Toronto 
Bon Echo Provincial Park, located in Lennox and Addington County, is home to several lakes, including Mazinaw Lake, the seventh-deepest in Ontario.
Credit: Friends of Bon Echo
The park is distinguished by the 100-meter-high Mazinaw Rock along the lake’s southeastern shore, covered in over 260 pictographs created by ancient Aboriginal peoples, reflecting their storytelling techniques. Mazinaw Lake and Mazinaw Rock, named for an Algonquin word signifying “picture” or “writing”, were designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1982, and they remain the largest rock art site on the southern Canadian Shield and the sole major pictograph site in southern Ontario.
Archaeological studies on this site started as early as 1895 and continue today. Its size and complexity are unrivalled, largely due to the dramatic setting of the rock cliff rising sheer from the water.
How to see the pictographs:
Mazinaw Rock Pictographs/Credit: To Do Canada
Visitors can access the pictographs by canoe or boat trips provided by Friends of Bon Echo, with canoe rentals available within the park.
The Kishkebus Canoe Route, a 21 km moderate-to-difficult loop, offers a six-hour paddle past Indigenous pictographs and serene natural waters. Alternatively, embark on a journey across Mazinaw Lake to observe one of Canada’s largest collections of Indigenous pictographs on Mazinaw Rock.
Bon Echo Paddle Centre in the Lagoon offers canoe, kayak, and stand-up paddleboard rentals. Located near Main Beach, the centre operates on a first-come, first-served basis, with no reservations. Rentals are available for periods of 4, 8, or 24 hours, and multi-day rentals can also be arranged in 24-hour increments.
What to Know: Bon Echo Provincial Park Boat Tours
Friends of Bon Echo Park offers a boat tour and a ferry service so visitors can explore the park to the fullest.
Credit: Friends of Bon Echo
Interpretive Wanderer Boat Tour
Experience the majestic Mazinaw Rock in Bon Echo Provincial Park like never before with their unique 45-minute Wanderer Tour. This interpretive boat tour, exclusive within the Ontario Parks system, allows visitors to learn about the area’s rich history, including Indigenous pictographs dating back hundreds of years, the logging era, the Bon Echo Inn, and the park’s establishment.
Old Walt Insription/ Credit: To Do Canada
In addition to various pictographs, you can also see the faded “Old Walt” inscription, which reads,
OLD WALT
1819 – 1919
DEDICATED TO THE DEMOCRATIC IDEALS OF
WALT WHITMAN
HORACE TRAUBEL AND FLORA MACDONALD
“MY FOOTHOLD IS TENON’D AND MORTISED IN GRANITE
I LAUGH AT WHAT YOU CALL DISSOLUTION
AND I KNOW THE AMPLITUDE OF TIME”
Credit: Wikipedia Commons
The tour, priced at $30 for adults and $15 for children, provides stunning up-close views of Mazinaw Rock, guided by knowledgeable Ontario Parks staff.
Cliff Top Trail Ferry Service
Cliff Top Trail/ Credit: To Do Canada
The Cliff Top Trail, spanning 1.5 km and typically completed within an hour, is of moderate to difficult terrain. Uniquely, the trail can only be reached by traversing the water, with canoes and kayaks available for rent at the Lagoon. Once on the trail, hikers can ascend Mazinaw Rock via stairs and a pathway that leads to three viewing platforms, each providing a magnificent vantage point over the lake.
Friends of Bon Echo Park also offers a quick ferry service to the Cliff Top Trail, the park’s most popular hiking trail, located on the east side of Mazinaw Lake. For $15, visitors can enjoy a five-minute ferry ride to the trailhead, embark on a 1.5-kilometre hike along the trail, and return back via ferry.
Other Hiking Trails
In addition to the Cliff Top Trail offering unrivalled views from the top of Mazinaw Rock, the park has a few other designated trails.
The Bon Echo Creek Trail, a mostly flat 1 km track taking approximately 40 minutes, provides a leisure stroll along Bon Echo Creek, which is ideal for young explorers and beginners.
High Pines Trail, a 1.7 km loop that takes around an hour, takes you through varied forest and wetland communities featuring tall pines and tranquil ponds, perfect for a short, scenic excursion.
For more adventure, try the Shield Trail, a 4.8 km moderate difficulty loop that crosses the Canadian Shield’s rugged landscape, showing off hardwood forests, cedar lowlands, and a beaver swamp.
