Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park

So. A bit of a weird review for you today.

Recently - while staying in Killbear Provincial Park - we decided to take a short drive up to Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park to check it out.

It’s a very small campground, less than an hour drive up the Trans-Canada Highway. It’s always fun to check out a new-to-us campground, suss the place out, find some cute campsites for future trips, etc.

The thing is... ooof.

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” is kind of hard to abide by, when doing reviews.

We are really literal people, and even just spelling out exactly what we saw there... it’s going to come off really mean.

I didn’t think anything could even come close to competing with MacLeod Provincial Park for “Worst Ontario Park”, but we’re kind of reconsidering that stance after Sturgeon Bay.

I think it may be a draw.

Anyway, it’s definitely not one of our favourite destinations - and it’s not likely to end up *yours* either - but, in the interest of fairness?

Here we go.

The Basics:

Campground Name: Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park
Address: 203 Hwy. 529 Point au Baril, ON P0G 1K0
Website: https://www.ontarioparks.ca/park/sturgeonbay
Price: Ontario Provincial Parks uses a pricing matrix across all their parks. See 2025 Camping Fees for more details & to make campsite reservations.
Reservations: Ontario Parks Reservations
Park Classification: Recreational
Season: May 16, 2025 to October 14, 2025 >

Logistics

Some basic information for planning your trip to Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park.

Registration and Check In

We booked our Daily Vehicle Pass online, a few minutes before actually arriving.

Yes, we should have been able to get in via reciprocity with Killbear Provincial Park, but - as a paperless permit park - I just didn’t want to mess around with it, so we booked a day pass.

Check in was quick, easy, and friendly - as usual. The employees we ran into during our stay were all great, NO issues there.

Maps and Signage

Some information on getting around Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park:

Park Map

This is an INCREDIBLY small park, so we weren’t expecting much in terms of a map. The map itself is very simple, very basic - there’s really not much to show.

The plus there is that it’s incredibly easy to follow, very clear, and not cluttered at all!

Signage

Much like with the map... there’s not much to this park, so you don’t really need much in the way of signage.

We didn’t see a ton of directional signs, but for the most part it was pretty easy to get around. The signs that did exist were a good size and high contrast.

There was one area by the day use area - pointing to “trailer pull through” - that wasn’t super clear, as far as intent went.

Porter took it to mean “trailers should drive this way, the road ahead isn’t suitable for larger vehicles”.

As it turns out, it was a dead end road - but it’s where trailers *who had pull-through sites* were supposed to go, to access those sites.

If you were to be driving a bigger rig and take it the way Porter did... better hope for an empty site to pull though and get back on the main road. There’s no room to turn around, when you realize what it meant!

Thankfully, I consulted the map before he went on instinct!

Beyond that, a couple more issues we noticed:

1 - There's no signage to the boat launch area *for* the boat launch... but there is one for the garbage and recycling area that's down there. (You can see it's the boat launch when you're passing the turn off, though.)

2 - There are no directional signs on the roads, which are only one lane wide for the most part. This got really bad in the area of the trailer fill and dump stations - more on that in a minute.

Waste & Water Services

The trailer sanitation station situation at Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park is really... weird.

The fill station is completely separate from the dump platform. It’s a single lane - no by pass - and does not have a threaded hose.

If you want the hose on the driver’s side, you’ll want to approach it heading towards the back of the campground, rather than looping back to head out of the campground.

The dump platform is at the end of a loop of campsites. It’s single lane with no real bypass, but it’s wide enough that *maybe* a car could get by, if you’re as far over as you can get when dumping.

For anything bigger than a small car, you basically have to block traffic to dump. Should be fun on busy weekends.

Beyond that, there’s an outhouse on either side of the dump platform, and the whole thing is surrounded - to the side and front - with campsites.

I’m sure that whole area smells LOVELY in the summer!

The campground loop road is really bumpy, and not super RV friendly. In addition to that, I think all the sites on the loop are probably tent campsites, which makes this layout even more bizarre.

Finally, there’s the issue of directionality. That’s a wider-scope problem in general, so it’s getting addressed in its own section.

