Ready to fall in love with camping without the stress of a full-blown trip? We break down our favourite microadventure formula: a single midweek overnight at Ontario Parks within an easy drive of Toronto. Think quick packing, simple meals, and all the magic of a campfire, minus the overwhelm. Whether you’re testing the waters or introducing kids to the outdoors, this is a repeatable plan that builds confidence and joy.
We walk through how to choose parks within one to two hours of the city and why midweek bookings can turn crowded hotspots into calm escapes. You’ll hear our top picks—Presqu’ile, Bronte Creek, Ferris, Emily, and even Sibbald Point when timed right—plus the specific perks that make each place shine. From Bronte Creek’s farmhouse demos, indoor barn playground, and massive pool to Presqu’ile’s trails and shoreline, there’s more than enough to keep curious minds engaged and screens out of sight.
Meals stay easy and delicious with our go-to foil-pack method: frozen fish and veg thaw en route and hit the fire on a clean foil layer over the park grate. Pancakes in the morning, hot dogs and s’mores at night, and a compact kitchen bin to keep everything organized. We also share practical checkout rhythms, small Leave No Trace habits that matter, and how short trips help you learn what you actually need. Start small, build momentum, and let these one-night adventures stack into memories your family will talk about for years.
If this sparked a plan, subscribe for more trail-tested ideas, share this episode with a friend who needs a nudge outdoors, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.
CONNECT WITH US AT SUPER GOOD CAMPING:
Support the podcast & buy super cool SWAG: https://store.skgroupinc.com/super_good_camping/shop/home
EMAIL: hi@supergoodcamping.com
WEBSITE: www.supergoodcamping.com
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqFDJbFJyJ5Y-NHhFseENsQ
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/super_good_camping/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/SuperGoodCampin
FACEBOOK GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SuperGoodCamping/
TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@supergoodcamping
Episode Transcript
Hello and good day, eh?
Welcome to the Super GoodCamping Podcast.
My name is Pamela.
SPEAKER_01 (00:04):
I'm Tim.
SPEAKER_00 (00:04):
And we are from Supergoodcamping.com.
We're here because we're on amission to inspire other people
to get outside and enjoy campingadventures such as we have as a
family.
Today we wanted to talk aboutmicro adventures.
So especially if you're justdipping your toe into the water
as far as camping, you mightwant to just plan something
that's kind of light, kind ofeasy, to see whether your kids
like it, whether you like it,and make it easier on yourself,
(00:26):
just so it's not a reallyambitious endeavor, first of the
first time out, especially.
So we did this as when ouryounger son was little.
SPEAKER_01 (00:36):
By by we she means she did.
SPEAKER_00 (00:39):
That are well, you helped because you would set us
all up.
I wouldn't just uh say, well,okay, we're gonna go, and Tim
would set a bin all up for us toload in the car and go.
Uh the so Tim was a facilitator.
SPEAKER_01 (00:52):
That sounds like it's a bat.
SPEAKER_00 (00:54):
Well, you're the enabler.
I'm the enabler.
SPEAKER_01 (00:57):
If it's camping related, I will do that.
SPEAKER_00 (01:00):
So the way it worked was I I would not be in the
office on Wednesdays andThursdays.
So those were days usually Iwould catch up on administrative
things.
And but anyways, because overthe summer we had the luxury of
me not being in the office onWednesday, Thursdays, so it was
perfect because you could gomidweek camping.
We didn't have to plan thingslike five months out.
(01:21):
Uh, you could just book like ifwe decided on Monday we were
gonna go a Wednesday overnightto Thursday, I could just book
it like that.
Uh, and so we chose uhcampgrounds that were within
about an hour to two hours fromToronto, which also makes it
when you have younger children alittle bit more feasible to load
them in the car and not havethem be, I'm bored, when are we
(01:42):
gonna get there?
Although an hour or two is stillpretty long.
So we uh would choose like theones that we did most often was
Preskeel Provincial Park, uhBronte Creek Provincial Park.
So Preskeel's down towardsCoburg kind of area.
The Bronte Creek is the otherdirection, more towards
Oakville, um, Ferris, which isalso east, and Emily Provincial
(02:03):
Park, which is I think notterribly far from Peterborough,
no, Bob Cajun, not terribly farfrom Bob Cajun.
