Road Trip Toronto to Killbear – Wild Georgian Bay

Toronto Killbear Provincial Park
250
km
3h
drive
Summer
season

The Itinerary

Killbear Provincial Park occupies a peninsula on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay, at the southern end of the archipelago known as the Thirty Thousand Islands. The park is essentially a slab of pink Canadian Shield granite dropping into clear water, fringed with sand pockets and topped with the wind-sculpted white pines that the Group of Seven turned into a national visual shorthand. Tom Thomson painted this coastline, and the resemblance between the canvases and the shoreline is immediate.

The drive from Toronto is about 250 km on Highway 400 to Parry Sound, then west on Highway 559. Lighthouse Point Trail, roughly 3.5 km, runs out to an active navigation light over open rock and past the best of the shoreline views. Twin Points and the Lookout give the wide-angle views over the bay. The campground is one of the largest in the provincial system with well over 800 sites, and it is one of the hardest to book: summer weekend sites are typically taken the day the reservation window opens, five months ahead.

Parry Sound, fifteen minutes east, provides restaurants, groceries and the deep-water harbour where the Island Queen runs three-hour cruises through the Thirty Thousand Islands. The park is also a well-known habitat for the eastern massasauga rattlesnake, Ontario's only venomous snake, which is shy and rarely seen; the park posts guidance and it is worth reading. Swimming is best from mid-July, and September offers warm rock, cool nights and no crowds.

Points of Interest

  • ✦
    Lighthouse Point
    Working lighthouse and rocky shore on a 3.5 km trail.
  • ✦
    Twin Points Lookout
    Panoramic view over Georgian Bay.
  • ✦
    Island Queen Cruise
    Three-hour cruise through the 30,000 Islands from Parry Sound.
  • ✦
    Iconic Group of Seven Pines
    The wind-bent pines immortalized by Tom Thomson.

Fishing Spots Along the Route

🎣
A-frame Lake
Lake
🎣
Ada Lake
Lake
🎣
Adams Bay
Lake
🎣
Adams Lake
Lake
🎣
Agnes Lake
Lake
🎣
Aikman Lake
Lake
🎣
Alexander Bay
Lake
🎣
Allens Lakes
Lake

Protected areas along the route

🌿
KILLBEAR PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURAL ENVIRONMENT CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
OASTLER LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK (RECREATIONAL CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
SEGUIN RIVER CONSERVATION RESERVE
Conservation Reserve
🌿
Franklin Island White Pine Forest Conservation Reserve
Recommended Conservation Reserve
🌿
HORSESHOE LAKE CONSERVATION RESERVE
Conservation Reserve
🌿
CRANE LAKE FOREST CONSERVATION RESERVE
Conservation Reserve
🌿
ROUND LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
UPPER SHEBESHEKONG WETLAND CONSERVATION RESERVE
Conservation Reserve
🌿
FERGUSON TOWNSHIP WHITE PINE FOREST CONSERVATION RESERVE
Conservation Reserve
🌿
THE MASSASAUGA PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURAL ENVIRONMENT CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
The Massasauga Provincial Park Addition
Recommended Provincial Park
🌿
Great Lakes Coastal Areas - Parry Sound North
Enhanced Management Area

Take this route offline

Cell coverage thins out fast once you leave Toronto. Export the map as a geo-referenced PDF before you go and open it in BorealMaps — your GPS position shows on the map with no signal at all.

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Practical info
  • Departure Toronto
  • Destination Killbear Provincial Park
  • Distance 250 km
  • Duration 3h
  • Category Medium (100–250 km)
  • Best season Summer
Themes
park lake beach Summer Camping Family art

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