretty small compared to whatever we happened across, though.
Fall 2024 Birding Update!
We had MUCH better luck on our second trip to Chutes!
Overall, we saw: American Robin, American Crow, American Goldfinch, Bald Eagle, Black-Capped Chickadee, Black-Throated Green Warbler, Blue Jay, Brown Creeper, Cape May Warbler, Common Raven, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, White-Breasted Nuthatch, White-Throated Sparrow, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-Rumped Warbler.
... and we heard: Blackpoll Warbler, Blue-Headed Vireo, Common Loon, Golden-Crowned Kinglet, Great Blue Heron, Hermit Thrush, Northern Cardinal, Palm Warbler, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, Song Sparrow, Tennessee Warbler.
May 2025 and Forward
Given how often we visit Chutes, let’s just keep a running total on the different bird species we’ve seen and/or heard there, across all our visits.
So far, we’re sitting at:
American Robin, American Crow, American Goldfinch, American Redstart, Bald Eagle, Black-and-White Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-Capped Chickadee, Blackpoll Warbler, Blue-Headed Vireo, Black-Throated Blue Warbler, Black-Throated Green Warbler, Blue Jay, Brown Creeper, Cape May Warbler, Chestnut-Sided Warbler, Common Loon, Common Raven, Dark-Eyed Junco, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Golden-Crowned Kinglet, Great Blue Heron, Hairy Woodpecker, Hermit Thrush, Magnolia Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Nashville Warbler, Northern Flicker, Northern Yellow Warbler, Ovenbird, Palm Warbler, Pilated Woodpecker, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, Red-Eyed Vireo, Song Sparrow, Spotted Sandpiper, Swamp Sparrow, Tennessee Warbler, White-Breasted Nuthatch, White-Crowned Sparrow, White-Throated Sparrow, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, ND Yellow-Rumped Warbler.
1st Row: American Robin, Bald Eagle, Black-Capped Chickadee
2nd Row: Black-Throated Green Warbler, Blue Jay, Brown Creeper
3rd Row: Cape May Warbler, Northern Flicker, White-Breasted Nuthatch
4th Row: White-Throated Sparrow, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-Rumped Warbler
There always seem to be a lot of wildflowers during our stay, regardless of the month (usually May, June, and/or September)
We knew they were there - we’d tried to shoot our Campfire Berry Crumble amongst the Trillium the year before - but the COLOURS were amazing this year.
We’ve seen white trillium, pink trillium, and red trillium. What stood out in 2026 was that most of the trillium flowers there were streaked and/or had gradients going, white, pink, and sometimes almost red!
We’d never seen gradient patterns on Trillium before - this was gorgeous!
Boating
Boating isn’t suitable - and probably not even allowed (I can’t remember what all was listed on the “DON’T!” signs!) - in this park.
Fishing
While boating may not be an option, you can fish from the banks, and plenty of people were doing so in the beach area.
The park also recommends Aux Sables River (north of the park) and the Spanish River for good fishing opportunities.
Apparently there’s a salmon run in the fall, up the river to the waterfall. We didn’t see any salmon during our stay in early September. 🙁
Discovery Program
As with the other provincial parks we’ve been to, Chutes Provincial Park runs a discovery program.
I’m not entirely sure where the Exploration Station is - we didn’t see it during our trip. Anyway, they staff it during July & August and encourage visitors to bring their Discovery Activity Book.
They provide equipment and materials for their Discovery programming, but - probably because we didn’t arrive during peak season - I didn’t see any information on what all that programming might entail.
Winter Activities
The park is “closed” - and gated - through the winter, though they welcome walk-in visitors.
Winter hiking is encouraged, as are snowshoeing and skiing - I don’t know if the trails are maintained after the last weekend of the season, though.
Niantic Games
We there are a small handful of Ingress Portals / 3 Pokestops throughout the park, and 1 gym.
It’s a small enough park that you’re never really all that far from one of them.
There were consistent Pokemon spawns in our first campsite, without us being in range of any of the stops. It WAS during an event though, so that may not be the case normally.
Cell reception was good enough that we had fairly consistent access to the game.
Final Thoughts
The Chutes are AMAZING - Porter declared several times that he wants to LIVE here.
The park was well maintained, clean, and peaceful on both of our visits. We really like the vibe of the park - it seems inviting, and it’s a great place to get away.
I was actually shocked at how “get away” it is, given that we had to drive through a residential area to get here! I guess I assumed it would be way out in the boonies, based on photos I’d seen.
Fantastic little park, we’ll definitely be back - again!
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
Batman's Cottages & Campground
Driftwood Provincial Park
Fairbank Provincial Park
Finlayson Point Provincial Park
Grundy Lake Provincial Park
Kap-Kig-Iwan Provincial Park
Marten River Provincial Park
Mikisew Provincial Park
Killbear Provincial Park
Oastler Lake Provincial Park
Restoule Provincial Park
Six Mile Lake Provincial Park
Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park
Near-Northern Ontario Places to See:
Big Chute Marine Railway
Bridal Veil Falls, Manitoulin Island
Brooks Falls
Cup and Saucer Trail, Manitoulin Island
Fielding Bird Sanctuary
French River Provincial Park
Hardy Lake Provincial Park
High Falls [Muskoka]
Hunter's Bay Trail
Misery Bay Provincial Park
Onaping Falls
Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Provincial Park
Providence Bay Beach
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!
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