Connectivity

We had really good internet reception throughout the campground, on Rogers Wireless. (Well, Rogers-EXT anyway!)

Pets

There is no mention of pets on the park’s website, and we didn’t see any signage for or against them in the campground.

The only mention of dogs that we could find anywhere, was on the park map - and that was simply that they need to be leashed at all times.

There are no dog-specific play areas or beaches - they’re not allowed on the swimming beach - and we didn’t see any dogs during our visit.

Accessibility

Let’s start out with a TL;DR: If you’re a wheelchair user, you’re *definitely* going to want to skip this park. If you’ve got other mobility issues... you’re probably also going to want to skip it, for several reasons.

I’ve seen a lot of things at Ontario Parks that could definitely be done better, or were maybe thoughtlessly laid out when it comes to matters of disability and disabled people. This park is the first time that felt like maybe there was some straight up contempt for the disabled.

So. There are two “barrier-free campsites” - by this, it means sites that have a wheelchair-friendly picnic table, and they’re located across from and beside a set of toilets that are marked barrier free.

There’s nothing other than that table that differentiates either of them from the rest of the campsites.

The situation with those toilets is ... bizarre. There’s signage from site #200 that points up the left side of the first washroom (as viewed from the road). That way... is not in any way wheelchair accessible.

You have to go around in front of it, and loop back around on a maybe-barely-accessible path to get to it.

Then, there’s the matter of the lack of any sort of accessible comfort station. Beyond all of the other nonsensical issues about the “comfort station” - which I’ll get into in a bit - it’s not accessible, if you ARE able to get to it.

Seriously, I have no idea why there isn’t a ramp, that’s pretty basic!

Anyway, if you’ve got any kind of mobility issues, there’s basically nothing you can do at the park. The beach isn’t wheelchair accessible, there are no trails at all - never mind easy / accessible ones, and you can’t even take a shower or do your laundry.

You’ll literally be lucky if you can use a freaking outhouse. Amazing.

Parking

There is very little in the way of parking at Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park.

There looked to be a couple of car parking spots at the day use beach, but nothing at all for anything bigger. Don’t expect to be able to use the park as day-use in anything bigger than a minivan.

There’s a bit more parking at the main boat launch, but no turn around loop, and it’s definitely not wide enough for a bigger rig to turn around in.

The sites are generally pretty small, so I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do for overflow parking.

Miscellaneous

Minor note: As you turn onto the road that goes toward the campground, there’s a sign that says it’s bumpy for the next 20 odd (I forget how many - MUCH further than the park was!) Km.

It wasn’t bumpy between there and the park gate, so no worries there!

In terms of the campground roads... yikes. This was not well-thought out when it was designed.

The roads are single lane, very narrow, and are DESPERATELY in need of one-way directionality. Unfortunately, there’s no real good way of implementing that where it really needs it - around the trailer sanitation and fill stations.

Coming out of the dump station, you need to either go through the fill station backwards (again, no bypass there, good luck if someone’s coming in!), or head to your left.

That sends you around a bit of a blind corner, where the oncoming traffic is going the expected, logical direction. No bypass lanes anywhere, an absolute mess.

It’s a really confusing, nonsensical set up that could REALLY be improved upon by just adding a second lane through the fill area.

I would REALLY hate to see how this whole area gets on busy summer weekends, when people are trying to dump / fill at the end of the weekend, as others are trying to get out.

Overall - though they have RV camping, and even some decently sized RV pull though sites - the layout of the campground is very much NOT set up for RVs.

We wonder if they tacked on the RV stuff - like the pull through sites and the dump station - on, well after the park was already going.

It’s SUCH a wild logistical mess, it’s actually kind of fascinating.

Campground Amenities & Info

There is really not a lot in the way of amenities at Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park. Here’s what you need to know:

Creature Comforts

The showers and laundry facilities are located in the area of the cabins - clear across the campground AND across the highway from the actual camping area.

To put a finer point on that: the entire campground of around 80 campsites is located on one side of a small highway.