Lastly, for pet owners, there’s a 1.4 km Pet Exercise Trail, where you can let your pet run freely. The Abes and Essens Lake Trail is closed for 2023 due to storm damage clean-up.
What else to do:
Credit: To Do Canada
Bon Echo offers a range of activities beyond hiking and canoeing. Birdwatching enthusiasts can spot species like Peregrine Falcons, Great Crested Flycatchers, and Red-Tailed Hawks.
The Alpine Club of Canada offers rock climbing of Mazinaw Rock. Per its website, “the routes are all traditional, ranging from 5.0 to 5.11, with the most popular routes in the 5.4 to 5.9 range.”
The Discovery Program during summer offers interactive educational programs led by park naturalists, ideal for exploring trails and learning about the history of the park.
Additionally, three natural sand beaches, Main Beach, South Beach, and North Beach, provide excellent swimming spots, each marked with buoys for safety.
Camping:
Bon Echo has 530 campsites, including cabins, yurts, car campsites and canoe-accessible back-country camping.
Bon Echo provides car camping at two campgrounds, Mazinaw Lake and Hardwood Hill, with a range of amenities like water taps, comfort stations, and laundry facilities. Both campgrounds offer a variety of sites accommodating different camping equipment, including tents, trailers, and tent-trailers. For campers seeking a quieter experience, radio-free and walk-in campsites are available. The walk-in sites are located approximately 100 to 300 meters from the parking area.
There are also options for a backcountry camping experience along the park’s pristine Canadian Shield lakes. Joeperry and Pearson Lakes offer 21 canoe-in campsites, while the 17km Abes and Essens hiking trail hosts five backcountry sites with stunning views. Every campsite is equipped with a picnic table, a cleared area for a tent, a fire pit, and a box privy.
For comfortable camping, Bon Echo Park offers various roofed accommodations, including a historic log cabin named “Cabin on the Hill” with a spectacular view of Mazinaw Rock, and 12 rustic one-room cabins with wood interiors that can sleep five. Additionally, there are two Exploration Tents located in the Sawmill Bay campground, providing a cozy and convenient camping experience for up to five people each, close to the stunning Mazinaw Lake.
Trip Planning: Bon Echo Provincial Park
Credit: Friends of Bon Echo
What: Bon Echo Provincial Park in Ontario is an exceptional destination with its distinctive Mazinaw Rock, marked by over 260 Indigenous pictographs. It is Southern Ontario’s only major pictograph site.
The park’s smaller size doesn’t detract from its beauty, with several lakes and numerous trails offering exploration opportunities by foot or watercraft. Boasting 530 campsites, 200 of which are electrical-serviced, 30 backcountry sites, and 21 roofed accommodations, it accommodates varied visitor preferences. Activities include hiking, fishing, swimming at one of three sandy beaches, paddling, birding, and cycling. A boat launch, picnic area, and public restrooms enhance the visitor experience.
Day-use areas at Bon Echo Provincial Park include Main Beach and South Beach. These sites feature sandy, buoy-marked swimming areas (without lifeguard supervision) and shaded picnic zones with tables and hibachis.
Flush toilets are available in various areas, including Midway, Fairway, Sawmill Bay campgrounds, the Lagoon, and the Day Use area.
When visiting, pack essentials like sunscreen, hats, water, snacks, swimwear, personal flotation devices for children, a change of clothes, towels, bug spray containing DEET, and reusable picnic items.
The Friends of Bon Echo operate Greystones Gift Shoppe and Café, where you can enjoy a selection of hot and cold drinks, delectable baked treats, and refreshing ice cream!
When: May 8, 2026 to December 13, 2026
Day Use: Bon Echo is open from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm.
How Much: Park admission: $18 per vehicle
Boat Tours: Ferry service until October 11, 2026
Guided tours: August 31, 2026.
Credit: To Do Canada
Interpretive Boat Tour
Adults Ages 13+: $31.80
Children Ages 2-12: $15.90
Ferry Service
~5 minute ferry ride from the dock to the Cliff Top Trail.
Adults Ages 13+: $15.90
Children Ages 2-12: $15.90
You have two convenient options to get your tickets: Book online or visit Greystones shop operated by the Friends of Bon Echo Park to purchase them in person up to 7 days in advance.
Where: Bon Echo Provincial Park is located north of Kaladar, approximately 6 kilometres north of Cloyne.
Bon Echo Provincial Park is about a 2-hour drive from Ottawa and 3 hours from Toronto.