It's up that neck of the woods.
Um so, anyways, we those are theones that we did, and they were
like doable in terms of like ashort drive and not too crazy to
try to get there, especially wedidn't want to eat the whole day
Wednesday, just driving to wherewe're gonna get there.
(02:25):
We get set up with our tent andour sleeping bags and our air
mattress, and then we'd oftenthen go tool around and explore
the park, and then we'd be readyfor come back to the campsite,
be ready for dinner, um, makesomething that was relatively
quick and easy, wasn't tooambitious as far as food goes,
have a campfire, which we lovedthat, just kind of sitting
(02:46):
around the fire and and s'moresor marshmallows or whatever, and
then the next day, because we'dhave to leave the site by noon,
I think, right?
That's the checkout for we'dhave the morning to go do
something, go maybe go for aswam, or maybe go also do some
exploring, and then uh get backto the campus site, get packed
up like around 11-ish, getourselves all packed up and out
(03:09):
of the site by noon, and thenback home.
So though these were some of themy favorite memories of with the
younger one.
Like he probably was somebetween about the age of six and
ten or so, I'd say, when we didthose.
So the other things just tomention around that is that we
did kind of make kind of quickand easy meals.
(03:30):
So I remember one mealspecifically where it was like
frozen vegetables and frozenfish.
And so because it's all frozen,we packed it in a small cooler,
and just by the time we gotthere, it'd be thawed out enough
that then we threw it in foil,threw it in the fire, and just
cooked it in the fire.
So quick and easy, super uhsimple to do, and not a lot of
(03:50):
pots and pans and dishes andwhatever to deal with
afterwards.
Pancakes were always popular, sothat would be the following
morning, it would be breakfast.
For over the campfire might behot dogs that we roast over the
fire, or it might have been ums'mores or marshmallows.
And uh, if you are like tryingto travel late, you can use the
(04:11):
grate that Ontario Parksprovides over the fire, but you
might want to bring your ownfoil to put it over top of that
filthy, dirty rust.
It's gonna be pretty filthy orsomething.
So, anyway, you can use that,and it saves you having to bring
your own grate, but you justprobably want to put some clean
foil down over top of that.
And then, as far as asentertainment, especially if you
(04:32):
are with younger ones, um,Ontario Parks is great for that
because a sometimes when they'reyoung, they're just happy to be
out in nature and looking atbugs and picking up sticks and
roaming around somewhat morefree range than they might be
able to at home.
Uh, and they also provideprogramming at Ontario Parks.
So over the summer months theydo.
(04:54):
So you can go and they'll have akids program, and our kids did
so many different parksprograms.
SPEAKER_01 (05:00):
So we did tie-dyed shirts, and they'll they'll do,
you know, like some kind of a uhtreasure hunt.
SPEAKER_00 (05:06):
Um we made bookmarks using shaving cream and food
coloring, like the swirly kindof bookmark things.
SPEAKER_01 (05:15):
Um, often put on at some kind of thing at the
amphitheater where they've gotyou know a performer or somebody
giving a talk on bear safety orthings like that.
SPEAKER_00 (05:23):
David Archibald came one time as a performer, and we
still like the songs will stillcome up that we heard.
That was probably also likebillion years ago.
Uh anyway, so stuff like that.
It's really fun.
The kids enjoy it, gets themoutside, it gets them away from
screens.
And Bronte Creek is really greatfor that, too, by the way.
(05:45):
So Bronte Creek is the one outby Oakville, and they have a
farmhouse, and at the farmhousethey do a lot of programming
there.
So we made candles, we uhlearned how to make rope, we
watched them use a treadle.
I don't remember what she was,she was sewing something with
this treadle sewing machine.
Uh, so all kinds of things likethat that we learned, and they
(06:07):
do have a scavenger hunt throughthe farmhouse as well to look
for different things.
They have farm animals at BronteCreek, they have uh a barn that
they've converted into an indoorplayground inside the barn.
So kids love that too.
Like it's so much to do atBronte Creek for kids.
There's a uh they don't have alake to swim in at Bronte Creek,
(06:27):
but they do have a swimmingpool.
The only to me drawback ofBronte Creek was the fact that
where you camp is separate fromwhere all those activities are.
