Murphys Point: What to Know Before You Book Hogg Bay

If you're trying to decide which campground to book at Murphys Point Provincial Park, there's nothing to decide: our data shows exactly one drive-in campground here, Hogg Bay, with roughly 156 sites. The real planning questions for Murphys Point aren't "which campground" but "is this the right park for my trip" and "what do I need to check before I book a specific site."

Here's what we can confirm, what we can't, and where to look for the rest.

What our data confirms

Murphys Point Provincial Park sits at 2243 Elmsley Ct in Perth, Ontario, in the Lanark and Rideau Lakes area between Ottawa and Kingston. The park lists about 173 total sites, and Hogg Bay — the only campground on our park page — accounts for roughly 156 of them, which is nearly the whole park. That leaves a gap of about 17 sites we can't account for from our data alone; it's worth noting rather than guessing at, since it most likely points to group camping, seasonal sites, or another category not broken out in what we track. If your trip depends on a specific site type, check the official Murphys Point page for the current breakdown before you build a plan around it.

Murphys Point also carries a reputation among Ontario campers for its history on the Canadian Shield — the park grew up around old mica and feldspar mining operations, and a walking trail to a former mine is one of the things people mention when they talk about the park. If that kind of side trip is part of why you're going, confirm current trail access and any guided programming directly with Ontario Parks, since hours and offerings change season to season and we don't have those details logged here.

Hogg Bay: what to check before you book

With one campground to choose from, the work shifts from "which campground" to "which site." A few things worth doing before your booking window opens:

• Use the reservation map's filters. Electrical vs. non-electrical, pull-through vs. back-in, distance to the comfort station — none of that is in our data, and it's exactly the kind of detail the official booking map shows site by site.
• Check the satellite view for tree cover and neighbours. Our guide to reading a campsite before you book walks through what to look for on the map: shade, privacy, and how close you'll be to the comfort station and the main road through the loop.
• Have backup site numbers ready. Because Hogg Bay is a single campground rather than a sprawling multi-loop park like Algonquin, popular weekends can still move fast even without several competing loops to spread demand across.

When to book

Ontario Parks releases reservations five months ahead of your arrival date, at 7 a.m. Eastern, on reservations.ontarioparks.ca. Our reservation dates guide has the day-by-day schedule for 2027's long weekends, and our 7 a.m. booking playbook covers what to have ready before the window opens. Murphys Point's location between Ottawa and Kingston keeps it within easy reach of both cities, so a single roughly 156-site campground can still sell out on the best summer weekends — don't wait to book if your dates matter to you.

If your weekend does sell out, it isn't necessarily final. Our guide to landing a cancelled site covers setting a Notify Me alert and timing your checks around the cancellation deadline, and that approach works just as well at a single-campground park as at a bigger one.

If Hogg Bay doesn't have what you need

If your trip depends on something Hogg Bay doesn't offer — shore power for a trailer, a second option on different water, or roofed accommodation — it's worth knowing before you book rather than after. We don't have yurts or cabins confirmed at Murphys Point; our yurt camping guide covers which parks we can confirm those at and points you to the Ontario Parks roofed-accommodation search to check directly. For a bigger campground with more room to pick a specific site type, a park like MacGregor Point or Algonquin may be a better fit for that particular trip.

The bottom line

Murphys Point keeps the campground decision simple: it's Hogg Bay, full stop. Nail down what our page can't give you — electrical availability, site privacy, current mine-trail access — on the official Ontario Parks page and reservation map, then book early if you want a summer weekend near the Rideau Lakes.

PitchPeek is a small, growing app for browsing sites like the ones at Hogg Bay, saving the ones you're considering, and rating your own site once you've camped it.

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Questions

Does Murphys Point Provincial Park have more than one campground?

No. Our data shows one drive-in campground, Hogg Bay, with roughly 156 sites. There's no campground-to-campground comparison to make here.

Are there electrical sites at Hogg Bay?

We don't have that split confirmed in our data. Use the electrical filter on the Ontario Parks reservation map before you book so you can see exactly which sites have power.

Why does Murphys Point list about 173 total sites if Hogg Bay only has about 156?

That roughly 17-site gap likely covers group camping, seasonal, or other site types not broken out separately in our data. Check the Ontario Parks page for Murphys Point for current site categories.

Is Murphys Point a good pick for a quieter trip near Ottawa or Kingston?

With one moderate-sized campground rather than several competing loops, it's generally a calmer booking experience than a park like Killbear or Algonquin. Confirm current amenities and programming on the official park page before you go.