Killbear Provincial Park: Video Review

Britt: Look at that, eh?

CAMPSITE TOUR (1:09)

Britt: Alright, Killbear, we are here. We are in site 1016 for the weekend.

It is a little bit more of an open site, but it’s actually not bad if it’s set up strategically.

This side here, you can kind of see your neighbours. But not really. You’ve got trees all in the back here. And then over on the far side over here, you do see through to the site there.

We’re going to set up our tent strategically to block that off.

And then going back here, just taking a step back. You do have a very clear view of the road. So, you need to park strategically and set up your tents, er, your tents strategically as well.

But if set up right, I think this is going to be a really good site.

So, you can see the Tetris game that was us getting everything in there. And we are going to get everything packed up so that we can get some firewood and enjoy that.

Okay, so quick campsite tour while John’s out getting some firewood.

We have our favourite Kuma tent over here. That was the flattest area we could find on the site.

We have the two picnic tables we put here, so we have our water and hand-wash basin.

And down here is the cat pen with Miss Theia. I know, I’m talking about you. Ya, you want all the attention, eh?

She’s got a toy and some food options. I know! And her litterbox.

Absolutely love this pen. We got it off Amazon. I will link it in the description (LINK).

And of course, we have our Kuma shelter, which is a go-to for us and my heated Kuma chair, just in case it gets a little chilly.

And Lucifer is trying to get into his Charlee Bears. Ya.

These are his favourite flavour, Bacon & Blueberry. So he is trying very hard to get into them, even though he shouldn’t. They are there because that’s what I use when I am training him, like if a dog walks past or something.

We have his Wingo bed here and Willow’s Wagaround Town mat that she prefers here.

A box of litter that is actually full of newspaper and cardboard that we brought for the fire. And our firepit.

And then, of course, John’s chair.

So, when he gets back, he will… Ya, we have a tarp there just in case we need it. He will park right across here again.

Like I said, he’s just getting some park wood so that we can have a fire tonight.

We were going to pick up something locally. We will probably go out and get some more local wood tomorrow, after we do a bit of a hike.

But we just decided, you know what, it’s too nice. There’s, like, sunshine and it’s just really nice here and we didn’t want to have to do too much running around today.

So, it’s going to be park wood just to be able to do it quick and easy and enjoy being here.

NIGHTTIME COOKING (4:25)

Britt: John’s working really hard on making supper over there in the dark.

And you can’t see it, but Lucifer over here is, you can see the reflection from his harness and everything, he’s sitting on my lap just watching him and begging.

He very much wants whatever Daddy is doing. And Daddy’s not doing it fast enough.

What are you making, babe?

John: Cold cut sliders.

Britt: Cold cut sliders.

John: With Hawaiian buns that she ate, and we had to go to Walmart and get new ones.

Britt: With Hawaiian buns that Willow ate, and we had to get to Walmart to get new ones. We will explain that in the daylight tomorrow, but that’s supper.

BREAKFAST (5:25)

John: Alright, so, this morning I was going to do quiche in the, on the Coleman oven. Forgot the eggs.

So, did these up last night. Actually made a new batch up this morning.

Didn’t take any footage because it was too dark last night, but it’s basically Hawaiian bun sliders. Really easy to make.

Just take your favourite cold cuts, this time I used turkey and ham. Threw on some Swiss cheese. Buttered up the bottoms. Buttered up the tops. Stuck it in the oven for like 10 minutes on a low temp, because last night the ones were a little crusty on top.

But ya, that’s how they turned out, the second batch.

LOOKOUT POINT TRAIL (6:21)

Britt: Okay, so one of the traditions that we always have on our Thanksgiving trips is that Lucifer, here, and I always go for a solo hike while John is making our Thanksgiving dinner, whatever that happens to be each year.

So, he is back with Willow and Theia, and we are going to do… I don’t know if you can see the sign over there, but the Lookout Point Trail.

Now it is really busy. We are actually in the overflow parking. But we’re going to go check it out.

So, let’s go! Eh, buddy?

Come on, Goose! Let’s go!

MAKING THANKSGIVING DINNER (7:36)

John: Alright, ladies and gentlemen. Onto the main course.

I just picked up some turkey parts from Food Basics. You know, you’ve got your breasts, thighs, drumsticks, all that fun stuff.

Poured in a full thing of chicken broth, a can of beer, some seasoning. So, this is going to be garlic and crushed herbs.

