Lake on The Mountain Provincial Park

Recently, we finally got around to checking out a few of the parks on north shore of Lake Ontario, just on the EAST side of the GTA.

We started out at Presqu'ile Provincial Park before heading on to Sandbanks Provincial Park - which quickly became one of our favourite destinations for birding.

Anyway, during the stay at Sandbanks park, we decided to drive the short distance to Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park.

This is a day-use only park centered around the namesake lake - which is known as a natural curiosity.

It was a very short trip - the park doesn’t really warrant a long stay - but we had a nice time. There were lovely views of the lake, as well as the bay below.

Anyway, let’s go over all the details of the park, to help you plan your own visit!

The Basics:

Location Name: Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park
Address: 296 County Road # 7 Picton, ON, ON K0K 2T0
Website: https://www.ontarioparks.ca/park/lakeonthemountain
Price: Ontario Provincial Parks uses a pricing matrix across all their parks. See 2025 Day Use Fees for more details.
Reservations: Ontario Parks Reservations
Park Classification: Recreational
Season: May 9, 2025 to October 13, 2025

Logistics

It feels a little silly to have a whole logistics section for this park, but what can I say? I’m a sucker for consistency!

Anyway, here’s what you need to know about planning your visit to Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park:

Registration and Check In

This is more of a rest stop than a formal Provincial Park. There is no gatehouse or staffed booth, you just show up.

You do need to pay for parking though, if you don’t have either an Ontario Parks pass, or a valid camping pass from another Provincial Park.

When booking through the Ontario Parks Reservations portal, you’re looking for “pay and display parking” NOT a “day use reservation”.

If you don’t book ahead, there are a few signs in the parking lot with QR codes, so you can pay your parking reservation fees on site.

Parking

There is a single, small parking lot, with probably about 20 parking spots. It’s located across the road from the main park feature - the lake - but it’s a cute area on its own.

The parking lot overlooks the Bay of Quinte - and the surrounding area - which is part of the north shore of Lake Ontario.

We took a few minutes to watch the Glenora Ferry crossing below us, and just admire some of the natural beauty of the area.

It was a bit weird standing in a parking lot next to one lake, looking down on another lake 60 meters below us!

Anyway, the parking lot was in great condition, not much to say here!

Washrooms

There’s a small washroom building with flush toilets, right next to the parking lot.

It was clean and appeared well maintained during our visit.

Maps and Signage

There was no park map at Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park, you could see the entire park area from the parking lot!

Similarly, there was no directional signage, nor did there really need to be. You cross the street, and you’re at the lake. Can’t miss it, it’s a REALLY small park!

There was some educational signage, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

Accessibility

Overall, Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park is very accessible.

There are two disability parking spots in the parking lot, right next to the washrooms building. The building itself is accessible, with smooth transitions from the parking lot. There are two barrier-free washroom stalls.

The path from the road to the viewing platform isn’t paved, but it’s relatively flat, well-packed gravel.

There’s only a slight bump to get up onto the wheelchair accessible ramp- maybe an inch or so. From there, the entire platform is accessible.

There’s another small bump of an inch or so down to the gravel path that overlooks the lake, where the two picnic tables are. They are not the barrier free type, but there’s a lot of room around each of them.

Those with non-wheelchair mobility issues shouldn’t have any problem getting around this park. It’s less than 0.25 km from the parking lot to the furthest part of the short trail, and it’s all either boardwalk or well-packed gravel.

Pets

There was no signage - or mention on the website - about dogs. Given that nothing says that dogs are prohibited, I would imagine that the standard Ontario Provincial Parks rules apply:

Must be leashed at all times, never left unattended, and not allowed to harass other visitors or wildlife. They should also be picked up after, and their droppings properly disposed of.

Park Store

There is no Park Store at Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park.

It DOES have its own park sticker/crest though. We bought ours on the Ontario Parks website, when I purchased the stickers for all of the parks we planned to visit this season.
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Visitor Centre

There is no Visitor Center at Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park.

Day Use Area

The entire park is a day use area - it’s a day-use park, only!

There are a couple of picnic tables on the little path next to the lookout, which would made a great picnic spot.

It was a nice view, and we enjoyed lookout out over the lake as we felt the cool breezes coming off it. I bet it would be gorgeous on a sunny summer day, it really is a beautiful property.

The grassy area next to the parking lot would also make a nice picnic area, if you bring a blanket. There weren’t any picnic tables there (mind you, they were mowing at the time), but there WERE some spectacular views of the Bay of Quinte!

Connectivity

We had great cellphone connectivity when visiting the park - we’re on Rogers Wireless.

Miscellaneous

We usually use this area to talk about park orientation and sky conditions, with regards to Northern Lights viewing and night sky viewing.