So you have to load into thecar, get back in the car, back
on the highway, and get off atthe next exit in order to get to
where all the activity stuff is.
Uh so anyway, that's the onlykind of drawback of Bronte
(06:48):
Creek.
They're kind of where we campedat least, we're kind of unique
campsites, though.
It was uh this big savanna, likereally tall grass out all around
the back of the campsite.
So it was kind of isolated.
There wasn't like anybody rightnext to you because it was all
just this big tall grass allbehind us.
And when we went to on aWednesday, Thursday, it wasn't
that terribly busy.
(07:09):
Anyway, so we loved BrondiCreek.
We loved Preskeel, that was ourother very favorite one.
Um, and we've been since two, Idon't know, like a long weekend
to um Preskee, like a July longweekend.
We've gone to Prescuel as well.
But there's also lots to do.
Yeah, lots to do also atPrescuel.
So, anyways, those as far asToronto-based, those would be
(07:29):
really highly recommended forme, the Brondy Creek and
Prescule.
And they're really like nicelittle getaways, good change
from the ordinary.
Uh, you don't have to pack a tonof stuff.
So we would take a tent, wewould take an air mattress, we
would take sleeping bags, andthen we would take a bin that
Tim would put together of justlike kitchen camping gear.
(07:50):
Uh, and then we would take alittle bit of food.
So we would take the sometimeswe'd have lunch on the road on
the way there, and then we'dcook dinner there, and then we'd
have uh snack at night, and thenwe would have breakfast the next
morning, and then sometimeslunch on the road on the way
back.
So, anyways, it was fun littleouting, and for me it was lots
of good memories.
SPEAKER_01 (08:09):
I would throw in uh one other uh uh anybody that's
followed us for any length oftime has heard me say I'm I'm
not a huge fan of Sybil Points,because I'm not we we had a not
wonderful experience, but partsof it were quite good, and I'm
sure that midweek be a differentstory.
It wouldn't be way less like itjust insanely crowded on the
(08:30):
weekends because it is an hourand a half from Toronto, two
hours tops.
Um so you know day passes aregone.
Everybody is just it's it'scrazy, but but you know, on a
Wednesday or Thursday, I'm sureit would be fine.
SPEAKER_00 (08:43):
We did do a Wednesday, Thursday at Civil
Point as well, and it was too,and the programming was also
really awesome there.
So that's where the kids madethe tie-dye t-shirt.
Um went around and picked up allthe uh Yeah, they had a
challenge to see who couldcollect the most bottle caps,
and we had tons, but somebodyhad way more than we had.
(09:04):
So given how much we had, theremust have been an off.
SPEAKER_01 (09:07):
So this is me wagging my finger at you.
If you take the cap off yourbottle, put it in your pocket,
make sure it comes back forrecycling, do not just chuck it.
SPEAKER_00 (09:14):
Leave no trace.
That's true.
Um but at Cybil Point 2, theyhad uh there was an old an old
house there, and they did ahaunted house thing in the
evening when park staff uh justgot sort of dressed up and uh
the younger one again, Brandonand I went around and did the
haunted house there.
So that was also very fun.
(09:34):
Uh anyway, that's it as far as Ican think in terms of
microadventures things that youmight want to do.
Uh, we're unfortunately we'rerecording this now in October,
mid-October, towards lateOctober.
Uh, I don't know that you'll beable to do much of that this
year, but maybe you can planahead for next summer.
SPEAKER_01 (09:50):
Still pretty stinking warm out there, so it's
24 degrees today.
It's nice.
SPEAKER_00 (09:54):
Uh yeah.
Anyways, uh for microadventures, like, do think about
it, especially if it's somethinglike you're not too sure about
camping.
Uh or especially if your kidsare starting to show a bit of an
interest in the outside, itmight be a really good way to
cultivate more of that.
Uh, that's it for us for today.
Please do check us out on allthe social media.
We'd be happy to talk to youanywhere, anytime.
(10:15):
And if you want to email us,you're welcome to email us at hi
at supergoodcamping.com.
That's H I atSupergoodcamping.com.
And we'll talk to you againsoon.
unknown (10:24):
Bye.
SPEAKER_00 (10:24):
Bye.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.