Review: Bell Falls Campground, Waubaushene, Ontario

We went for another test run on Labour day weekend. This time, we drove the short distance to Bell Falls Family Camping. It was kind of last-minute, and all of the provincial parks were booked, so we decided to try out Bell Falls. Overall, we were happy with our choice.

We had a fairly private spot with forest on 2 sides, although we were beside the main entrance and had lots of passing traffic. There was no-one camped in the spot immediately beside us. The van provided a lot more privacy than a tent would. It was a visual block, a sound block, and made it easier to change clothes, etc. For some added visual privacy, we hung a tie-dyed sheet from a clothesline. That helped to eliminate the scowling guy next door from view, and to hippie-up the place a little. There is a scenic farm next door, and the view was particularly lovely in the morning mist, with horses grazing in the fields.

The campground is mostly seasonal campers. There are also some nice, secluded tent sites and transient sites with hook-ups. We had water and hydro but no sewage, which was fine since we still don't know how to empty the sewage.

 Bell Falls is a part of the Sturgeon River. There is a small waterfalls over some rocks, and deeper pools for wading and swimming. A train trestle overlooks the falls. It was quite lovely, although regrettably not visible from any campsites. It was very popular with both kids and adults. There is a legend of Bell Falls. We did not ever see or hear a bell, so we couldn't test the ghost story aspect of it.

There is also a pool and a badminton net, although they don't rent badminton equipment, offering to sell it to us for $20. Next time we will bring our own.

Saturday night there was a talent show. We didn't go watch, but we did listen. It was mostly kids from the campground, and seemed to be enjoyed by all of the attendees. It ended about 9:30.

Pros:
- very clean and nice bathrooms, cleaned every few hours; a definite plus
- nice site
- the falls
- free WiFi
- small store and gas station nearby, which was a lifesaver when we forgot the hotdogs

Cons:
- only seem to be one set of bathrooms, which would make it a bit of a trek from some of the tent sites
- the talent show was a bit loud

We would camp there again. It is no Killbear, but it is a nice spot for a last-minute getaway.