Restoule Provincial Park is a gorgeous, well-appointed campground near North Bay. Here's everything you need to know about camping there!
See, in online camping groups, most of the campgrounds you hear about are with located in Southern Ontario, or are in Algonquin park.
Restoule Park - located in the Parry Sound district - comes up a LOT, given its location. Located about three and a half hours from Toronto, it seemed to have been one of the favourite destinations for a lot of people.
Our first visit happened in early September, just after the long weekend.
We knew that some bad weather was coming, so we moved our visit forward by a day, at the last minute. Good thing, too - we had one really nice day to explore the park, then a day with pockets of decent weather.
Our last day at the park saw us hunkered down under high wind, severe storm, and tornado warnings! Trees broke, a power line came down... it was all very dramatic.
That said, we really enjoyed our stay up until that point. It really is a fantastic park, with a bit of something for everyone - let us tell you all about it!
The Basics:
Campground Name: Restoule Provincial Park
Address: 8818 Highway 534 Restoule, ON P0H 2R0
Website: https://www.ontarioparks.ca/park/restoule
Price: Ontario Provincial Parks uses a pricing matrix across all their parks. See 2025 Camping Fees for more details.
Reservations: Ontario Parks Reservations
Park Classification: Natural Environment
Season: May 9, 2025 to October 14, 2025
Park Warden Phone Number: (705) 498-2336
Logistics
Some information to help you plan your stay at Restoule Provincial Park:
Registration and Check In
We originally booked our stay at Restoule Provincial Park 5 months ahead of time, at 7 am.
As it turns out, that was relatively unnecessary for the time of year - there were plenty of spots available, as it was after the Labour Day long weekend.
This turned out to work in our favour closer to the trip, when weather made us decide to cut our stay at Marten River Provincial Park short by a day, adding that day to the beginning of our long-planned Restoule stay. We had no problem adding the day, and didn’t even have to change campsites.
We checked in online on the morning of our arrival, and the park message told us to proceed directly to our site - indicating a paperless permit park.
We did check in at the park office anyway, as we needed maps. Service was friendly and fast, as always!
Maps and Signage
You know, I’m so used to ranting about the maps and signage at parks, this one feels a bit weird!
Anyway, let’s talk about getting around Restoule Provincial Park:
Park Maps
We were given two 8x5 x 11" maps at the gatehouse: One was a print off of the Restoule Provincial Park Campground Map, with the Restoule Provincial Park Hiking and Biking Trails Map on the other side.
Fantastic maps! The type on the legend was definitely smaller than it needed to be, but that was my only complaint about the maps in the entire time we were there.
Well, one of two, I guess. There’s a path from the Kettle Point campground to the off-leash dog beach that isn’t shown, but that’s it.
Everything was accurate, well-represented, and clearly presented. They even had accessibility information provided. Love it!
This isn’t one we used - we don’t do canoe routes or anything, ourselves - but it looked pretty handy for those that could use it.
The links in this section all point to the PDF versions of each map, located on the park’s website. In addition to those 3 maps, there’s also a Restoule Provincial Park Backcountry Map.
Signage
The signage was more or less fantastic. Any complaints I had were relatively minor - campgrounds only marked from one direction on the main road, etc.
Aside from that, the signage was great. Big, high contrast directional signage, everything clearly marked, well-placed, etc.
They also did something I don’t think I’d seen in another park before - accessibility information on campground signage!
The comfort stations were marked with the accessibility symbol, right on the road signs!
Water & Waste Services
The trailer sanitation station is a loop off the main park road, between the front office and the campground areas.
There’s a single entry point to the loop - when coming into the park, you’ll turn left into the loop, and keep to the left - it runs clockwise.
This could be a bit weird during busy times, as those using the loop will have to cross traffic at some point, to get in and/or out, depending on where they’re coming from and going.
Anyway, the loop starts with 2 potable water fill platforms, placed across from each other. The one on the left (driver’s side) is threaded, but the one across from it looks like the end was cut off the hose at some point.
The other side of the poop loop is the dump platform - a single platform on the driver’s side. They have hand sanitizer right there - always a nice amenity in that situation!
Like other parks in the area, it has the recycling bins on ground level, while the garbage requires you to walk up some steps and throw it into a trailer.
Connectivity
We are on Rogers Wireless, and we had fantastic cell reception almost everywhere in the park.
