Limberlost Forest & Wildlife Reserve: Video Review

Britt: Alright, so we’re just about packed and ready to go for our next big adventure.

We have put the pups in the vehicle.

And this one is a particularly exciting trip because it is Miss Willow here’s first time camping off the property.

Ah, ah, ah! You gotta stay in the vehicle, hun.

So, she has never been camping anywhere except for when you introduced her to the tent here on the property.

Little man Lucifer over here is excited to teach his sister the ins and outs of camping and being a camping dog.

TOUR OF THE CAMPSITE (1:55)

Britt: Alright, and we are here. Right, Lucifer? He’s excited!

So, this is Lee Lake South, site number 7. You’ve got your picnic table and your firepit over here. So, we’ll probably set up our shelter so we can hang out over here with the pups.

They do have tent pads at their sites, so that is where obviously our tent will go. The tent pads are 10 by 10. So, if you’re determining whether or not your tent will fit, that is a 10 by 10 tent pad.

And then, over here, the view at this site is absolutely gorgeous.

And there is a path down right here. As you can see, it is kinda steep. But we are probably… Oh, Lucifer’s determined he’s going already. But we’ll probably spend some time down here just with the pups so they can go for a swim.

But even when we’re up here, like, that view… Not bad at all! I think I could get used to this.

What do you think John?

John: I’ve got room to do all my activities!

Britt: What do you think, Willow? A good first campsite? All the smells.

Alright, let’s get set up.

OUR CAMP SETUP (26:02)

Britt: Alright, so we are all set up. As you see in here, we have a spot for Willow on the far side, John’s spot, we have our little bedside table of sorts, and then my and Lucifer’s. That’s Lucifer’s blanket at the end.

We tried bringing beds for him. I know we’ve mentioned that in the past. He refuses to lay anywhere besides in bed with me, so we just kinda embrace it now and that’s our shared cot.

The view, again, because I can’t get enough of it. And then over here, we have our KUMA Bear Den Gazebo, set up inside with a table and a couple chairs for us.

The dogs have their toys because, of course, you know, dogs need their toys to play with. Especially when they’re young and playful and hyper like ours.

And we have our pen there that we have been working with Willow on learning to respect and understand the boundaries at home.

We are a big fan of the fact that this area is pretty much, like, you see nobody. I know we’re supposed to get neighbours at some point but, like, it’s super private here compared to a lot of the provincial parks.

Which makes it kinda the perfect arrangement to try the pens with her for the first time.

And then, I forgot to mention earlier when I was giving you a quick tour of the site, but over here we have our own private outhouse tucked down. And no, it’s not short. You actually do step down to it. It looks short where it’s at right now.

But ya, that’s our site set up and ready to go. Now it’s time to enjoy a cold beer.

THE BUDDY SYSTEM LEASH (5:46)

Britt: For those who were wondering, because I know I get a lot of questions about it, the leashes that we’ve got here… So, this is The Buddy System.

It has the leash here. Lucifer’s has a bungee part so that he doesn’t, you know, run and hit the end of his leash.

And then it just sits around our waist so that we always have a leash on hand and with us. Because you never know. Especially with a reactive dog, somebody could come for a walk by and he freaks out a little bit or maybe your dog tends to chase squirrels or whatever.

But this way, I always have a leash hanging right here ready to go.

BUILDING A FIRE (6:24)

John: Now we hope!

Alright, so the interesting thing about is they allow you to pick up any wood or branches that have dropped off the trees. So, anything that you can forage off the ground is pretty much ready to go.

You just cannot cut down a tree or anything like that.

BREAKFAST TIME (7:19)

John: Okay, so, cooking with Chef John. For camping this time around at Limberlost. We did this in our Haliburton trip. Link down below.

So, we’re doing quiche.

What you do is you buy some pie shells, from Walmart or wherever you want to get them, and your favourite kind of veggies. This is just a baby blend special blend of vegetables, so, assorted bunch there. And eggs. We’ve got some milk over there.

