Backcountry camping in Ontario means camping on the Canadian Shield -- granite, gneiss, and quartzite that formed billions of years ago and doesn't cooperate with tent pegs. It means dealing with black bears who consider your food barrel a personal challenge, bugs that can make a beautiful campsite unlivable, and rain that seems timed to arrive exactly when you're trying to cook dinner. The reward is waking up on a rock ledge overlooking a lake with nobody else in sight. Getting there comfortably requires specific skills.
Campsite Selection
In provincial parks like Algonquin and Killarney, backcountry campsites are designated -- marked with a campsite sign, usually with a fire ring and box privy (outhouse). You camp on these sites and only these sites. In Algonquin, you're assigned to a lake and choose your specific site upon arrival (first-come-first-served). In Killarney, you book a specific numbered site.
On Crown land (Ottawa Valley, Renfrew County, and throughout northern Ontario), you select your own campsite. The ideal Crown land campsite has:
- Flat or gently sloped ground for your tent (rock or packed earth, not soft ground that pools water)
- Good drainage -- avoid low spots that will become puddles in rain
- Access to water for cooking and drinking (at least 30 metres from your sleeping area to satisfy Leave No Trace requirements)
- Trees suitable for hanging food (branches at least 5 metres high and sturdy enough to hold 15+ kg)
- Some wind exposure to keep bugs down, but not so exposed that your tarp becomes a sail
- A canoe landing that works in varying water levels
Arrive at camp by mid-afternoon. Setting up in daylight, with time to cook and organize before dark, makes everything easier. Arriving at 8pm to a site you've never seen, in the rain, with a headlamp, is how mistakes happen.
Tent Setup on Shield Rock
You cannot pound tent stakes into granite. This is the defining challenge of Shield camping and the reason freestanding tents are strongly recommended for Ontario backcountry. A freestanding tent (like the MSR Hubba Hubba or Big Agnes Copper Spur) stands on its own pole structure without requiring stakes. You'll still want to guy it out in wind -- tie guylines to rocks, logs, or trees instead of staking them.
If your tent requires stakes to achieve its full shape, bring heavy-duty nail pegs (not the flimsy wire stakes that come with most tents) and look for cracks in the rock or thin soil pockets where you can get a few stakes in. Supplementing with rock anchors -- stuff sacks filled with rocks, tied to guylines -- is a reliable backup.
A ground sheet or footprint protects your tent floor from the rough granite surface. A piece of Tyvek cut to size is lighter and cheaper than a branded footprint. Check the rock surface for sharp edges before setting up and clear away any debris that could puncture the floor.
Tarp Setup
A 10x10-foot tarp over your cooking and eating area is the single most important comfort item in your kit. It transforms a rainy day from miserable to manageable. String it between trees with a ridgeline of paracord, angled so that rain runs off one side rather than pooling in the centre. Bring at least 15 metres of line for the ridgeline and four to six shorter guylines for the corners.
Learn at least two tarp configurations before your trip: a basic A-frame for rain protection and a lean-to for wind protection with a view. Practice at home. Tying knots with cold, wet hands while rain is falling is hard enough without also trying to figure out the geometry for the first time.
Food Storage
Ontario's backcountry has black bears, and the bears know that campsites mean food. Your food storage system is not just about your own trip -- every time a bear gets into someone's food, it reinforces the behaviour and creates a problem for every camper who comes after.
See our detailed bear awareness guide for the full breakdown of bear barrels vs. bear canisters vs. food hangs. The essentials:
- Store all food, garbage, and scented items (toothpaste, sunscreen, bug spray) in your barrel or canister
- Hang the barrel at least 3 metres off the ground and 2 metres from the nearest trunk at night
- Never store food in your tent
- Cook and eat at least 30 metres from your sleeping area
- Clean up thoroughly after every meal -- no scraps on the ground, no grease on logs
Cooking in Camp
A canister stove (MSR PocketRocket, Jetboil) is the standard for Ontario canoe trips. It's fast, reliable, and works regardless of fire bans. Campfires are pleasant but not always available -- fire bans are common during dry summer periods, and some parks restrict fires entirely.
Set up your cooking area on rock or bare ground, away from vegetation and overhanging branches. The cook should wear shoes, not bare feet -- spilling boiling water on bare feet is a trip-ending injury. Keep a pot of water nearby for fire safety and cleanup.
Dishwashing: use biodegradable soap, wash at least 30 metres from water sources, strain your dishwater through a bandana to catch food particles, and scatter the strained water widely. Pack out the food particles with your garbage.
Rain Management
It will rain on your Ontario backcountry trip. Plan for it rather than hoping against it. A tarp over the cooking area, rain gear laid out where you can grab it quickly, dry bags properly sealed, and a plan for keeping your sleeping bag dry -- these are the basics.
If you're stuck in camp during an all-day rain: tarp games, card games, napping, and reading fill the hours. A good book weighs 200 grams and provides more entertainment value per gram than any other item in your pack. Make sure your tarp is up and secure before the rain starts, not while it's already pouring.
Camp Hygiene
Bathing: swim or rinse with a bandana. Don't use soap (even biodegradable) directly in lakes or rivers. If you need to use soap, carry water at least 30 metres from the shore, wash there, and scatter the grey water.
Waste: use the box privy at designated sites. On Crown land or when a privy isn't available, dig a cat hole 15-20 cm deep at least 30 metres from water, trails, and campsites. Do your business, cover it, and pack out your toilet paper in a sealed bag. Yes, pack it out. Toilet paper doesn't decompose quickly in Ontario's thin boreal soil and is unsightly for the next camper.
For detailed waste disposal and environmental ethics, see our Leave No Trace guide.
Breaking Camp
Leave the campsite cleaner than you found it. Check the fire ring for garbage (previous visitors often leave foil, bottle caps, and partially burned food). Scan the ground around your tent and cooking area for dropped items. Make sure your fire is dead out -- drown it, stir the ashes, drown it again, and touch the ashes with your hand. If it's too hot to touch, it's too hot to leave.
Load your canoe deliberately: heaviest items low and centred, barrel accessible for portages, map and water bottle within reach, PFDs on. Give the campsite one final look from the water before you paddle away. The goal is that the next party can't tell you were there.