There’s a cell tower across Restoule Lake from the campground, though... so I guess that’s not surprising.
The reception did get a little spotty up around the Stormy Lake boat launch, but not consistently so.
Accessibility
As you may have guessed by now, Restoule Provincial Park gave me a great impression right off the bat, with accessibility information right on the map AND road signs.
One note on that, btw: The two barrier-free outhouses indicated on the Kettle Point Campground map aren’t labeled as such on their doors, but they’re definitely accessible toilets.
There does seem to be a bit of weirdness in terms of website info updating, though. At the point we booked our stay, the site said there were 5 barrier-free sites. At the time of our stay, it said 3 (accurate).
Anyway, beyond that:
1 - Both comfort stations are barrier-free, though the parking/access to the Putts Point Campground seems maybe a little more wheelchair friendly than the one in Kettle Point.
2. Each of the barrier free campsites is directly adjacent to a washroom facility... with a path directly to it, from the campsite!
4. On the subject of beaches, both paths down to that main beach are down a bit of a hill, with some degree of washout damage. Be careful!
5. Restoule Provincial Park has two different styles of wheelchair available. One is a floating beach wheelchair, and the other is an all-terrain wheelchair for trails and beach use (but not in the water itself).
One weird note on that - part of the park’s website refers to those wheelchairs as being “available to rent”, and another say that they’re available to *borrow*... not even requiring a deposit. They will deliver it to your site on request, though - nice to see!
6. None of the park’s trails are wheelchair accessible, but the Ranger’s Point Trail and at least the first part of the River Trail are what I would deem to be an easy difficulty. Some small inclines, but easy enough for me to do with my mobility issues.
All around, I found Restoule Provincial Park to be really disability friendly, though. Very thoughtfully appointed, especially in comparison to some of the recent parks we’ve been to.
Pets
So, there’s a bit of an information issue when it comes to the pet exercise area / dog beach at Restoule Provincial Park.
The site only mentions one - the small beach at Bell’s Point Boat Launch, which is both a swimming beach for campers, and a “dog friendly” beach. There’s even a poop baggie dispenser on the beach sign there. This is NOT an off-leash beach, btw.
Weirdly, that pet area isn’t indicated on the map - but it IS on the road signs.
In addition to that, there’s an enclosed leash-free pet exercise area and dog beach next to the southwest corner of the Kettle Point Campground.
On the map, it looks like there’s a road from the main park road down to that area - it’s barricaded though, and looks to be about 150 m of a walk from the parking (which is shared with the trailhead for Angel’s Point Trail).
As a heads up - it’s not shown on the map, but there’s a short walking trail between the Kettle Point Campground and the dog enclosure. It’s located between sites 424 and 426.
Row 2: Bells Point Dog Beach
Parking
We were at Restoule after the main camping season - so we weren’t dealing with crowds AT ALL - but I can’t see parking being too much of an issue in general.
Most of the attractions have a decent sized parking lot, though the day use parking may get competitive - it’s not THAT big, and it’s also where most people seem to start the Fire Tower Trail.
The parking areas for the beaches also aren’t huge, but the beaches are also fairly easily accessed just walking from most campsites.
Miscellaneous
Some random information you might like to know:
The Roads
The campground roads at Restoule Provincial Park really stood out for how NICE they were - wide, flat, well maintained. It was a stark contrast to several of the parks we’ve been to lately.
On that note, Restoule just seemed wildly well-maintained in general. Everything was clean, the grassy areas meticulously manicured, etc. At one point, we were hunkered down during a severe thunderstorm and tornado warning.
We heard a loud crack, and a big branch fell out of a tree and shattered a few metres in front of us, on the park road.
Despite the high winds and active rain, there was a park vehicle out there almost momentarily, taking it away. I’m assuming someone called, but the response time was almost too fast for even that!
Aurora Borealis
Restoule Provincial Park is pretty far north - an in an area of low light pollution - so it’s a great place to do some stargazing and night sky photography.
North Bay is off to the north east of the park, but shouldn’t be enough to mess with Northern Lights viewing, should the conditions be right for it during your stay at Restoule.
That didn’t happen for us, though. Had there been an Aurora Borealis during our stay, we would have gone to the boat launch on Stormy Lake.
If you go to the right of the area - as you’re facing the lake - and look over to the left, along that shoreline? That’s the north view.
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.