And then I made up some bacon and froze it at home. I’ll be splitting this between the two. So, one breakfast for today and tomorrow. So, awesome!

Britt: And paired with iced coffee.

John: Oh ya, and we made a bunch of iced coffee in a jug that fit in our cooler. So, ya, we’re gonna be a little squirrely today.

Britt: Caffienated!

John: Caffienated!

Britt: Cheers!

John: Magic comes out. Coffee goes in, magic comes out.

WILLOW UPDATE (8:40)

Britt: I am so proud with how well she’ s doing. So, as we mentioned at the start of the video, this is her first time going camping somewhere that isn’t, like, on our property just getting used to the tent and look how chill and relaxed she is.

She’s just such a sweet, chill, laid-back pup.

We did have a bit of a moment in the night that she got worked up because she could hear a wolf howl and she’s an Anatolian Shepherd mix. So, she is a guardian dog. Like, that’s what they are bred for.

So, she got a little protective last night and was ready to, you know, step up and take care of her pack if that wolf came any closer.

But for the most part, she has been such a sweet, relaxed, good girl. I would say up to this point at least, because obviously I can’t speak if we’re going to have any issues moving forward, but up to this point I think her first trip is a major success.

BREAKFAST TIME PT. 2 (9:31)

John: Okay, so that’s what it looks like before going in. I threw some cheese on there. I don’t know if I mentioned that, but you can never go wrong with cheese.

Now this is a Coleman stove [Coleman Camp Oven]. We’ve used this multiple times.

If you’re going to start cooking or if you find one, always use the middle rack. I’ve seen people use it from the bottom rack and just burn everything.

But you gotta, kinda, watch it. Make sure that your temperature’s alright. Right now, we’re at 100 degrees. That’s fine.

Okay, so it’s been about a half hour. It was consistently sitting at 350. It shows that it’s a little bit lower just because I opened up the door.

We’re going to be taking it out and, of course, like most camping trips I always forget something. Mitts. So, we’re going to try taking this out very carefully and try not to be on America’s Funniest Home Videos.

There, that was perfect!

Now, we do have another one I’ll be throwing in there shortly. But, that’s what we’re having for brekkie.

HIKING (11:14)

Britt: Alright, so we’re going to go do some hiking. Take the pups out for a little adventure. And we’ve decided to do the Turtle/Clear Lake Trail.

So, what do you think, Goose? Come on! Let’s go!

Is this a little spot that you can go in, buddy?

We’re at Benjamin’s Bay and the trail comes right up alongside here. Willow’s already gone in and cooled a little bit too.

But somebody loves the water. So, he thinks this is the best part of the trail and now we’re going to have to try and convince him to leave the water.

RETIRING FOR THE DAY AT THE CAMPSITE (14:33)

Britt: It looks like a good hike and a couple little swims is all it took to wear these two out. We have two tired puppies at the campsite this evening. They’re not even acknowledging I’m talking about them.

Of course, no camping trip is complete without a campfire. So, we’ve got the fire up and rolling now and we are just kicking back and enjoying a drink and waiting until it’s time to cook supper.

John: If you’re looking, you ain’t cooking.

Making some Stromboli. We’ve already got one done over here. Just waiting for it to cool down.

Oh ya, Pillsbury Dough Boy.

PACK UP DAY (15:42)

Britt: Well, it’s pack up day. We’ve already removed everything from the tent, so it can be taken down.

The weather is gorgeous for it. Which is nice, because nobody likes packing up in the rain or other unwanted weather situations.

We’ve also emptied out the KUMA with the exception of the dog toys we’ll pick up at the end so that they have somewhere to play. But they’re not so interested in playing as much as they are interested in figuring out what we’re doing.

Especially poor Willow, because I don’t think she knows what’s going on.

Lucifer’s seen us pack up camp enough times. Eh, buddy? So, he knows that just means that we’re heading home.

But she didn’t know what we were doing coming here, so she’s like – you moved me to a new home and now you’re moving me out of the new home? Where are we going next? I thought we lived here now.