And then I’m going to be throwing in some roasted garlic and pepper, peppers. It’ll be sweet peppers, not spicy, spicy, hopefully.

Okay. So, that and then I’ll be adding some salt and pepper to it, and then cover it up and gonna throw it on that contraption, there.

Alright, we’re all set up here. Turkey’s on. Check up on it in about an hour.

I think there’s a cold beverage calling my name right now.

Alright, so this is how it’s looking after one hour. I did poke at it. Still needs some time, but ya, shouldn’t be too, too much longer.

RECREATIONAL TRAIL (9:07)

Britt: Okay, so the hike went great. This little guy had an awesome time. You would have seen the lookout point and the view that was there, which was beautiful.

We’re now walking back. We’re taking the bike trail here, which is the trail that runs alongside the road. So, you can see the road behind me. Just because it’s nicer than walking up the road.

But, we’re walking from the Lookout Point Trail to Granite Saddle, where our campsite is and by the time we get there, we will probably have supper waiting for us.

So, we’re heading back.

Granite Saddle. We’re back to the campground.

THANKSGIVING DINNER WITH PETS (10:04)

Britt: So, as you guys all know, Willow here, and John, were making supper while we were gone, and we’ve got a little special white meat turkey surprise for the trio.

So, these two hard-done-by puppies… I know, Lucifer. Worst life ever. So hard done by puppies.

And little Miss Meow A lot down here, because she also knows that I’m getting her food ready, are going to enjoy a bit of turkey for Thanksgiving.

Alright, I’m going to put this down so I can go serve you guys up.

Alright, so there are their meals. Their Carna4 with a Thanksgiving turkey surprise.

John: Sit. Sit. Willow, sit. Stay.

Britt: It’s hard. It’s hard to have restraint.

John: Okay.

Britt: Happy Thanksgiving, puppies.

And, of course, I couldn’t forget Miss McLippy here. So, we’ve got a bit of turkey on her food there, too. I’ll put that into her pen. There you go. Oh! Hi, sweet girl.

And finally, after all the pets are fed and settled, it’s time for us to enjoy our meal.

John: Woot!

Britt: Dig in!

CAMPFIRE TIME (12:00)

Britt: Of course, no camping trip is complete without a campfire. And the puppies are chilling, like puppies do.

But the reason I wanted to record was to show you guys this. Fast asleep, purring away. Little kitty in my lap, enjoying the campfire.

Theia’s living her best life, soaking up the heat.

DOG BEACH #1 (12:37)

John: Alright, so this is the pet exercise area.

Just remember just to follow the rules. So, a quick little read up there. Remember, it is off-leash, and always pick up after your dog.

And you can see that it’s just down a little trail here. It doesn’t seem very long.

There’s also, it looks like a couple of lookouts here. Enjoy the fall colours.

So, this is the pet exercise area.

TWIN POINTS TRAIL (13:37)

Britt: So, to finish out our time here, we’re going to do the Twin Points Trail.

As you can see here, we’re here. It actually leads up past some marsh and stuff, and it takes you to the on-leash dog area.

So, we’re going to hike in, and check it out, and we will show you guys what’s what.

Let’s go!

John: They do say it’s a 40-minute trail, but with these two, 40 days.

Britt: And all the sniffs.

John: Hi, Theia!

Just a heads up, this trail has a ton of chippys and red squirrels. So, if your puppers are antagonized by them, it’s going to be a fun and interesting trail.

Britt: Look at that, eh?

DOG BEACH #2 (14:53)

John: Eh, Willow? We’re going to hit up the dog beach. I think Goose is excited about that. Right, Goose?

Oh ya, and there’s also a different route to get out of here too, or into here. So, you don’t necessarily need to go that way.

Nothing but beautiful sights at Killbear.

Just imagine this, late spring. Just sitting on this bedrock. How warm it would be. Stunning!

Willow’s not much of a water dog, but she’s getting in on her own, so that’s nice.

Oh, Goose. Play, play!

Britt: Lucifer! Lucifer! Go get it! Good boy. Bring mom.

John: Ya, we didn’t think about bringing your long line, eh? Didn’t think you’d be swimming on Thanksgiving weekend, bud.

You gonna shake? No?

FINAL REVIEW (16:02)

Britt: Okay, so as you just saw, we spent Thanksgiving at Killbear Provincial Park and, of course, after every trip that we go on, we come back here, or somewhere.

John: Somewhere.

Britt: I guess not always here. But lately it’s been here.