Campground Amenities & Info
Some basic information on the amenities at Restoule Provincial Park:
Creature Comforts
There are two comfort stations, one in the Kettle Point Campground, and one in the Putts Point Campground.
Both have flush toilets, laundry facilities, and showers.
We did a couple loads of laundry during our - loads of room in there, with a little table for folding. It was $2 each for the machines, and they took Loonies or Quarters.
Visitor Centre
There is no Visitor Center at Restoule Provincial Park.
Park Store
There’s a really well-stocked park store in the gatehouse at Restoule Provincial Park. TONS of clothing options, souvenirs, some camping supplies, etc. There’s even a little coffee station!
Day Use Area
The day use area at Restoule Provincial Park is small, but super cute.
It’s a grassy picnic area that stretches along banks of the Restoule River, which connects Stormy Lake with Restoule Lake.
There are two small picnic shelters, each of which have a power post - very cool, something we don’t usually see at Provincial Parks.
There’s also a bridge over that river, which leads to two of the hiking trails. Just a lot of really pretty views in a small area!
Rentals
The rentals situation at Restoule Lake Provincial Park is hardcore!
Beyond the aforementioned all-terrain wheelchairs, they also rent canoes, kayaks, mountain bikes, and paddleboards out of a large rental building and lot, located near the Rangers Point Trail.
In the summer, anyway - all of that can be rented out of the gatehouse during the spring and fall shoulder seasons.
Anyway, beyond all of that, they also have 30 amp extension cords available for rent - those require a $200 credit card deposit, though.
Campsite Details
There are 4 ways to camp at Restoule Provincial Park: Car camping (including Seasonal Campsites), walk-in campsites, backcountry camping, and group camping.
Car Camping
There are three main campground areas at Restoule Provincial Park. All of the electrical campsites are in the Kettle Point Campground - where we stayed.
The other two campgrounds - Putts Point and Bells Point - are all non-electrical sites that seemed a little bit more private than the ones in Kettle Point.
Other than that, the campsites and vibe seemed to be pretty uniform across all three campgrounds at the time of our stay. Generally HUGE sites, btw!
Also of note: the Bells Point Campground seems to close earlier than the other two, and it was blacked out on the reservations map at the time of our stay.
Anyway, as always, each of the campsites has a fire pit and at least one picnic table - most that we saw actually had two picnic tables.
Back Country Camping
These campsites can be accessed by water, whether you’re using a canoe, kayak, or paddleboard.
Those sites all have a box privy, fire pit, and tent pad, and many of them have their own little sandy beach as the water access point.
Walk-In Campsites
There’s a small loop of walk in campsites in Bells Point Campground. The ones on the outer loop are nicer - most with water views and/or water access.
The ones on the inner loop are kind of woodsy, but kind of unremarkable.
Either way, they’re a short walk from the parking lot and composting toilet outhouse, and there are wagons to help you cart your stuff to your site.
Group Camping
The group camping area is gorgeous, just with a bit of a weird setup.
Located near the day use area, you drive to a central parking area, with each campsite off to one side of it.
The site off to the right is kind of visually barricaded from the site to the left, which is kind of just sprawling out in full view of the parking area. The site on the right (602) is tent only, while the other one allows tents and trailers.
Both sections stretch along a section of the Restoule river, that goes between Stormy Lake and Restoule Lake. Also, the site to the right actually has a trail from it to the day use & bridge area.
Great place for birding, BTW!
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Entertainment and Activity
Restoule Provincial Park may be relatively small, but there is a LOT to do there. Here’s some info on your recreational activity options:
Hiking
There are a few different hiking trails in Restoule Provincial Park. We did two full trails - and part of another - before the bad weather set it.
Here’s what you should know:
Grawbarger Trail: 1km
This is a short trail along the side of the main park road. There’s no real trail head or parking for it, and we didn’t end up doing this trail during our stay.
The park’s description says that it’s a series of trail segments (it’s just one on the map, though), going through forests and along Grawbarger Rapids.
Fire Tower Trail: 4.1 km
This trail is somewhat famous, and one of the first things you hear about when someone mentions Restoule Provincial Park.
It’s actually the reason we cut our previous stay short by a day - we wanted to make sure we got a chance to do this trail, in good weather!
Anyway, Porter did the trail by himself, as the description didn’t make me think I’d be able to do it - I’ve been dealing with tendon flares lately.
