We know camping or visiting a park for the day for the first time can be intimidating.
What supplies do I bring? What are the rules? How can I make my trip as comfortable as possible?
Don’t worry, the Ontario Parks Discovery program is here to help you make your trip easy and memorable.
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Drop-in programming offered all summer long!
Twenty-one parks across the province have outdoor and camping skills workshops designed for new campers! Our drop-in sessions allow you to ask your camping questions, take a guided walk, or visit a demonstration campsite.
Join one of our drop-in workshops during your camping or day use visit to learn an outdoor skill with no reservation necessary.
You can find program schedules posted on park bulletin boards or check the park’s events calendar.
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Outdoor and Camping Skills Workshops are offered at 21 parks
We recommend these parks for those looking to visit a park for the first time, or for anyone who wants to expand their skills:
- Algonquin Provincial Park
- Awenda Provincial Park
- Balsam Lake Provincial Park
- Bass Lake Provincial Park
- Darlington Provincial Park
- Earl Rowe Provincial Park
- Fitzroy Provincial Park
- Killarney Provincial Park
- Killbear Provincial Park
- Long Point Provincial Park
- Mara Provincial Park
- McRae Point Provincial Park
- North Beach Provincial Park
- Port Burwell Provincial Park
- Presqu’ile Provincial Park
- Sandbanks Provincial Park
- Sibbald Point Provincial Park
- Six Mile Lake Provincial Park
- Turkey Point Provincial Park
- Voyageur Provincial Park
- Wasaga Beach Provincial Park
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Book a Discovery Ambassador at select parks
Some select parks offer the opportunity to book a Discovery Ambassador for a free 30-minute one-on-one workshop at your campsite to learn a new skill, including workshops on:
- building the perfect campfire*
- setting up your campsite
- wildlife at Ontario Parks
*Please note that the how to build a campfire workshop will be replaced with the wildlife at Ontario Parks workshop when a park is under a partial or full fire ban. Check whether your park is under a partial or full fire ban on our alerts page.
These Book a Discovery Ambassador programs are offered at the following select parks:
- Darlington Provincial Park
- Earl Rowe Provincial Park
- Sibbald Point Provincial Park
- Voyageur Provincial Park
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Registration is easy!
Visit the Book a Discovery Ambassador page to see availability of one-on-one sessions at our participating parks!
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Free online workshops
In addition to in-person programming, we also offer free online workshops for visitors who want to learn about Ontario Parks and planning a camping trip.
Our staff will answer all your questions before you get to the park. We recommend this workshop for first-time visitors to Ontario Parks.
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Sign up for a webinar!
Running weekly for May, June, July, and August, our Discovery staff will virtually show you:
- where parks are located
- how to travel to parks
- how to book your trip
- what to do in our parks
- types of camping at Ontario Parks
- and more!
Visit the Book a Discovery Ambassador page on our website and select “Webinar” from the drop-down menu to see when the next session will be taking place.
Check out our first time visitors section of our blog for more information on exploring and camping in parks.
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