So, we’ll see how she does as we continue packing stuff up. Good girl, Willow!

FINAL REVIEW (16:46)

John: Hey everybody, it’s Britt and John from The Kas Pack and we’re going to be doing a Limberlost Forest review.

We’re currently not there, we’re still at Fairbank Provincial Park – not Fairbanks, but Fairbank Provincial Park. So, ya…

GETTING TO THE CAMPGROUND (17:06)

John: Getting there. It’s just around Huntsville. So, you’re looking at like an hour and a half, two-hour drive north of Toronto. Pretty easy traffic.

Britt: Ya, the only thing to prepare for is that while you may figure out your timing to get to the park, this is one of those parks kinda like when we reviewed Haliburton Forest, which I’ll link below. It’s one of these parks where the sites are set back in and apart a lot more than the Provincial Parks.

Like Provincial Parks kinda clump them all together whereas places like Limberlost and Haliburton Forest, they’ll have a couple on this like, or a couple on that lake.

So, you could be driving a significant distance from when you enter the park until you get to your campsite.

John: Ya, I think it was probably about 15 minutes from the entry point of the park.

And another side note is that you’re going to be dealing with a lot of gravel, loose rocks, and whatnot.

Britt: Correct.

John: So, take that into account.

Britt: Now, that being said, if you are worried about pulling a trailer, let’s just get this out of the way right away.

John: Not for you.

Britt: This park does not allow trailers, RVs, and units like that, tent trailers. It is a tent-only park. There are tent pads on almost every site.

So, if you are watching this review and you are excited about what you saw at Limberlost and you are a trailer camper, unfortunately, you’re not going to be able to bring your trailer.

So, either A –  You can borrow or rent a tent. Maybe it’s a great time to try your first tenting experience.

Or, they do have quite a few cabins around. So, that might be something you could explore to look at an option that gives you that hard shelter accommodation without bringing the trailer.

FIREWOOD (18:45)

John: Yep. And for firewood, you are not allowed to bring in firewood from other sources. So, no picking up at a local vendor on the side of the road or anything like that.

Wood was fairly priced. It was like 10 bucks a bundle, I believe. And you are allowed to pick up off the ground.

Britt: Ya, that was an interesting we saw is that they actually do state right in their information you are allowed to collect deadwood.

So, as far as going out and getting just a bit of kindling or something that way, that definitely is an option here. Just be mindful about it. There is a difference between collecting deadwood and actually cutting down a tree.

Be respectful, keep in mind that we want to keep this as a place that still looks this good and is this nice for people in the future to visit as well.

John: Yep! Ya, and the previous people that were there, they left us a little pile of kindling as well. So we made sure we did the exact same thing for the next person.

CAMPSITES (19:52)

Britt: Ya, so we stayed on Lee Lake, we were on the south side. Lee Lake is the only one that has a north and south set of campsites.

We were in Lee South 7. It was a very nice site. It had a nice waterview. 

You did have to walk down a little path that was a little bit steep to go down. If you have mobility issues, it would be a problem getting down to the water. But once we got down there, it was a nice place just to sit.

We put my hammock down there and his chair, and we relaxed down there by the water.

That being said, unlike some of the other sites that we’ve brought you, that are waterfront, I didn’t find it was the best for swimming off of the site. There was a lot of weeds, a lot of vegetation.

It wasn’t like having your own little personal beach. But it was a really pretty lake view.

There are some other sites, we were told by one of the staff there that the Lee North side has better, more clear water access. Plus, we did notice that there was water access better on some of the other lakes that were there.

So, definitely check out the different sites that are available.

Their website has great descriptions of each of the sites. It talks about which ones do have water access, which ones don’t, which ones have a water view but no access to the water itself. And they have a lot of photos that are, from what we saw, really accurate.

So, in the description, I will include their website. Use their website to pick the site that works best for you.

The other thing I will warn is to pay careful attention to the tent pad sizes and to know that they may not be entirely accurate.