Here’s what he had to say:
“The trail starts out pretty easy, on well-packed sandy soil, with some sections being quite wide. Early on you pass through rows of pine trees, until you cross the road.
From that point the trail gets more difficult, well into the moderate difficulty range. Overall the trail is very bouldery with large roots, and moderate changes in composition - you need to watch you step throughout much of the trail.
A few short sections are somewhat difficult, with steeper climbs and rocky areas. If the trail were wet, some sections would be a bit dangerous, so use caution and wear proper hiking footwear.”
If you do the lookouts first, the longer back half will be a bit anti-climactic. The trail is blazed well, but you won't need them since the path is very clear the entire way.
After a walk through some beautiful mature forests, you reach the four-way meetup point, and proceed to the second loop.
Here you're treated with an amazing lookout over Amber Lake, a really cool pass-by of the historic fire tower for which the trail is named, then an amazing elevated rocky view overlooking Stormy Lake.
Seriously, the photos don't do it justice, the panoramic view of Stormy Lake and the surrounding area needs to be seen in person.
The return trip is more beautiful forest, this time with some glimpses of Stormy Lake. This is a great trail with multiple destination spots, I highly recommend it.
I mapped this as 4.67km, which is more than the 4.1km listed on the map. It took me 1.5 hours, of course your time could vary from that, but plan ahead with water and snacks that you might need.”
The River Trail: 1.2 km
We didn’t do this whole trail, but walked along the first bit of it while birding.
It’s a pretty trail, walking you along the Restoule River. That’s as far as we went, but then it loops back through a forest. The section we did, we’d call easy.
Rangers Point Trail: 860 m
Ranger’s Point Trail is the only full hiking trail I did during our stay at Restoule Provincial Park, and the second of two complete trails that Porter did.
It starts out with a flat, well-packed, wide trail surface - with a few rocks - until it comes to the trail split. At that point, you can go straight - uphill - or to the right, which looked to be a more gradual uphill trial.
We chose to go right, taking a stroll through a pretty pine forest.
As you approach the lake - with a bit of a view off on a side trail - the path loops to the north, and starts going uphill. Soon, we came to an unmarked split.
We knew there were a couple picnic areas on the shore, so we veered off to the right, hoping for some scenic views of stormy lake.
At this point, the “0.86 km loop” grew wildly in scope.
From there, there were trails in every direction - Not sure if people made them while exploring, or just getting lost. This trail could definitely use some signage and blazes!
Anyway, both picnic nooks were cute, and had a nice view over the lake. You can even see the Fire Tower from there!
We found our way back to the main trail, proceeded uphill a little more, then downhill right at the end of the loop. In the end, the walk came out to 1.5 km for us.
I think the main trail has to be longer than 860 m though - I really don’t think the picnic offshoot was anywhere near as long as the actual trail.
Anyway, a really pretty little walk! I wish we’d thought ahead to pack a picnic breakfast, I bet the sunrise coming up from behind the Fire Tower would have been pretty!
Angels Point Trail: 2.8km
I was surprised to see this listed as a hiking trail, as everything about it - website description, trailhead signage, etc - definitely makes it seem primarily/exclusively like a mountain biking trail.
According to the website, the outer double track loop is easier, with a wider surface and more gently rolling hills.
The inner loop is a more difficult single-track trail that was specifically designed with mountain biking in mind. This trail has more moderate changes in elevation, bumps, etc.
Gibs Trail, 4.8km (Round Trip)
We didn’t do this 2.4 km linear trail, which starts out at the same spot (over the bridge, day use area) as the River Trail.
The trail description has it going through a variety of different forests, to a scenic lookout and swimming spot on Stormy Lake.
Biking
Several of the hiking trails - Gibs Trail, Grawbarger Trail, Rangers Point, and River Trails - allow mountain biking on them.
Angel’s Point trail seems to be very specifically a mountain biking trail, despite being listed with the hiking trails.
The park also rents out mountain bikes.
Swimming
There are three sandy beaches at Restoule Provincial Park, with varying degrees of attractiveness.
The first beach we visited was Kettle Point Beach, which seems to be the main beach. This is the biggest and nicest beach, and it’s the one with the Mobi-Mat.
It can be accessed via the Kettle Point Campground or the Putts Point Campground, both ways involving a rough downhill path with some washout damage.
Anyway, the beach area is really cute.
