French River Provincial Park

Located about an hour's drive from both Sudbury and Parry Sound, it’s a unique place!

The French River itself is 105 km long, and flows from Lake Nipissing to Georgian Bay, with many, MANY canoe routes, lakes, rapids, and wildlife viewing opportunities along the way.

Historically, the river was used as a travel route by Indigenous people, and later by French explorers and fur traders.

For those who aren’t about to get out on a canoe, the park still offers opportunities to learn - at the award winning Visitor Centre - and enjoy the great outdoors.

There’s a fantastic hike, a stunning bridge with amazing views of the river, and picnicking.

Here’s what you need to know about visiting the land portion of French River Provincial Park.

The Basics:

Campground Name: French River Provincial Park
Address: 20526 Settler's Road Alban, ON P0M 1A0
Website: https://www.ontarioparks.ca/park/frenchriver
Price: Ontario Provincial Parks uses a pricing matrix across all their parks. See 2024 Camping Fees for more details on backcountry camping fees.
Reservations: Ontario Parks Reservations
Park Classification: Waterway
Season: April 26, 2024 to October 20, 2024

Logistics

Some information to help you plan your trip:

Registration and Check In

There is no gatehouse at French River Provincial Park, so registration services are only available online, and at the Visitor Centre.

After the Labour Day Long Weekend, the Visitor Centre hours are cut WAY back - they’re not open Tuesday and Wednesday! So, definitely purchase your day use pass online and preregister your car, if at all possible.

We went twice - once on Tuesday, and then back again on Thursday so we could actually see the Visitor Center.

Each time, we were visiting on our Camping pass from Grundy Lake Provincial Park.

Maps and Signage

As day use visitors that weren’t canoeing, there wasn’t really a ton of park available to us... and that which was available, was really straightforward.

There’s a large, very clear and accurate map sign in the parking lot. Pretty much everything is accessible via that main parking lot - the picnic areas, pow wow grounds, snowmobile trails, Visitor Centre, and the Recollet Falls Trail head.

So, unless you go wandering way off the trails... you’re really not going to get lost at French River Provincial Park.

Well, at least in the day use area. If you’re canoeing... you’ll definitely want to bring navigation tools and maps specific to the area - there are a whole lot of side waterways to explore!

Connectivity

We had really good internet and cell phone connections throughout the day use area.

Pets

The only signage we saw pertaining to dogs was in the Pow Wow grounds, where dogs are not allowed.

There were tons of dogs out on the trails during our first visit, though, so we’re assuming they’re welcome, under the usual rules: Leashed at all times, can’t harass other people or animals, must be picked up after.

Parking

There’s a fairly large parking lot in the day use area, central to everything in the day use area. It has regular parking AND a row of trailer parking, which came in handy on our second visit!

Just note: The directionality for the trailer parking is a bit weird, in combination with the one-way arrows in the area.

Longer vehicles will either need to enter the parking lot the wrong way, exit the wrong way, or be able to U-Turn on a dime in order to get out of a designated parking spot.

Closer to the visitor centre, there’s a small row of accessible parking spots, as well as a drop off zone.

Accessibility

The Visitor Centre is noted as being barrier-free.

There are outhouses near the Pow Wow Grounds that are marked as being wheelchair accessible, but they are several inches off the ground, without a ramp.

In terms of the trails, the main trail - Recollet Falls Trail- is in no way accessible to anyone with mobility challenges. I had to nope out after 0.25 km, as my feet and knees had called it quits for the day.

Even on a good day, I would have had some difficulty, and I DEFINITELY wouldn’t have been able to do it on a walking boot or while using a cane.

The snowmobile trails are quite a bit easier - wider, fairly well packed, etc - but still hilly. They also take you to areas that are more difficult, like the picnic area next to French River. Getting there involves stairs, and walking on rocks.

Park Amenities & Info

Here’s some basic information on the basic amenities at French River Provincial Park:

Creature Comforts

There are flush toilets inside of the Visitor Centre. Outside of visitor centre hours, there are two vault toilets next to the parking lot, in the Pow Wow Grounds area.

As noted earlier: They’re labeled as being barrier free, but there’s a ledge and no ramp.

Park Store

There’s a cute little park store inside the visitor centre, which sells all the basic Ontario Parks souvenirs and such, along with canoeing maps.

Despite selling almost the exact same selection of items as most park stores, it *feels* more like a boutique-y museum gift shop than most.

Visitor Centre

The French River Provincial Park Visitor Centre won the Governor-General’s Architectural Award for public buildings in 2010, and it’s easy to see why.

