Sandbanks Provincial Park Review & Campground Guide

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Sandbanks Provincial Park Reservations – What You Need to Know Before You Go

Making a reservation to camp at Sandbanks Provincial Park is pretty easy.

Just like all the other Ontario Park campsites, you can book your campsite up to five months in advance of your arrival date through the Ontario Parks reservation system.

In order to make a reservation online though, you will first need to have an Ontario Parks account.

Registrations begin at 7 am EST.

Saying that we had trouble booking our site at Sandbanks is an understatement! If you are looking to camp here on a summer weekend with a trailer, you better have a Plan B ready.

We have NEVER had as much difficulty trying to get a campsite then when trying to reserve a spot at Sandbanks. And aside from needing a powered site for our Teardrop, we were not being fussy either!

I think it took us about 4 tries to finally get a weekend booked at Sandbanks last year. Was it worth it? Definitely! Do I want to go through that hassle again? Not so much.

Sandbanks is open for camping from the end of April until after the end of October.

Sandbanks Provincial Park Address:
3004 County Rd. 12 RR#1, Picton, ON, K0K 2T0
https://www.ontarioparks.com/park/sandbanks

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Arriving at the Park

The first thing to note when heading to Sandbanks Provincial Park is that there are actually two main gates to enter the park.

The West Lake Gatehouse is located off County Road 12 and is closest to the West Lake Campground at the far east end of the park.

The Main Gatehouse is located off County Road 11 and is closest to the Woodlands and Cedars Campgrounds, as well as the main beach and day-use area.

Of course, we ended up at the wrong gate! But it worked out in our favour as there was no line at the fill station. But more on that later.

On arrival at the park, you will find several long RV parking spots available. This is true for either gate.

The West Lake Gatehouse (where we entered) also doubles as the Discovery Centre and the Friends of Sandbanks Giftshop.

We were able to grab a printed map and my park patch, as well as purchase ice and firewood at the gatehouse.

We arrived just before the 2 o’clock check-in time, so we were lucky that our site was clear by the time we filled our rig with water.

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Sandbanks Provincial Park Map

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Navigating the Park

We found that Sandbanks Provincial Parks was pretty easy to navigate, especially for a park of its size.

There were plenty of signs to help you find your way around the park, as well as in the day-use area. There were also enough signs in the campgrounds.

The main park roads, as well as the smaller roads in our campground, were nicely paved.

All in all, we were pleasantly surprised by how all the roads seemed to be in decent shape.

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Parking

In general, we found the parking lots located throughout the park to be more than sufficient in size for this park.

There were a whopping 12 large parking lots in the beach/day-use area, plus one at the Park Store, one at the comfort stations, one at each of the gatehouses, and several inside the campground loops as well.

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Sandbanks Provincial Park Camping

Sandbanks Provincial Park accommodates a variety of camping styles.

From car camping to tenting, group camping, RVs up to 32 feet (9.7 metres), a cottage, and even a heritage house, you will find it all.

You will also have the choice between electric or non-electric sites.

Just a heads up, not all types of camping can be accommodated at all sites. So you will need to watch for this when making your reservations.

Sandbanks Provincial Park has 5 main campgrounds – West Lake, Richardson’s, Woodlands, Cedars, and Outlet River Campground.

All in all, Sandbanks is home to an incredible 620 campsites.

Outlet River and Richardson’s Campgrounds offer a mix of electric and non-electric sites.

West Lake and Woodlands Campgrounds offer only electric sites, while Cedars Campground only offers non-electric sites.

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Group Camping

Sandbanks has a large Group Camping area located across from the Outlet River Campground off County Road 18.

There are 2 group campsites available. Each one can accommodate from 30 to 50 people.

Vault toilets and water taps are available. Comfort stations with showers, and the beach, are located nearby.

Unfortunately, trailers of any kind are not allowed on the group campsites.

The sites can be reserved in advance online or by phone.

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Campgrounds at a Glance

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Our Campsite Experience

During our visit to Sandbanks, we stayed in the Woodlands Campground.

Our campsite was quite nice and extremely roomy.

While we were on a corner site, there was not much privacy from the site next to us or even the one behind us. However, there were some bushes that act as a small barrier.

But let me tell you about the incredible tree canopy! We could barely see the sky!

While this may not be great if you are depending on solar panels (which there is no need in this campground as it’s all electric), it was heavenly on a really hot August weekend!