As a day use only park, though... not sure how much that matters - the park is closed overnight!

For the sake of consistency, though... the parking lot faces roughly north, over the Bay of Quinte. I imagine you’d see some amazing sunrises up there.

That said, the area north of the park is a high light pollution area, so even if you ignore the operating hours... not going to be a great place for aurora hunting.

The Lake On The Mountain

So, as I mentioned earlier, this “mysterious lake” is considered one Ontario’s natural wonders.

See, it’s a freshwater lake...on top of a mountain. It HAS a constant flow of fresh water feeding it... but no one knows where it’s coming from. There’s no apparent source.

Lakes usually have a source from higher ground, and can drain into lower water sources itself. Lake on the Mountain does drain into Lake Ontario, though - we saw several small streams headed down from the picnic area.

It’s a pretty deep lake, with the most credible estimates ranging from 30-37 metres deep. That’s most of the way down to Lake Ontario, which is 60 metres below the park.

Still not as deep as the early settlers believed, though - the popular theory back then was that it was a bottomless lake!

Anyway, in terms of the formation of this lake, it’s believed to be a collapsed doline - a type of limestone sinkhole that forms the underlying foundation dissolves.

It’s kind of wild, just how much of what we experience on our Ontario road trips ends up involving rock formation and erosion. Flowerpot Island, Devil's Monument, various waterfalls, etc.

I would have liked to see some of this information at the park, by the way. The park’s website touches on the idea of the lake being a “natural curiosity”, but there’s no signage there that talks about the history. I was curious, so I Googled.

Seems like a missed opportunity!

Entertainment and Activity

Again, this is a really, really small park... so there’s not a lot in the way of activities. I’m going to stick to format, though!

Hiking

There is no hiking at Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park.

There’s a short, gravel trail from the deck along a bit of the water. It’s less than 100 metres, and ends abruptly at a post.

Biking

There really isn’t anywhere to bike at the park itself, but Prince Edward County is known as a destination for bike touring, in general.

Swimming

There’s a lake, and people swim in it... but this definitely doesn’t seem to be a location for swimming. The park site has no information about swimming - and the swimming logo is not highlighted.

Beyond that, it just doesn’t look super welcoming as a swimming hole.

Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

We saw - and heard - a surprising variety of wildlife - mostly birds - at Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park, especially given how short of a time we spent there, and how small the area was!

The big stand out for us was walking back over the platform, and BOOM - there was a Great Blue Heron right in front of us, out of nowhere!

Anyway, we saw and/or heard the following birds during our visit: American Robin, Chipping Sparrow, Common Grackle, Great Blue Heron, Northern Parula, Red-Breasted Merganser, Red-Winged Blackbird, Song Sparrow, White-Crowned Sparrow, White-Throated Sparrow.

Boating

Signage on the deck says that motor boats are prohibited.

That said - right beyond the sign - there’s a little, dropped deck that looks like it was intended to be the perfect spot for launching a canoe or kayak.

There’s no drive-up access, but it’s only a very short walk across the street from the parking lot.

Fishing

Assuming you have a fishing license and it’s the right season, you can fish at Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park.

Large and Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike and Sunfish are the fish populations available in the lake, and you could either fish from the deck, or go out on a canoe.

I think you’d have much better luck out on the lake, than fishing from shore though!

Discovery Program

Unlike most larger Provincial Parks, there is no formal Discovery Programming held at Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park.

There are a few educational signs in the area, so you can learn a bit about the history of the park that way.

Niantic Games

There are 3 Pokestops / Ingress Portals / etc in the parking lot.

Final Thoughts

This is a really cute little park, but definitely more of a rest stop than a destination.

We’re glad we went there once: It IS really pretty, and hey - we’re suckers for “completing the set”. Can’t be THAT close to another Provincial Park and *not* check it out, right?

So, we see this one as kind of a one-of thing for us. Glad we went, but don’t really feel the need to do the 25 minute drive (each way) to visit again, the next time we’re at Sandbanks.

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.

Aguasabon Falls & Gorge
Amethyst Mine Panorama
Batchawana Bay
Big Bay, Ontario
Bruce Peninsula National Park
Canada's Dinosaur Park
Chippewa Falls
Devil's Monument
Falls Reserve Conservation Area
Flowerpot Island
French River Provincial Park
Gariepy Creek Falls
Healey Falls
Inglis Falls Conservation Area
Menesetung Bridge
Mink Creek Falls
Old Woman Bay
Onaping Falls
Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park
Petroglyphs Provincial Park
Point Pelee National Park
Provoking Falls
Sand River Falls
Scenic Caves Nature Adventures
Scenic High Falls
Screaming Heads
Spirit Rock Conservation Area
Temagami Fire Tower
Terrace Bay Beach