Raccoon Lake Campground

Next up on our big tour of Algonquin Provincial Park: Raccoon Lake Campground!

We checked out this campground the same day we visited Rock Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park - during a summer stay at Mew Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park.

We’d never been there - we tend to prefer camping outside of their regular season (Mid-June to the Labour Day long weekend).

Visiting Algonquin Provincial Park during the actual summer gave us a great opportunity to see all of the other campgrounds along the main corridor, so we took advantage of that opportunity!

This campground is a fairly small and rustic one, located just 2 km away from

Raccoon Lake is 2 km away from Rock Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park. Like Rock Lake, it’s situated pretty far off the main highway that runs through Algonquin.

Our visit was short but informative - let us tell you all about it!

The Basics:

Campground Name: Raccoon Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Address: Algonquin Highlands, Ontario K0M 1J1
Website: https://www.ontarioparks.ca/park/algonquin/raccoonlake
Price: Ontario Provincial Parks uses a pricing matrix across all their parks. See 2024 Camping Fees for additional information.
Reservations: Ontario Parks Reservations
Park Classification: Natural Environment
Season: May 10, 2024 to May 20, 2024, and June 13, 2024 to September 2, 2024

Logistics

This is a very small campground, only open for a short time during the summer months, and with very little in the way of amenities.

It’s also pretty far away from anything on the main highway, so those are good things to keep in mind when booking there.

Registration and Check In

Raccoon Lake Campground doesn’t have its own park office, so you’ll need to check in at Rock Lake Campground.

That said, Algonquin Park is now on a paperless permit system. If you register your license plate & additional campers online ahead of time, you can skip the check-in altogether.

Maps and Signage

As with the rest of the campgrounds in Algonquin, the Raccoon Lake campground map is part of the large, newspaper style Algonquin booklet.

For this campground, a map is almost unnecessary - it’s just two small loops! There really isn’t much needed in the way of signage, either.

Waste Services

One thing Raccoon Lake has going for it is the proximity to the Rock Lake Campground dump station. Not only is it close, there’s less competition for this one, than the one up on Highway 60 - shorter waits!

That said, there are only a couple of sites in Raccoon Lake that accept anything other than a tent, so that is probably a non-issue for most.

Connectivity

We had no cell phone connection at any point during our visit to Raccoon Lake Campground.

Accessibility

In no way is this an accessible campground.

From the roads to the beach, to the lack of comfort station and non-accessible vault toilets... if you have any kind of mobility issues, I’ve give this campground a pass.

Pets

All the basic rules apply - dogs must be kept on a leash at all times, and aren’t allowed to harass other campers, other dogs or wildlife. Owners are required to pick up after their dogs, and properly dispose of it.

Dogs aren’t allowed on the beach in Raccoon Lake, but there’s a small dog beach / pet recreation area in Rock Lake Campground.

Parking

The sites are all quite small, so there’s not a lot of room for additional vehicles on the spot. There is a small overflow parking lot near the entrance of the campground.

Also: there is NO parking at the beach.

Miscellaneous

This campground is located down a long gravel road, off the main highway. About 8 km long, to be a bit more specific - Raccoon Lake is about 5 km down it!

Not necessarily a great place to be, if you’ll be planning most of your outdoor adventures further along the main corridor. There’s not a lot in the way of nearby attractions.

Campground Amenities & Info

I hate to say it, but this section is going to be more about what Raccoon Lake *doesn’t* have in terms of amenities, than what it does have.

Here’s some basic information, though:

Creature Comforts

There is no comfort station in Raccoon Lake, you’ll have to go over to Rock Lake Campground if you want to make use of flush toilets, shower facilities, or do a load of laundry.

There are 3 vault toilets in Raccoon Lake campground, though they’re not in great condition. The smell of the outhouse near the beach was overwhelming... even when down on the beach!

Park Store

The two campgrounds down this road are pretty far from anything resembling a camp store.

You can get some of the basics - Firewood, ice, Ontario Parks merch - at the Rock Lake campground, 2 km away.

Beyond that, you’re going to want to drive the 5+ km up to the highway, then another 7-8 km west to get to the Two Rivers Store. There’s also the Lake Opeongo Store, probably 6 km east, then a few km north on Opeongo rd.

The Lake of Two Rivers store seems to be better in terms of “general store” offerings, and is a bit easier to get to. There’s also a restaurant there.

Visitor Centre

There are 3 attractions that all sort of serve the function of a Visitor Centre - all located along Highway 60.

The actual Visitor Center is about 3 km east of Rock Lake Road.

This is a really nice building, filled with museum quality exhibits. It’s also got a few lookout points behind it, and the parking lot is a great place to go if you need cell phone coverage.

It’s also usually a great place to go for birding!

Then, the Logging Museum is probably another 10 km further east along the highwaty from there.

This area is home to a bunch of outdoor exhibits on the history of logging in the area, and is also one of only two easy / wheelchair accessible trails in the whole park.

(See my Canisbay Lake Campground Review for more details and photos of both those areas!).

Finally, there’s an Art Centre at km 20 - much further west than the Rock/Raccoon Lake campground areas.. We haven’t been able to check it out yet, though we look forward to doing so next summer.

Day Use Area

Raccoon Lake Campground doesn’t have much of a day use area itself - just a small beach (more on that in a minute). I don’t remember even seeing any picnic tables there.

If you’re looking to picnic, you’d probably be better off going to the Rock Lake Campground, or heading over to the main day picnicking areas in Algonquin.

These are both in the area of Lake of Two Rivers.

On the east side of the lake, there’s a picnic shelter, amphitheatre, boat launch, and more.