The outside of the building is unique and gorgeous, unlike any Provincial Park Visitor Center we’ve seen to date.

This displays educate mostly about the First Nations people, explorers, and fur traders that lived and worked along the historic waterway.

The “Another Soul for Christ” display about the missionaries was ... uh... how do I put this?

Definitely arranged / told looking through a colonizer lens. Very lighthearted and positive about their “calling to convert Native people to Christianity”, and how they didn’t travel light.

Anyway, there are also some displays about the landscape / geology and wildlife information thrown in for good measure.

The Visitor Center is open from the May Long Weekend to Thanksgiving Sunday:

Spring: Thursday to Monday - 9:30 am to 5:00 pm, closed Tuesday & Wednesday.
Summer: 7 days a week - 9:30 am to 5:00 pm.
Fall: Thursday to Monday - 9:30 am to 5:00 pm, closed Tuesday & Wednesday.

Day Use Area

There is a fairly sparse day use area - more like micro day-use areas - scattered around the edge of the parking lot.

There are a few little picnic nodules right along the edge of the parking lot. Each of these is a little nook with a single picnic table.

If you’re up for a bit more of a walk - and a much nicer view - there’s another little picnic area down a short trail from the Visitor Centre.

This is off a little offshoot from the snowmobile trail, and it’s a bit more difficult than the snowmobile trail - rocky, a set of stairs, and then up some rock to get to the picnic tables.

These ones are up on a cliff overlooking the French River, so they offer a much nicer view than a parking lot!

Rentals

French River Provincial Park doesn’t have a rental program. If you need to rent your watercraft, you can rent canoes and kayaks at one of the private businesses along the river that offer that.

Campsite Details

While French River Provincial Park DOES offer camping, it’s all backcountry camping - 283 sites. None of them are hike-in sites, they’re all water access only.

So, obviously we - as land-bound people (for now) - won’t be able to tell you where to find the best campsites, etc!

1. The sites are all first-come, first-served - you can’t reserve any of the campsites at French River Provincial Park.

2. You will require an interior camping permit in order to camp at French River Provincial Park. Those can only be purchased up to two weeks ahead of your arrival dates. You can book online at the Ontario Parks Reservations site, or at the French River Visitor Centre.

3. Each of the campsites has a firepit, and some (most?) have box privies.

4. French River isn’t just one straightaway river, it’s an entire maze of waterways, offshoots, connected lakes, etc. You’re definitely going to want to have a map. You can buy a Waterproof Map of French River from the Ontario Parks Store, from the Visitor Centre, at the Friends of Killarney store in nearby Killarney Provincial Park, or from one of the local outfitters.

Entertainment and Activity

While the variety of experiences you can expect to have at French River Provincial Park generally center around canoeing and kayaking, there are other activities you can partake in as well.

Here’s what we can tell you from our experience:

Hiking

Our hiking experience hit a bit of a snag early on. We’d planned to both do the Recollet Falls trail, and I was looking forward to it.. Until my legs noped out of it about 0.25 km in.

Whoops. Maybe trying to do a second “moderate” difficulty trail after a morning on a moderate/difficult trail was a bad idea. In my defense, I was trying to make the best of a good tendon day, after a spate of low mobility!

Anyway.

We decided that Porter would finish the trail, and I’d walk back to the front, chill for a bit, then explore the area if my feet would allow.

Here are the details from our separate walks:

Recollet Falls Trail - 3 km, Moderate

This is a linear trail - 1.5 km from the Visitor Centre to the Falls - that takes you along the edge of the French River Gorge.

A great place to get a workout in, not so great if you’re having mobility issues!

Anyway, I’ll let Porter tell you all about it:

Overall, a really fun trail if you’re up for kind of a rough walk - it’s definitely a workout!”

Snowmobile Trail

After heading back to the parking lot, I took a stroll along the snowmobile trail, reasoning that if it was intended for snowmobiles, it had to be far less hardcore than the Recollet Falls Trail was.

... and I was right!

This was a wider, mostly well packed trail, and it was good for a nice stroll. You can walk out from the Visitor Centre, along any of a few little offshoots. It’s kind of a mini-web of walkways in that area, so I can’t really tell you a distance.

One section of the trail takes you down a short staircase to a clearing alongside the French River - the perfect place for a picnic!

You can also get some fantastic views from the snowmobile bridge - more on that in a minute.

Biking

The Recollet Falls Trail definitely isn’t suitable for biking, but the park road and probably the snowmobile trail would probably do the trick if you’re looking to go cycling during your visit.