The handful of cottages is located on the other side, along with the only thing resembling a comfort station *in the entire campground*.

It’s on a very small loop of road, with not much in the way of parking ... but sure, send ~80 campsites worth of people across the road to take a shower.

Absolutely bizarre. I’ve literally never seen a sign like the one above in ANY provincial park we’ve been to, before Sturgeon Bay.

If you have to tell people they can’t bathe in the lake... I don’t know, maybe make getting a shower just a bit more convenient than having to leave the campground entirely, cross a highway, and go to a tiny area with very little parking?

Just a thought.

Anyway, with only one “comfort station” to service the 80 campsites and handful of cottages... it’s actually just two little shacks - one for showers, one for laundry facilities.

They're up steps, and not wheelchair accessible.

Anyway.

The toilets throughout the park are marked as being flush toilets, but looked like basic old vault toilets / outhouses.

My husband checked one of the ones at the dump station. They actually WERE flush toilets - and a urinal - just with “weird” plumbing. He thinks they were probably retrofitted.

Park Store

The Sturgeon Bay Park store is located in the front office, where you check in.

Their store was actually pretty impressively appointed, and a really stark contrast to the rest of the campground.

They had a much bigger selection of merchandise than a lot of other parks - souvenirs, clothing, camping supplies, some groceries, ice, etc.

Visitor Centre

There is no Visitor Center in Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park.

Day Use Area

There’s a really small day-use area at Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park - a small, sandy beach with a buoyed area for swimming, and a few picnic tables scattered around.

One cool thing about the day use area is the big rock formation there - I’ve seen it referred to as a “craggy shoreline”, but that doesn’t seem to do it justice.

I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen rock like that before - I don’t think it’s ACTUALLY igneous rock, but the way it was shaped was fascinating.

Waves and swirls with raised ridges - I absolutely could have believed it to be hardened lava - even though I’m not sure that makes any sense at all, for the area.

Rentals

The park rents Canoes, Double Kayaks, and Stand Up Paddle Boards out of the park store.

Campsite Details

A fair amount of camp sites were unoccupied during our visit - kind of surprising, given that it was on a weekend, during the height of fall colours rush.

So, we were able to snoop around and get a good idea of what the sites were like!

Car Camping

As with most Ontario Provincial Parks, each campsite comes with a picnic table and a fire pit (or fire ring, in some cases), and at least half of the sites had electrical hookups.

In general, most sites were small, and didn’t have a lot in the way of privacy. Some were really cute - with rock cliffs behind them - some had a view of the water... most were pretty plain, though.

Most of the campsites had pretty uneven ground. We didn’t really see any that had a nice flat surface, and most of the campers / RVs we saw had *significant* use of leveling blocks on the go.

Also: several sites were closed for campsite rehabilitation.

Roofed Accommodation

Across the highway from the campground, there are 4 cottages available for rent.

These look like fairly rustic cabins, but at least they’re closer to the laundry facilities, I guess?

The website says that the cabins are located “on the shore of Georgian Bay” - they absolutely are NOT.

The campground map shows something like maybe a really small stream running behind them, but you definitely couldn’t tell from in front of the cabins that there was *any* semblance of water back there.

In another bizarre twist... they each have running water... and a 3 piece bathroom.

You know, the 4 cottages on their own small loop with the only showers in the campground?

Make it make sense. (I’m assuming it’s a plumbing issue, but still - ridiculous.)

Entertainment and Activity

I’ll be honest with you... there’s not a lot to do at Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park, unless you’re really into boating.

Hiking

There are no hiking trails in Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park.

Biking

There are no biking trails in Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park... but you can cycle on the park roads if you like.

Swimming

There’s a small, natural sand beach in the park, pretty much walking distance from everywhere.

It’s not exactly the sparkling blue waters you expect from Lake Huron / Georgian Bay in general, but the water is pretty clear and looks decently clean enough in this little bay.

The beach itself has a gradual drop off, and the swimming area is marked with buoys.

As with most (all?) Ontario Provincial Parks, there are no lifeguards on duty at the Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park swimming area.

Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

We were excited to check out the birds in Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park, as the list of birds mentioned on the park’s website includes several we’ve never seen before - American Woodcock, Black Tern, Merlin, Whip-poor-will - as well as several a few we always love to see (Common Loon, Pileated Woodpecker, and Spotted Sandpiper).

We did not see or hear a single bird while we were there.

The closest we came to a wildlife encounter was seeing a sign at the front that says that Ontario Parks tries to protect Common Five-Lined Skinks (a species at risk), and their environment.

It wasn’t really clear from the sign if that meant there were some at the park, or not.

Boating

Sturgeon Bay is part of Georgian Bay, so it’s a great place for those who want to go boating. There are all kinds of small inlets and such in the area to explore by motor boats, or by paddling.

There are two boat launches in the park - a larger one with trailer parking towards the front of the park, and a smaller, more rustic boat launch near the day use area.

The park rents canoes, kayaks, and stand up paddleboards, while motorboat rentals are available nearby - from private businesses.

Just a word of caution - as with some of the other Great Lakes, the boating conditions on Georgian Bay can change very quickly. Take all safety precautions, and keep an eye on things!

Fishing

The bountiful waters of Georgian Bay are known to have excellent fishing opportunities, so I wasn’t surprised to see such a focus on fishing at the park.

Besides having two boat launches for those who want to go fishing out on the water, there was also a decent looking fish cleaning station at the main boat launch.

The rock formations at the day use area seemed to be particularly popular for shore fishing during our visit.

In general, it sounds like Black Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, and Smallmouth Bass are what you can expect to find in the area.

Discovery Program

We did not see any mention at all of a Discovery Program, across the park’s website, in-person signage, or in the park’s map / newspaper.

Niantic Games

There were two Ingress Portals / 1 Pokestop and 1 Pokegym - as well as one Dynamax stop, and good enough internet to play the games.

Final Thoughts

As you may have guessed... we did not find Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park to be in any way a suitable spot for us to consider for future trips.

Given the bizarre issues with the park, I struggle to think of a demographic that it WOULD be a great place for.

It’s not great for RV campers - on account of the roads / layout / uneven ground / etc, and it’s not exactly awesome as a tent camping site, given the weird situation with the showers.

Given that Grundy Lake Provincial Park and Killbear Provincial Park are both less than an hour away from Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park... I just can’t see a reason to camp there.

It’s got some charm, I guess - but seriously, that really cool rock formation in the day use area is literally the best thing about the park.

Overall, it’s just a really weird little campground.

More Provincial Park Campground Reviews

Want to read some more of what we have to say about the campgrounds we've stayed at? Here are some more reviews!

Agawa Bay Campground, Lake Superior Provincial Park
Arrowhead Provincial Park
Awenda Provincial Park
Balsam Lake Provincial Park
Bass Lake Provincial Park
Bon Echo Provincial Park
Bonnechere Provincial Park
Bronte Creek Provincial Park
Canisbay Lake, Algonquin Provincial Park
Chutes Provincial Park
Darlington Provincial Park
Driftwood Provincial Park
Earl Rowe Provincial Park
Emily Provincial Park
Fairbank Provincial Park
Ferris Provincial Park
Grundy Lake Provincial Park
Inverhuron Provincial Park
Killbear Provincial Park
Long Point Provincial Park
MacGregor Point Provincial Park
MacLeod Provincial Park
Mara Provincial Park
McRae Point Provincial Park
Neys Provincial Park
Pancake Bay Provincial Park
Pinery Provincial Park
Point Farms Provincial Park
Port Burwell Provincial Park
Quetico Provincial Park
Rabbit Blanket Lake, Lake Superior Provincial Park
Rainbow Falls Provincial Park
Rideau River Provincial Park
Rock Point Provincial Park
Rondeau Provincial Park
Sauble Falls Provincial Park
Selkirk Provincial Park
Sibbald Point Provincial Park
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
Turkey Point Provincial Park
Wheatley Provincial Park
White Lake Provincial Park