Except, of course, when we got pelted with the odd acorn when the breeze picked up!

But did it ever get dark at night! Sheesh! As soon as the sun went down, it was pitch black. It may have been dusk everywhere else, but it was dark in our campground!

Even still, we really enjoyed our site.

We even picked this site to recreate our favourite camping cartoon (which now hangs inside Nellie)!

One other thing that I did want to mention, is that some of the other campgrounds offered little to no privacy and no tree canopy.

You are literally camping on the sand dunes with nothing between you and your neighbour. It was very reminiscent of staying at a private campground.

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What Amenities Does Sandbanks Offer?

Comfort Stations

You will find comfort stations complete with showers, flush toilets and laundry facilities located in all campgrounds at Sandbanks with the exception of Richardson’s campground.

Richardson’s campground has several vault toilets located throughout the campground.

The comfort stations were quite clean and well-kept.

You will also find comfort stations with flush toilets in the day-use area. Unfortunately, these were not as clean as the ones in the campgrounds.

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Laundry

A coin laundry is available in each campground, except for Richardson’s Campground. They can be found attached to the comfort stations.

You will find 2 sets of washers and dryers in each Comfort Station.

I found that the laundry room in the Woodlands Campground was clean, with both sets of machines working.

Not sure what the situation was in the laundry facilities at the other campgrounds, however.

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Park Store

There are 3 different Park Stores in Sandbanks Provincial Park.

The Friends of Sandbanks Nature Shoppe is located at the Discovery Center at the West Lake Gate.

This is where you will find plenty of Sandbanks souvenirs, clothing items, artwork, nature books, guides and much more.

The Shoppe is open daily during the operating season.

Currah’s Park Store and Grill is located across from the Outlet Beach day-use area, adjacent to Parking Lot #7.

This Park Store is HUGE! Inside, you will find a full line of camping supplies, ice, beach toys, groceries and souvenirs.

You will also find a restaurant that features fresh salads, vegetarian dishes, and traditional grill favourites.

They even have a huge ice cream counter! And while they weren’t serving Kawartha Dairy like at Earl Rowe Provincial Park, they still had a pretty good selection of flavours (including Canada’s original Tiger Tail).

Outside, you will find a patio with tables and umbrellas where you can sit and enjoy your treats.

The third store, Currah’s Dunes Grill and Patio, is located at Dunes Beach overlooking the sand dunes. There you will also find scooped ice cream and grill favourites.

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Visitor’s Centre

As we mentioned above, you will find the Discovery Centre at the West Lake Gate.

Learn about the history of the park, the flora and fauna found within the park, as well as the unique dunes landscape.

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Day Use Area

Sandbanks has a pretty nice day-use area, which is not surprising given how beautiful the park is.

The picnic area is equipped with picnic tables, water taps, and vault toilets as well as several picnic shelters, both big and small.

These picnic shelters can be rented out in advance by phone or online.

If you want to visit the park for the day-use area only, you can reserve your daily vehicle permit to guarantee your day-use spot.

Permits can be obtained up to five days in advance.

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Boat Launch

If you are interested in doing some boating while at the park, a seasonal boat launch can be found in the Outlet River A Campground.

There is even a large adjacent lot where you can park your boat trailer.

This boat launch is nothing fancy, but I guess it works. It is suitable for boats less than 18 feet.

If your boat is larger, there are boat launch facilities available outside the park.

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Sandbanks Provincial Park Beaches

Sandbanks Provincial Park is definitely known for its beaches. In fact, we had heard so many great things about them, that we were absolutely keen on seeing them for ourselves.

We were not disappointed!

Sandbanks is actually home to three gorgeous natural sand beaches along the shores of Lake Ontario. The beaches are sandy, shallow, and quite warm.

Outlet Beach is located in the East Lake section of the park and is the largest of the three. This is where we spent our time while visiting the park.

The beach was well-kept (it was groomed every morning that we were there), clean, and didn’t feel congested even though it was busy.

Lakeshore Beach is located in the Lakeshore day-use area, closest to Richardson’s Campground. We drove past this beach while making our way through the park, and found it to be quite nice.

Dunes Beach is located in the Dunes day-use area off West Lake. This beach has the smallest swimming area, but great amenities close by, including a Park Store.