I don’t know whether they were inaccurate or the description of the tent we bought was inaccurate on Coleman’s website.

John: I don’t know.

Britt: But when I looked at the two of them, we had about a foot give around the tent. But when we got there, the tent pad wasn’t quite big enough and the tent poles sat on the outside of the tent pad.

So, give yourself a little grace with the size of the tent pad or with the size that companies like Coleman say the tent is.

I’m not sure which one was inaccurate, we haven’t measured the tent to figure it out, but the number said we should have had a foot give. So, there should have been half a foot on each side of the tent. And that was definitely not there. Somebody wasn’t giving us the right answer.

John: Oh well, we made it work. It was interesting, but we made it work.

Britt: Ya, exactly. We made it work. It was great. It was a beautiful site.

BEACHES, HIKING, AND DAY USE (22:14)

Britt: As far as activities go, there is a day use area with a beach. One of the big perks here is if you’re up in the Huntsville area, day use is free.

You do have to sign a waiver to use it, so go on their website and fill out the waiver, but it is free to use. So, if you’re just wanting to come to hike for the day or swim for the day, they do not charge a day pass at Limberlost, which is a great benefit.

That being said, the only beach that they had there was not a dog beach.

And with a lot of the sites not being the most swim-friendly. I mean, we did find places, and I’m going to explain his favourite place to go swimming, but we did find places to take Lucifer in. However…

Ope, they’re playing down there.

John: Took my knee out

However, the beach itself, there was no dog beach which is a bit of a hit for us. Just, like, a knock of points for us because Lucifer loves, loves swimming.

But the hiking. The hiking was great. There are so many different trails and they are so well marked and well maintained.

We did the Clear Lake Trail and the Turtle Lake Trail. The Turtle Lake Trail goes around the end of Turtle Lake, and there’s a spot up there called Benjamin’s Bay.

If you have a dog that likes to swim and you’re going to be at Limberlost, that is Lucifer’s favourite highlight of our hiking. He was splashing around in the water, having a great time.

It’s just this little bay area that they can go to that’s right off, there’s literally a bench there you can sit in and watch them, and the water’s right against the side of the trail. He had a great time.

For that reason alone, I will say, if you’re taking a reactive dog out there – between the fact that there wasn’t a whole lot of people, because there’s so many trails, and the fact that there is that place that you can take your reactive dog swimming where it’s not, like, a really popular dog beach, I have to say that the trails there, especially the Clear Lake Trail and the Turtle Lake Trail – Lucifer Stamp of Approval!

But, as I said, there isn’t a dog beach which was a bit of a hit for us.

FINAL PAW RATING (24:15)

Britt: So, with all of that considered, what’s your final rating?

John: All that considered, the hiking definitely makes up for it. Especially with, like, some water access points on those hikes. I would give it a solid 4.

Britt: That’s what I was thinking, too.

I wouldn’t put it up to quite the 4 1/2, 5 because the sites, or, the campgrounds that we’ve been rating there tend to have both hiking and dog beach opportunities.

But the sites were beautiful. They were private. The hiking was great, which definitely pushes the ranking up quite a bit. So, ya, I would say 4 paws.

John: Awesome! So, in saying, or, in saying that…

Britt: If you are not currently following us…

John: Oh, oh ya!

Britt: Hit that subscribe button. We have more reviews coming your way.

John: Hit that bell!

Britt: Yes, and hit the bell, it’ll give you a notification and let you know when we publish a video.

This one was a private park, a wildlife reserve. We do wildlife reserves, we do Ontario Provincial Parks, we’ve got some National Park content coming up.

But in addition to reviewing specifically pet-friendly areas to go camping, we also do a lot of videos that kinda give you information about camping with your pets.

And by pets, we mean cats and dogs, because we do camp with both our cats and dogs.

So, we have some videos coming up about camping with a reactive dog, hiking with a reactive dog, introducing your dog to camping in a tent, introducing your cat to camping in a tent. That kind of educational content.

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