On the north side of the lake - just off the highway - there’s a relatively large parking lot for the LOTR picnic area. This is mostly sprawling, grassy picnic space on the side of the lake, with great views of the beautiful natural surroundings there.

Campsite Details

The 48 campsites in Raccoon Lake are pretty primitive sites. There’s no electric service at all - you’ve got a fire pit and a picnic table, that’s about it.

(If you’re looking for electric hookups, there are a fair number of electric sites in the Rock Lake Campground).

Not only are the sites non-electric, they’re also pretty much exclusively tent sites - the site STRONGLY discourages the use of trailers in Raccoon Lake campground.

Most of the Raccoon Lake campground sites are really small and crammed together, with weird slopes. Some, we have no idea where you'd even put a tent - there really wasn’t much in the way of level/flat ground!

There’s a single potable water tap in the middle of the campground - and a couple vault toilets - but you’ll need to head over to the Rock Lake camp grounds if you’d like flush toilets, showers, or laundry facilities.

Entertainment and Activity

While there aren’t a TON of opportunities for outdoor recreation in Raccoon Lake Campground specifically, there’s a LOT to do in Algonquin Park in general.

Here’s some information on the recreational opportunities in relatively close proximity to the campground:

Hiking

While you’ll need to drive further to access some of the easier walking trails in the park, two of the more difficult hiking trails can be accessed nearby:

Centennial Ridges Trail, 10 km, Difficult. The main trailhead and parking for this trail is up on the highway, but there’s an access trail from the Raccoon Lake Campground that gets up to the main hiking loop.

This one takes you along two ridges, and is known to have some fantastic views.

Booth’s Rock Trail, 5.1 km, moderate. This one is accessed via a parking lot near the Rock Lake Dog Beach. It takes you along an abandoned railway, to see two lakes and a lookout.

At the time of our visit - and continuing a couple weeks later- A portion of this trail was closed. At the time of publishing, the whole trail is closed - and the parking lot inaccessible - on account of a bridge replacement.

Biking

Your best bet for biking is to access the Old Railway Bike Trail from the Rock Lake Campground, nearby.

This is the end point of the trail - 16 km of a decommissioned rail bed. It’s wide, flat, well-kept, and has interpretive panels along the way, teaching about the history of the park and the railway.

As you get closer to Mew Lake Campground, the trail is surrounded by blueberry bushes, and is a GREAT place to see black bears in August!

Swimming

There’s a VERY small, sandy beach at Raccoon Lake Campground.

It’s got a small, buoyed swim area, and no dogs are allowed.

I honestly can’t tell you much about it - the smell from the nearby vault toilet was SO overpowering - even down on the beach - that we weren’t having a great time.

Basically snapped a couple photos and left. I have no idea how the smell was so overwhelming! Oof.

I don’t know if that’s a common issue at this beach, but if it is... you’re probably going to want to head over to Rock Lake for your swimming.

Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

To be honest, Raccoon Lake campground wasn’t great in terms of wildlife viewing, at least during our visit.

The campground was very small and packed, which made it noisy - and there really weren’t a lot of places in it to view birds, aside from the campsites and small beach.

If you’re staying in Raccoon Lake, you’re probably going to want to head to the trails - or the Visitor Centre parking lot - if you’re looking to do any bird watching during your stay.

Boating & Water Sports

There aren’t any boat ramps in Raccoon Lake Campground, but the beach seemed to be a popular place to launch canoes and kayaks.

There’s a really nice boat launch in Rock Lake Campground, though, and some of the outfitters will deliver boat rentals right to it.

Rock Lake is a good starting point for your paddling, as it provides easy access to several lakes and waterways in the surrounding area.

In terms of Raccoon Lake, though, it’s a nice spot for canoeing and kayaking - small, protected, peaceful.

Fishing

Algonquin is known for offering excellent fishing in general, but I wasn’t able to find much in the way of current information on fishing at Raccoon Lake specifically.

When Googling its previous name, I came across one reference to the variety of fish there:

Blacknose Shiner, Burbot, Creek Chub, Golden Shiner, Lake Trout, Pumpkinseed, Splake, Spottail Shiner, White Sucker, Yellow Perch.

... I’ve never even heard of most of those! I’ve got a lot of learning to do, if I’m going to take up fishing!

Discovery Program

Summertime in Algonquin Provincial Park comes with a pretty busy schedule of Discovery Programming.

There are kids programs, guided hikes, wildlife demonstrations, and even live music events.

That said, none of the programming scheduled during the week of our stay took place anywhere near Raccoon Lake. Most was at the outdoor theatre at East Beach, and others were at Mizzy Lake Trail (WAAAY up the highway!), or at the Visitor Centre.

Niantic Games

There are two Ingress Portals / Pokestops / etc in Raccoon Lake Campground, but we weren’t able to get either game to actually load, while in the park. Not enough cell connection!

There are a few more stops in Rock Lake Campground up the road, but the cell reception isn’t that much better.

If you need to get your dailies in, Rock Lake may work... but the Visitor Center parking lot is your best bet for anything more intensive than that.

Final Thoughts

While I’m glad we got to check it out, Raccoon Lake Campground definitely isn’t for us.

Not only does it not even accommodate our RV in the first place, it’s just ... not our vibe. Very busy and cramped, and so far away from the trails we like to do.

I could see this being a great option for those with young families - a small, safe beach in walking distance, etc.

Personally, we prefer to spend more time on the trails, than in the car.

Still, I can appreciate the variety of different campground styles in the park. If we loved ALL of them, it would make choosing where to book all that much more difficult!

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
Lake of Two Rivers Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Mew Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Pog Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park
Provoking Falls, 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