One thing to keep in mind, especially if you have younger kids in tow, is that Dunes Beach has a steep drop-off and swimmers should take extra caution.

Outlet Beach and Lakeshore Beach, on the other hand, have much more of a gradual drop-off, making it safer for younger or less experienced swimmers.

There are signs at all beach access points warning of no lifeguard on duty. But this is pretty common at all Ontario Parks.

Another thing to be aware of is that dogs are not allowed on the regular beach at any time.

But as I mentioned, the dog beach is right next to the regular beach and didn’t look any different.

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What Services Does Sandbanks Offer?

Sandbanks has all the usual services found at other Ontario Provincial Parks.

Water

There are actually three sanitation stations at Sandbanks Provincial Park. This is pretty impressive since there are only two in all of Algonquin Park!

You will find one water fill station at the entrance to the West Lake Campground.

The second can be found at the south end of the Cedars Campground.

And the third can be found just outside of the Woodlands Campground.

We filled our tank at the West Lake Campground because that was closest to where we entered the park.

This water fill station had 3 short parallel lanes with a water fill between each lane. Depending on which side your tanks are on, you can enter the lane in either direction.

The water fill station at this location is completely separate from the dump station, so you won’t have to worry about waiting for people to dump their tanks.

The sanitation station at the Woodlands Campground was set up a little differently. There was only one water fill station located in a single lane (see photo below).

You will find plenty of water taps located throughout the campgrounds, as well as in the day-use area.

There are no water hookups at the individual campsites.

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Dump Station

Just like with the West Lake Campground fill station, there are two dump stations in the sanitation area.

It is located right across the street from the fill station and just a short distance from the gatehouse.

At the dump station, you will find two parallel lanes, each with its own hose.

And while the sewers are located on the driver’s side, you could easily enter the lane from the opposite side if your tanks are on the passenger side.

The sanitation lanes were not very long. Meaning that even though we were third in line, Nellie was partially sticking out on the main road.

At the Woodlands Campground, the dump station was located right behind the fill station in a single lane.

And just like at other parks, expect the sanitation area to be busy around check-out time.

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Garbage and Recycling

There was a garbage/recycling area located at the entrance to each campground.

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Wi-Fi

Just like at most Ontario Parks, Sandbanks has pretty spotty cell reception.

This meant that while I was able to make phone calls from our campsite, I really couldn’t do much else.

Of course, at the beach, I was able to get pretty good cell reception. So maybe at the more open campgrounds, this would also be the case.

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EV Charging Station

Sandbanks has one commercial electric charging station with one port (meaning one vehicle can charge at a time).

The charging station can be found at the West Lake comfort station.

Just a heads up, the charging station is only available between April 1st and November 1st.

And if you are curious, the brand is EVR-Green 4000 Leviton EV Charging.

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Things to Do at Sandbanks Provincial Park

1. Enjoy Some Hiking

Sandbanks Provincial Park is home to six hiking trails. The trails that we tried out were quite nice and very easy to manage.

Just a heads up, Poison Ivy is prevalent on many areas of the trail system, so stay on the trail!

The Sandbanks Dunes Trail loops through a unique and fragile dune habitat and travels along the edge of several pannes.

The dune system is actually the largest of its kind in the world!

The pannes are a rare wetland habitat that supports wildlife and unusual flora.

The best part of this trail is that there is a one-kilometre loop at the beginning which is barrier-free. 

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This trail runs along the shores of the Outlet River and is home to two scenic lookouts.

This interpretive trail has 12 stops and provides you with some pretty awesome views of the marsh.

Trail guides are available at the trailhead or the Friends of Sandbanks Gift Shop.

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The Lakeview Trail is where you will find fields of beautiful wildflowers, a shady walking path, and awesome views along the edge of Lake Ontario.

This trail begins in the Woodlands Campground and links the historical sites of the Lakeshore and Lakeview Lodges.

If you are not up for walking the entire trail, you can start your hike at West Point and just complete the shorter 1km walking loop.

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The Woodlands Trail takes you through old agricultural fields bordered by giant hedgerows and mature oaks and maples.

And while this trail links the Main Gate with Dunes Beach, we were able to access it right from our campground.

We enjoyed this trail as there were lots of wildlife viewing opportunities.

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This trail takes you on a shortcut through the old pine plantations, linking Dunes Beach to Richardson’s campground.

These reforested areas were actually established to slow the destructive movements of the dunes.

