Samuel de Champlain: Which Campground Should You Book?

If you're trying to decide which campground to book at Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park, the two options are close enough in size that the choice mostly comes down to site-level details rather than campground-level ones. Our data shows Babawasse at roughly 103 sites and Jingwakoki at roughly 105 — a two-site difference that shouldn't drive your decision on its own. Pick based on which specific site looks right on the reservation map, not which campground name sounds better.

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

What our data confirms

Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park sits at 6905 Highway 17 near Mattawa, Ontario, right on the highway corridor connecting North Bay to the Ottawa Valley. The park lists about 208 total sites, split across two campgrounds: Babawasse at roughly 103 sites and Jingwakoki at roughly 105. Those two numbers add up to the park's full site count, so unlike some parks where the total runs higher than what the listed campgrounds cover, there's no backcountry or seasonal-site gap to flag here — Babawasse and Jingwakoki are, as far as our data goes, the whole park.

Beyond the numbers, the park's location is worth noting on its own. Highway 17 through this stretch follows the Mattawa River, long used as a canoe route between the Great Lakes and the Ottawa River — which is part of why the park carries the name of the explorer. If river or canoe-route history is part of why you're visiting, check the official park page for current trail and interpretive programming, since we don't have that level of detail logged here.

Babawasse vs. Jingwakoki

With a gap this small, neither campground meaningfully improves your odds of finding an open date over the other. Treat the choice as a tiebreaker between two similar-sized options, and let site-specific details — not the campground name — decide.

Babawasse

At roughly 103 sites, Babawasse is marginally the smaller of the two. That's not enough of a difference to expect a quieter stay purely because of campground size, but it's worth checking the satellite view for this loop specifically, since layout and tree cover can vary more within a campground than a two-site gap would suggest between them.

Jingwakoki

Jingwakoki runs slightly larger at roughly 105 sites. Again, the size difference from Babawasse is marginal — if you're choosing between the two, use the reservation map to compare specific open sites rather than assuming one campground is meaningfully bigger or busier than the other.

What we can't confirm yet

We'd rather say plainly what we don't know than guess at it. Our data doesn't break out which sites at Babawasse or Jingwakoki have electrical hookups, which are closest to a comfort station, or which back onto the water versus the treeline. Before you lock in a site number, pull up the current interactive site map on the official Samuel de Champlain page — it shows the live layout and services loop by loop. Our guide on how to read a campsite before you book also walks through what to look for on the satellite view once you've narrowed down a loop at either campground.

We also don't have yurts or cabins confirmed at this park. Our yurt camping guide covers which Ontario Parks locations we can confirm roofed accommodation at, and points you to the Ontario Parks roofed-accommodation search to check Samuel de Champlain directly if that's part of your plan.

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 — ideally a first-choice site at either Babawasse or Jingwakoki plus a couple of backups, since a near-even split between two similarly sized campgrounds means both can sell out on the same busy weekend.

If your dates are already gone by the time you check, that 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, which applies here just as well as at any other two-campground park.

The bottom line

Samuel de Champlain keeps the decision close to a coin flip: Babawasse and Jingwakoki are nearly the same size, and together they account for the park's full 208 sites with no hidden backcountry gap. Pick whichever loop has the specific site you want on the official map, confirm electrical availability and site-to-water distance there, and book early if you're traveling the Highway 17 corridor on a popular weekend.

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

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

Questions

How many campgrounds does Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park have?

Two: Babawasse, with roughly 103 sites, and Jingwakoki, with roughly 105. Together they add up to the park's total of about 208 sites, so there's no unexplained gap between the two campgrounds and the park total.

Is Babawasse or Jingwakoki bigger?

They're close to even — Jingwakoki has about 105 sites to Babawasse's roughly 103, a two-site difference that isn't meaningful for planning purposes.

Are there electrical sites at Babawasse or Jingwakoki?

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

Is Samuel de Champlain a good pick if I'm driving along Highway 17?

It sits directly on Highway 17 near Mattawa, so it's a convenient stop for anyone travelling between North Bay and the Ottawa Valley. Confirm current park hours and any seasonal closures on the official page before building a trip around it.