I definitely wouldn’t consider it a destination for cyclists, though.

Swimming

There are swimming opportunities in French River, but no actual designated beaches. Swimming is probably more for those doing the backcountry camping, rather than those visiting the day use.

For those visiting the day-use area of French River Provincial Park, the only access to the river is at the far end of the Recollet Falls Trail. The speed of the water flow there seemed dangerous for swimming, though.

Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

The French River Provincial Park mentions Blackburnian Warblers and Red-eyed Vireos, but we didn’t see or hear either of them during our trip. Kind of shocking, I feel like we either hear or see those Vireos EVERYWHERE.

Overall, it was kind of a dud for birding that day, probably too windy.

Overall, we saw Black-Capped Chickadees, a Common Merganser, and a Blue Jay, and we heard Eastern Wood-Pewee and Red-Breasted Nuthatch.

... that’s it. Kind of shocking, given how amazing of a birding experience we had just that morning, at Grundy!

There were signs about there being Massassauga Rattlesnakes in the area, thankfully we didn’t run into any of them!

There were a few cool caterpillars, a frog, and some pretty wildflowers, though.

Boating

This is definitely a park for canoeing and kayaking, even though that whole aspect is completely separate from the day-use area of the park that we visited.

The French River Canoe Route is made up of a bunch of different canoe routes, all of different lengths, difficulties, and with different points of interests along the way.

Most of the access points for these routes are at private lodges and marinas along the river, though some of the canoe routes are accessible via Provincial Parks land - Otter Bay in French River Provincial Park, Restoule Provincial Park, and apparently even Grundy Lake Provincial Park.

(Looking at the map, I have no idea how you can access French River via the Grundy Lake Park Gatehouse, though!)

Anyway, rather than regurgitate the information on the French River Provincial Park Website, you should go check out the linked page for all their info on the different canoe routes available.

Fishing & Hunting

While fishing is a popular activity at the more than 50 lodges and marinas along French River, there isn’t much in the way of access from the day use area of the park.

You could probably fish from the end of the Recollet Falls Trail, but that’s a hell of a hike for a maybe.

If you’re out on a canoe, though, you may be able to find Northern Pike, Small-mouth Bass, Walleye, and various other species of fish along the waterways.

Hunting is also allowed in the park - aside from in the nature reserve zone - subject to all zoning/season/licensing laws.

Discovery Program

As our visit happened after the Labour Day weekend, it seemed that the French River Provincial Park Discovery Programming was wrapping down for the season.

There was signage for the events that happened leading up to our trip - A wildlife presentation at the Visitor Centre - as well as information about an upcoming Pow Wow.

Niantic Games

There are a few Ingress Portals / Pokestops / Gyms in the parking lot area -the Pow Wow grounds, the Visitor Centre, a few plaques about the history of the area, etc.

We had plenty of internet to access and play the games.

Snowmobiling

We were surprised to see what looked to be a major snowmobiling trail cutting through the day use area, as there had been no mention of it on the website.

The centerpiece of the trail was a stunning bridge over the French River gorge, which was open for pedestrian traffic during our visit.

The William E Small Bridge was built by the French River Snow Voyageurs Snowmobile Club, back in 2005.

According to signage by the bridge, it's the largest snowmobile bridge in the world: 512 feet long, 12 feet wide, and set 90 feet over French River.

The sign also boasted the strength of the structure, stating that it can handle the weight of a large trail grooming machine, or over 100 snowmobiles at a time!

Anyway, if you’re looking for information on snowmobiling at French River Provincial Park, it’s probably best to reach out to the French River Snowmobile Association

Final Thoughts

I could see this being an absolutely fantastic park to visit if you’re a paddling enthusiast.

It was great to visit it once - well, twice in our case - but there’s not really a lot to do if you’re not out on canoe.

We had a good time, and we’re glad we went, but it’s probably a one-of visit for us.

More Places to See

Looking for some nice sights to see and great places to visit while you're out on your camping adventures? Here are a few of our favourite day use parks, attractions, etc.

Batchawana Bay
Big Bay, Ontario
Bruce Peninsula National Park
Canada's Dinosaur Park
Falls Reserve Conservation Area
Flowerpot Island
Gariepy Creek Falls
Menesetung Bridge
Petroglyphs Provincial Park
Point Pelee National Park
Provoking Falls
Scenic Caves Nature Adventures
Screaming Heads
Spirit Rock Conservation Area
Temagami Fire Tower