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The MacDonald Trail provides a connection between Woodlands Trail and the Lakeland Lodge Day Use Area.

This trail cuts through the fields and forest in the centre of the park, providing a quick way for you to venture between the east and west parts of County Road 12.

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2. Enjoy a Bike Ride

While there are no designated bike paths, and you can’t ride on the hiking trails, you are more than welcome to ride on the park roads.

The park roads were in pretty good shape. Just be aware that they can get quite busy, especially the closer you get to the day-use area.

John and I were able to ride around our campground with no issues as the road was in great shape.

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3. Go for a Boat Ride

As we mentioned earlier, Sandbanks Provincial Park has its own boat launch area.

Powerboats are allowed on Lake Ontario, East and West Lake but not near the swimming areas or on the beach. 

That said, you can easily launch your kayak, canoe, or paddleboard from the beach area as well. This is exactly what we did!

During our visit, the waves on the lake were not too strong so we were able to take our paddleboard out without any issues.

And if you don’t have a kayak, canoe, paddleboard or PFDs with you, but would like to rent one, Sandbanks has you covered.

Just head to the Equipment Rental yard just down the road from Beach Parking #11, and they can set you up.

There is even a convenient spot to launch your watercraft on the Outlet River right next to the rental area.

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4. Try Your Hand at Fishing

If you enjoy fishing, then you will be happy to note that both the East and West Lake are popular fishing lakes.

The lakes are popular for Yellow Pickerel, Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike and various pan fish.

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5. Go for a Swim

Once again, the beaches are the main reason why many people, our family included, head to Sandbanks in the summer.

Not only is the water clean, but it is warm, and the sandy bottom makes swimming a joy.

Younger kids are able to enjoy the water as well, as the lake stays shallow for a good distance, and the waves are not too rough.

During our weekend visit, we spent the entire day at the beach. With a pop-up shelter and a delicious packed picnic, we were all set.

While the beaches do get crowded, they are so big that we really didn’t have too much of an issue.

And unlike other parks that we have been to, even the dog beach was pleasant to be in. Since we had our “Granddog” with us, this is where we spent all of our time.

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6. Take Part in the Discovery Program

During the summer, park staff offer a variety of fun, interactive educational programs for kids of all ages.

Joining a Park Naturalist to explore the hiking trails, or stopping by the Visitor Centre to learn about the 1920s Lakeshore Lodge is a great way to entertain the kiddos.

You can also bring your young campers to the children’s programs, or our fave, take the whole family to the evening campfires and slide shows!

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7. Do Some Birding

While we are not avid birders, Sandbanks offers some great birding opportunities.

This is especially true during the spring and fall migration.

If you would like to know which species can be found in the park, you can pick up a bird checklist from the Visitor Centre.

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Is Sandbanks Provincial Park Accessible?

We found the buildings at Sandbanks to be pretty accessible.

All the comfort stations allowed for barrier-free access to both flush toilets and showers.

All three of the Park Stores, the gift shop and the Discovery Centre were also barrier-free.

A one-kilometre loop at the beginning of the Sandbanks Dunes Trail is barrier-free.

Not to mention the awesome wheelchair-friendly beach mat that goes from Beach Parking Lot #8 to the beach, as well as to the closest comfort station.

However, we did not notice any designated barrier-free campsites in any of the campgrounds.

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Are Pets Allowed at Sandbanks?

Yes. Dogs are welcome at Sandbanks Provincial Park.

Pets are allowed at the campground and on the hiking trails but must be leashed at all times.

You will find a good-sized pet beach area off Parking Lot 12 of Outlet Beach.

You will also find a pet area near the parking lot at Lakeshore Beach.

As we mentioned earlier, the dog beach was just as sandy and pleasant as the regular beach.

However, dogs are not allowed in the other areas of the beach.

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Is There Winter Camping at Sandbanks?

Yes. The park is open year-round for camping.

If you are looking to camp in the winter, there are cottages available for rent for cold-weather adventures.

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Our Park Rating

We give this park 5 out of 5 stars for having:

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Final Thoughts

Sandbanks was a wonderful experience, and well worth the difficulties we had in securing the dates.

This park was very well maintained, with plenty of activities available to keep the whole family busy.

We really enjoyed the beautiful beaches and the awesome campsites.

I also couldn’t get over how peaceful the park was, especially at night!

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