And share with you guys about our thoughts, our opinions, what the parks offer, and, of course, our paw rating.

John: Ya.

Britt: So, let’s get started!

GETTING THERE (16:26)

John: Alright, so, getting to Killbear is probably one of the easiest parks to get to.

It’s about 3 hours north of Toronto, and 3 hours north of here, of Owen Sound. But you just, from Toronto, get to the 400, head north. That’s all you’ve gotta do. Pretty easy.

Britt: Ya, it’s super simple!

CAMPSITES (16:46)

Britt: Another reason that Killbear is so popular, and it is one of the most popular Ontario Parks out there, is because there are so many campsites to visit.

John: Ya.

Britt: So, there are a total of 7 campgrounds and 1 lodge.

Unfortunately, the lodge is not pet-friendly. But it is there, so I wanted to make sure I put that out there.

There are both electrical and non-electrical sites. And there are some that will offer waterfront and some, as you saw like ours, that are still absolutely gorgeous sites, just not quite on the water.

John: Ya.

Britt: Additionally, they do offer off-season camping. So, if you’re wanting to go out, like, for some winter camping or some late fall. But it is limited.

So, the timeline that they offer off-season camping, it isn’t just like from when normal season ends to when normal season starts. They do cut that off.

So, pay attention. Check the dates and make sure that it is available during the time that you’re considering it.

FIREWOOD (17:41)

John: Ya, so firewood. So, our first night there, we just got provincial park wood, which was pretty good.

Pretty good stuff to close out the 2025 camp season. It was pretty good there.

We did go to the Detour store afterwards, on the following day, and grabbed a few bags there.

Decently priced. A little bit cheaper than the park wood. But it burned well, it lasted long, and ya.

No complaints there.

HIKING (18:11)

Britt: Now, as for things to do while you’re at the campground. As you guys all know, hiking is a big one for us. Especially for Lucifer and I.

Quite often, we’ll do, like, a pack hike, and then we’ll do just Lucifer and I. And that’s what we did again on this trip.

So, there are a total of 4 trails, from an 800-metre easy loop to a full 6-kilometre linear trail.

We decided to check out 3 of the 4 while we were there.

So, Lucifer and I did the Lookout Point Trail, which is one of their more popular park trails. Especially that time of year, just because when you get up to the lookout, the view is incredible.

There were a lot of people there. If you have a reactive dog…

Luckily, we, as you guys know, Lucifer is a fear-reactive dog, but we’ve done a lot of work to get him to the point that he’s doing better in public spaces. So, he was able to do this trail and have no issues.

In fact, we got a lot of compliments about how well-behaved he is on the trail.

But if you’re in the early stages of working with a reactive dog or if you have a dog who is not responding as well to that training and conditioning, I would be very cautious with this one.

Especially during peak hours.

I would go maybe during the week or early in the morning, before people get up and get going.

The trail itself, there’s a lot of narrower parts where we had to pass close by people.

When you get to the lookout, it’s just a ton of people sitting there, and you kind of find your spot. But, like, there’s people all around you. There’s dogs all around you.

I know we were there on Thanksgiving weekend, so obviously it was a little bit busier time.

So, if you were to come during a quieter time, whether it’s a midweek or, like, taking advantage of that off-season outside of a holiday weekend, you could probably get a much more private experience on that site.

After we did the Lookout Trail, we hiked the Recreational Trail back.

So, the Recreational Trail is actually a combination hiking and biking trail. So, if you want to go biking, that option is there.

As you saw in the video, it’s relatively open and flat. It runs along the side of the road. You know, kinda your typical bike trail in that sense.

But for getting from one part of the park to another, like for us, to go from the Lookout Point Trail back to our campsite, it is the perfect way to do it without having to walk on the park road.

Like, you can still enjoy that kind of rustic, nature experience while still getting from point A to point B. So, it was a great option.

We saw a lot of dogs using that as the trail that people would take their dog out, you know, for their short little walk to get them to go to the bathroom or things like that, because it is kind of accessible to pretty much anybody.

Like, it is a very comfortable trail. Most of it, at least, if not all of it would be fine for, like, a stroller or a wagon.

Because it runs alongside the road, if you did come across a section that isn’t good for a stroller or wagon, all you’d have to do is get off that trail and on the road for that period, and then come back onto the trail again.

So, if you’re looking for something that works kind of for an accessibility angle, that is also a great trail for that option.

Finally, we did the Twin Point Trail as a pack. And that included little Miss Theia.