The actual swimming area is a pretty big, though the water level looked really low at the time of our visit. The sand was kind of muddy in part of the buoyed swim area.
There's some marshy area off to the right that looks like it would be great for water birds, overall just a really pretty view of Restoule Lake.
The sand didn’t look as inviting at this one, IMHO.
Bells Point Beach is the smallest and least attractive of all the options, and it’s shared-use as a dog beach.
Honestly, I’d look at it exclusively as a dog beach - it’s not the kind of beach where you’d want to throw down a towel and lay around on, you know?
Birding, Wildlife, and Nature
Due to the weather, we didn’t have a TON of luck with birding. We didn’t see a lot of birds, and those that we DID see, we tended to not be able to get great photos of, due to the conditions.
Overall, we heard and/or saw:
American Goldfinch, American Redstart, American Robin, Bald Eagle, Blue Jay, Belted Kingfisher, Black-Capped Chickadee, Canada Goose, Cedar Waxwing, Common Grackle, Common Loon, Common Yellowthroat, Double-Crested Cormorant, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Phoebe, Great Blue Heron, Hairy Woodpecker, House Sparrow, Least Flycatcher, Magnolia Warbler, Mallard Duck, Northern Flicker, Osprey, Ovenbird, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, Red-Eyed Vireo, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Tennessee Warbler, Turkey Vulture, White-Throated Sparrow, Yellow-Rumped Warbler.
Row 2: Common Grackle, Double-Crested Cormorant, Eastern Phoebe
Row 3: Great Blue Heron, Hairy Woodpecker, Magnolia Warbler
Row 4: Mallard Ducks, Osprey, Ovenbird
Row 5: Red-Breasted Nuthatch, Song Sparrow, Tennessee Warbler
There were also a lot of wild flowers, fungus, and - at one point - an American Toad.
Boating
Boating of every kind is a super popular activity at Restoule Provincial Park... not surprising, given the easy access to various lakes in the area.
We saw plenty of people canoeing, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, etc while we stayed at the park.
Restoule Lake is along the south side of the park, with several boat docks and one boat launch on that side of the campground.
Each campground has a dock, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The docks in Kettles Point and Putts point are each a single dock, with a small parking lot next to it. These areas provide easy access to Restoule Lake, right from the campgrounds.
Row 2: Putts Point Dock
Bells Point Campground has a full boat launch and a much larger parking area, in addition to the boat dock there:
This one definitely seemed to be the most popular of all the water access points, during the time of our stay. It also had a LARGE parking lot, and some boat trailers were parked there.
Fishing
Fishing seemed to be a big thing at Restoule Provincial Park during our stay - we saw plenty of people fishing on boats and fishing from the shore.
I was a little surprised to NOT see a fish cleaning station, given how popular of an activity it was.
Anyway, the lakes in the area have Lake Trout, Largemouth Bass, Musky, Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Splake, Walleye, and Whitefish... but we didn’t do any fishing, ourselves.
Discovery Program
Like may of the Provincial Parks, Restoule runs Discovery Programming in the summer - July and August.
We visited in early September though - not only was there no current programming on the go, there weren’t even any old schedules left up for me to snoop!
Damn Restoule and their enthusiastic park maintenance, LOL!
Niantic Games
There are a few Niantic Game stops throughout the park, fairly few and far between, though. Plenty of cell reception to make use of them, though!
The best bet for getting any game play in, IMHO, is at the day use area.
Final Thoughts
We LOVE this park - no wonder we see it mentioned so often in the camping groups on Facebook!
Not only is the area beautiful, the park is just really well laid out, and really, really well appointed and maintained. There’s a lot of little details that just really stood out to me, especially with regards to the accessibility efforts.
To me, little things like the accessibility information on signage and maps really goes a long way to making any park feel more welcoming, you know?
Porter - who is able bodied - also been impressed with basically every facet of this park, with regards to maintenance, thoughtfulness, etc.
We loved pretty much everything about Restoule Provincial Park. So many different areas to explore, a few great trails, beautiful views - what’s not to love?
We’ll definitely be back!
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
Chutes Provincial Park
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
Six Mile Lake Provincial Park
Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park
Near-Northern Ontario Places to See:
Big Chute Marine Railway
Fielding Bird Sanctuary
French River Provincial Park
Hardy Lake Provincial Park
Onaping Falls
Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Provincial Park
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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