Killbear Campgrounds: Which One to Book on Georgian Bay

If you want the postcard Killbear experience, rocky shoreline, windswept pines, a sunset over Georgian Bay from your site, book Harold Point or Lighthouse and be online the morning the reservation window opens. If you have kids and want a sandy beach, book Kilcoursie Bay. If you'd trade a view for more shade, more room and an easier booking, book Beaver Dams or Granite Saddle in the interior.

Killbear, on a peninsula near Parry Sound, is one of the most loved parks in Ontario for a simple reason: the campgrounds are on or near the water, and the water is Georgian Bay. It's a big park with close to nine hundred sites across seven campgrounds, and they don't all feel the same.

Waterfront versus interior

The simplest way to think about Killbear is two groups.

Which sites have electrical hookups, which are radio-free, and exact counts shift from year to year. Check the Killbear campground map on Ontario Parks for the current version before you pick a site number.

Harold Point and Lighthouse: the views

These two are why people set an alarm for 7 a.m. five months out. The shoreline is Shield rock, the pines lean with the wind, and a lot of sites look straight out over the bay. Harold Point in particular has sites where you carry your gear in a short distance from the road, which keeps it quieter and gives you more space between you and the next tent. If you're camping as a couple or with friends who care more about where they sit at sunset than about a beach, start here.

Kilcoursie Bay and Georgian Bay: for the beach

Kilcoursie Bay has the sandy beach that makes it the default for families with young kids. Georgian Bay campground is also water-adjacent with beach areas and is one of the busiest parts of the park. Both are great for a swim-all-day trip; both are noticeably livelier at night than the interior campgrounds. That's not a complaint, just what to expect in July.

Blind Bay: the calmer water

Blind Bay sits on a sheltered bay rather than open Georgian Bay, so the water is calmer for a canoe or paddleboard, and the campground feels a step removed from the busiest areas. It's a good middle choice if you want water access without the beach crowds.

Beaver Dams and Granite Saddle: the easier bookings

The interior campgrounds don't have the view, and that's exactly why they're easier to get. Beaver Dams is the big one, more treed and with more room, and it's where you'll find a lot of the trailers. Granite Saddle has a more private, tent-in-the-trees feel. From either you're a short walk or bike from the water; you just don't camp on it. If Killbear is the goal and the waterfront loops are gone, these are not a consolation prize.

The rest of the park

Wherever you camp, the Lighthouse Point trail at sunset and the beach walk along Kilcoursie Bay are the two things everyone does. The park also has a recreation trail for biking that connects the campgrounds, so you're never stuck at your loop.

Booking Killbear

Ontario Parks reservations open five months ahead of your arrival date, at 7 a.m. Eastern, on the official system at reservations.ontarioparks.ca. Waterfront sites at Killbear go within minutes for summer weekends. Have your first-choice campground and a few backup site numbers written down before that morning. The dates and a step-by-step routine are in our guide to 2027 Ontario Parks reservation dates.

See all seven campgrounds on the Killbear park page.

One line each

• Harold Point or Lighthouse for the views. Book the minute the window opens.
• Kilcoursie Bay for a sandy beach with kids.
• Georgian Bay for water and a beach, busier.
• Blind Bay for calm water and a quieter end.
• Beaver Dams or Granite Saddle for shade, space and an easier booking.

PitchPeek lets you save the sites you're eyeing, plan the trip with your friends (gear list, meals), and rate your site after the trip so the next camper knows what it's like.

Free · plan the trip with your crew · rate the site when you get home

Questions

Which Killbear campgrounds are on the water?

Harold Point, Lighthouse, Kilcoursie Bay, Georgian Bay and Blind Bay all touch the shoreline. Beaver Dams and Granite Saddle are interior campgrounds.

Which Killbear campground has a sandy beach?

Kilcoursie Bay is the classic sandy, family beach campground. Much of the rest of Killbear's shoreline is Canadian Shield rock rather than sand.

Which Killbear campground is hardest to book?

The waterfront campgrounds, especially Harold Point and Lighthouse, go first when the reservation window opens five months ahead.