So, the Twin Point Trail, from a pet-friendly perspective, is interesting because not only is it a really pretty trail, and we really enjoyed that one.

Highly recommend that one as well.  

But it leads to the dog beach area. That’s the on-leash dog beach area.

John: On leash.

Britt: So, you hike in a little bit. You get, I think maybe it’s a quarter of the way through the trail, not even, and you get to the dog beach. So, it was kinda fun.

Like, you could go, if it was a warmer day, I would probably go the opposite way of what we did, to do the bulk of the trail loop and then come back to the dog beach and be able to stop there and cool off, and then do that last little bit to get back to your site.

We did the little bit to the dog beach first, mainly because we weren’t sure whether they would be up for a longer hike.

Ended up, they were not only up for a longer hike, but apparently they also wanted to play in the water. Especially Lucifer.

But even Theia was getting into the water and playing in the water, so we kinda hung out at the beach for a while before we finished and headed back to the vehicle.

But all in all, if you are looking for a park to give you some really nice hiking trails without them being too difficult. Their trails all range kind of in the easy/moderate range.

I highly, highly recommend Killbear for that option.

BOATING & FISHING (22:29)

John: Alright, so the next part is boating and fishing. Willow? Your thoughts? Since you’re pretty much in this video the whole entire time…

Britt: She is just loving the attention right now!

John: Ya! So, boating and fishing. Unfortunately, there is no rentals in the park.

Britt: No, but they are right outside the park.

John: But they are right outside the park. So…

The fish for that area would be lake trout, smallmouth bass, pike, perch, and walleye. Sounds like a lot of stuff that you get down in the Windsor/Essex area.

Britt: Ya, so we didn’t do any boating or fishing when we were there.

John: No.

Britt: But, we had a chance to see the lakes from the trails and stuff like that, and I can imagine they would be absolutely beautiful to paddle.

John: Oh ya, one-hundred percent!

SWIMMING (23:17)

Britt: And of course, along with boating and fishing, there is Lucifer’s favourite aspect of it, which is swimming.

John: Swimming!

Britt: He’s getting jealous. Come on!

John: Swimming!

Britt: He was getting jealous because he wasn’t involved in the video like his sister, and then we started talking about his favourite part, so here he is.

Lucifer absolutely loves swimming.

And if you’re lucky enough to get a waterfront campsite, there are several sites at the park that you could go and let your dog swim right off the site.

We didn’t have one. I’ve seen other people posting photos and videos and stuff. But ours was not waterfront, so we had to go to a dog beach.

Good news is, there are two different dog beaches to choose from. So, we showed both of them in the video.

You would have seen just John went to check out the off-leash, just because it was busy.

Like I said, Thanksgiving weekend, and we didn’t want to take them to an off-leash beach where he might get overwhelmed by all the other dog owners and everything that was going on, so we decided to stick to the on-leash.

But we did check it out just so you guys could see what it was like.

And then, we took them all to the on-leash, which is near the day-use area off that Twin Point Trail. The view from that beach is absolutely stunning.

John: Stunning!

Britt: Absolutely stunning!

It was a gorgeous sand beach, if you’re looking for somewhere you can just kinda hang out and have that sandy beach aesthetic or if you’re bringing the kids and want the kids to be able to swim along with the dogs, great.

If you’re wanting to make a day out of it and you’re looking to have somewhere you can go swimming and maybe then have a picnic, there was the gorgeous rock faces on each side of the beach that you can sit on.

And I can imagine, like if you’re talking, you know, late summer, or even late spring into early summer, the sun coming down… It would be too hot in the peak summer. But in, like, those just on the edge of it.

Oh, hi, baby. Ya!

John: It reminded me of Killarney when we went last April.

Britt: Ya, ya! I can imagine that in the summer, like I said, peak summer it would be way too hot.

But in those off angles on each side, to just bask in the sun on those rock faces would be absolutely gorgeous.

John: Hi, girl.

Britt: All in all, I will say that beach, most definitely, got the Lucifer stamp of approval. Right, buddy?

He’s like, I’m tired because you’re not actually bringing me to the beach. I don’t want to talk about the beach, I want to go to the beach.

But ya, there wasn’t a whole lot of dogs there, even though it was Thanksgiving weekend.

Which was kinda nice too because I think they all go to the off-leash, which is, you don’t have to hike into it. Like it is right there, there’s a little walk in.

So the fact that you have to hike a trail to get to it I think kinda puts some people off. But, that just made it even better if you have a dog that needs a little bit more space and freedom.

