Camping Adventures - Sandbanks PP
So last year we camped twice. I've always heard about Sandbanks but we had never been there - the year before I tried to find a campsite but learned that the site gets filled 5 months in advance - yeap, five months to the day. So last year I was vigilant and literally counted backwards 5 months. This meant that we booked our site in March for an August trip! Crazy. Even then, most of the good spots were already gone.
Was it worth it?
It depends on what you expect.
This was the farthest we had traveled to camp, and last year was a bad year - there was a lot of flooding and a lot of the famous sand dunes were washed away and parts of the beach was closed off. I was worried, going in but traveling with my adventurous and worry free husband helped!
We checked in on a Sunday - so I thought it would be less crowded.....I was so wrong!
I had just come from Awenda the month before, where the sites were so much larger than Emily and Sibbald....but once at Sandbanks it became very obvious very soon that the sites would be a lot tinier
Our site was a double level site - not the greatest. We parked the car on the lower level close to the road, and had to walk 6 steps up to a narrow and long site - it was very tricky to figure out how to set up but we made it work somehow
i also booked a site farther from the washroom this time - thinking that perhaps it would be better - WRONG!!!! Our bladders don't do well....it was very inconvenient - lessons learned, though. Next time, I choose bright lights vs walking in the dark to the washroom!
This site is famous for its beaches -- was it worth it? In my opinion, YES. The week we were there was a breezy week, so as I entered the beach, well, I was awe struck. The sand is really white and fine...the breeze caused the late waters to develop waves....and I as sat there I ALMOST felt like I was in the Caribbean!
On the way to the beach we spotted another program - a guided hike. So we decided to leave our beach gear on the beach and drive to the hiking trail for another new adventure. There, we met another Ontario Parks staff who gave the kids magnifying glasses and pens and booklets and off we went on a guided hike through the woods - it was a lot of fun! The only drawback? The mosquitos did have a good time with me :D
Sandbanks is a very busy park - this means more cars, less space but also more programs and facilities. We didn't like the campsite, if we had to be picky, and I'm not going to get another site far from the flushed toilets any more, but the beach was amazing and all the programs we participated in was great - the park store is a bonus for the kids. Despite the crowds and the small sites, guess what? We are going back this year - with another family....and this time we are right next to the washrooms - who knows if this will be a good or bad choice...only time will tell
Was it worth it?
It depends on what you expect.
This was the farthest we had traveled to camp, and last year was a bad year - there was a lot of flooding and a lot of the famous sand dunes were washed away and parts of the beach was closed off. I was worried, going in but traveling with my adventurous and worry free husband helped!
We checked in on a Sunday - so I thought it would be less crowded.....I was so wrong!
I had just come from Awenda the month before, where the sites were so much larger than Emily and Sibbald....but once at Sandbanks it became very obvious very soon that the sites would be a lot tinier
Our site was a double level site - not the greatest. We parked the car on the lower level close to the road, and had to walk 6 steps up to a narrow and long site - it was very tricky to figure out how to set up but we made it work somehow
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| strange set up |
 |
| Considering how busy Sandbanks is, the washrooms were decent and there was always someone cleaning - sometimes it just meant waiting for a little bit until the staff finished |
After lunch we decided to check out the programs available since we had 2 nights and didn't have to rush to the beach -- We went to the amphitheatre and were surprised at the entertaining program the park staff put together
This site is famous for its beaches -- was it worth it? In my opinion, YES. The week we were there was a breezy week, so as I entered the beach, well, I was awe struck. The sand is really white and fine...the breeze caused the late waters to develop waves....and I as sat there I ALMOST felt like I was in the Caribbean!
On the way to the beach we spotted another program - a guided hike. So we decided to leave our beach gear on the beach and drive to the hiking trail for another new adventure. There, we met another Ontario Parks staff who gave the kids magnifying glasses and pens and booklets and off we went on a guided hike through the woods - it was a lot of fun! The only drawback? The mosquitos did have a good time with me :D
After an hour hike, we were back on the beach
We always check out the park store - this one had poutine and burgers but no Kawartha ice cream :( -- we decided to keep things simple and treated the kids to some poutine :D
We also went fishing this time - I got hubby a license and we bought basic gear
Sandbanks is a very busy park - this means more cars, less space but also more programs and facilities. We didn't like the campsite, if we had to be picky, and I'm not going to get another site far from the flushed toilets any more, but the beach was amazing and all the programs we participated in was great - the park store is a bonus for the kids. Despite the crowds and the small sites, guess what? We are going back this year - with another family....and this time we are right next to the washrooms - who knows if this will be a good or bad choice...only time will tell
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