FINAL PAW RATING (26:02)

Britt: All of that to say, our final rating and our final thoughts. What are you thinking?

John: It’s a park that I will definitely go to again.

Britt: It’s a stunning park.

John: I mean, first time ever going for me, so…

Britt: Ya, there’s a reason that it is one of the big, one of the most popular. Like, if you like at the list of the most popular Ontario Parks, it is always on the list, and there is a reason for that.

I also forgot to mention in our review there, we did go see the iconic tree as well. It is still standing. There is a brace holding it up, but it is still there. We shared some pictures.

John: And they did a recent update on it. So, it survived the winter.

Britt: Yes. Ya, we saw an update, and it did say that it survived the winter.

But, as far as rating it. It being one of the most popular parks also takes it down just a little bit for me. Because, if you’re going during the peak season, not only is it really hard to get a site, but from a pet-friendly perspective, that park is packed.

And it was nice for us when we were there, because it wasn’t overly, overly busy. But I can imagine with it being packed. Like, he would have a much harder time.

He’s got, still working through some fear of men. And like I said, he did great on the trail, but I can’t imagine if it was just that constant onslaught of people all around us.

Whereas we could go back to our campsite, and with it being a little less busy, we had some space. Not everybody fall camps in non-electric areas.

So, with that in mind, I think… I don’t know. It’s really highly rated. Maybe a 4? I can’t give it a 4 ½ just because of how busy it is.

John: Ya, I’ll give it a 4. I’ll give it a 4, too.

Britt: Alright, so there you have it. 4 paws out of 5. Willow approves!

John: Willow approves!

Britt: And I thought I heard Theia meow out there. So, Theia approved, as well.

John: Don’t forget about me! Good girl.

Britt: If you haven’t already heard, we are going to be ramping up our videos this season.

You’re going to be seeing even more videos from us. Not just location reviews.

We already brought you the Adventure Show, and I’ll tag that up here. And the next video coming out is actually going to be a Canadian trade show that I went to with Theia.

So, we had a chance to really connect with some of the Canadian pet brands, which was amazing, and I’ve got a video coming out where I’m going to talk through the experience of attending with Theia, show you some of the show, and then talk through some of the trends I’m seeing in the pet industry.

And then, after that, we’re going to be getting into our new season.

Now, we have gear review videos we’re going to be sharing, we’ve got some great tips, tricks, educational-type videos we’ll be sharing, and, of course, more reviews.

We have officially booked most of our season.

John: Yep!

Britt: Not quite all, most.

So, the 2026 season is going to include Bruce Penninsula National Park, Bon Echo Provincial Park, which was the one that you guys voted for in our Facebook group, Windy Lake Provincial Park, Wakami Lake Provincial Park, Halfway Lake Provincial Park, Point Farms Provincial Park.

Of course, we’ll be going back to Haliburton Forest. We won’t do a review there, but you’ll still see videos coming out of there.

John: We haven’t booked Thanksgiving yet. We’re out of that window.

Britt: No, we haven’t booked Thanksgiving yet. So, those for sure, and then, obviously, there will be more coming up because we need to at least book Thanksgiving if not some other trips in and around that.

So, if those are any of the destinations you’re considering for, you know, in the coming years, and you want to see how our trips go.

If you want to check out some of this gear we’re bringing. We have some really exciting gear reviews that I’m really looking forward to sharing with everybody, including some great Canadian brands.

Or, if you just want to learn how to take your adventures with your pets to the next level with some tips, tricks, maybe some new ideas to try in your adventures, hit the subscribe button.

Tap the little bell, wherever he puts it here on the screen.

John: Wherever I put it.

Britt: Tap that little bell. What it will do is it will notify you every time we put a video out, and you guys can check it out right away and not miss anything we are sharing.

I’m also excited to announce that we won the LUXlife Travel & Tourism awards for, I believe it was, Best Pet-Friendly Guide, or something like that.

I’ll put the official title here on screen, but that was super exciting. That just happened.

It’s just a testament that what we’re doing is wanted. It’s needed. People want to travel with their pets, and we are so excited to continue doing that.

So, thank you to all of you. This wouldn’t be possible without you. Without you guys, you know, tuning into our videos, leaving your comments, sharing them, checking out our blog. You guys make this possible.

So, thank you so much to everybody.

Lucifer is trying to take things out here on the camera so we are going to go outside and check out the weather today. And we will see you soon!

John: Stay toasty!