Roofed Camping in Ontario – Mid Week in November Still Open

Most campgrounds have closed for the season, but a handful of Ontario Parks keep their yurts, cabins and cottages open through November. On October 21 we checked every roofed unit at the seven southern and central parks that rent them in November, for the first three November weekends and two midweek stays.

Quick answer: November weekends are already gone. For Fri Nov 6 to Sun Nov 8 we found 2 open units out of 67 across the six parks with yurts and cabins, both rustic cabins at Arrowhead. For Nov 13–15 and Nov 20–22, there were none. Midweek is different: for Sunday Nov 8 to Thursday Nov 12, 16 units were free at four parks, including six cabins at MacGregor Point and seven yurts and cabins at Silent Lake.

1. The seven parks with a roof in November

From our winter catalog, leaving out the far north:

None has more than 18 yurts and cabins, so one busy weekend fills a whole park.

2. Weekends: it’s done

Three weeks out, every yurt and cabin at Pinery, MacGregor Point, Silent Lake, Killarney and Mew Lake was already booked for all three weekends. The two Arrowhead cabins are the only weekend roofs we found: if Nov 6–8 is the weekend you have, book one now. Sandbanks doesn’t fit a weekend search at all: its cottages are rented only by the week, Saturday to Friday.

3. Midweek: take Monday and Tuesday off

The same parks look completely different from Sunday to Thursday:

What stands out:

• Silent Lake, Nov 8–12. Seven roofs open, the most of any park: yurts at Pincer Bay and Granite Ridge, and camp cabins 204, 205 and 207 at Six Point.
• MacGregor Point, Nov 8–12. Six of eight rustic cabins on Birch Boulevard are free for all four nights. That’s a Lake Huron cabin almost for the asking.
• Sandbanks, by the week. Both cottages rent only Saturday to Friday. On October 22, Jacques Cottage (sleeps four, $203.74 a night) was bookable in November, and the Maple Rest Heritage House (sleeps eight, about $246 a night) was open for most of it. That’s Prince Edward County after the crowds.
• Mew Lake, in pieces. No full four-night stay, but on October 22 one yurt (site 36, $159.75 a night) had two-night windows on Nov 11–13 and Nov 29–Dec 1, which meets Mew Lake’s two-night minimum.

Midweek, many units gave no clear answer, so “none confirmed” isn’t “full”. One Silent Lake yurt (site 92) had every November Friday and Saturday booked, and almost every Sunday-to-Thursday night open: Nov 3–5, 8–12, 16–19, 22–26 and 29–30.

4. Beyond Ontario Parks: Albion Hills and Limberlost

Two more finds, outside Ontario Parks and not yet in our catalog.

Albion Hills, an hour from Toronto. A Toronto and Region Conservation Authority park in Caledon. On October 22, four cottages were available in November at $131 a night, the cheapest roof in this post. Each sleeps two and has electricity and water. We haven’t stayed in them, but we know the park on a bike and on skis: more than 50 km of mountain bike trails, and in winter, cross-country ski trails, snowshoeing and fat biking on the Black Trail.

Limberlost Forest and Wildlife Reserve, near Huntsville. A private reserve of more than 10,000 acres and 20 lakes, with over 70 km of trails for hiking, biking, skiing and snowshoeing, free to use. It rents lodges, cottages and campsites, and on October 22 it had cottages open in November. The simplest is a 10-by-10-foot camping cabin for $100 a night on a private forested site: unfurnished, with a propane wall heater, firepit, picnic table and private outhouse, and parking about 30 m away. It isn’t fully insulated, so bring gear for cold nights. Its two-night minimum (three on holiday weekends) applies only on weekends, so a single weeknight works here. Book on its own site.

5. What you get under a November roof

A yurt at Silent Lake

Silent Lake has eight yurts. Each sleeps six on two bunk beds, with a small table and chairs inside and a propane barbecue, fire pit and picnic table outside. Yurt 92 was $159.75 a night. There are two kinds, and in November it matters which one you book:

There’s no cooking and no drinking water inside. The comfort station, with toilets, showers and drinking water, is open all year. Bring bedding, food, water, cookware and lighting.

A rustic cabin at Arrowhead

Cabin 225, one of the seven Arrowhead cabins open for Nov 1–5, lists:

• Sleeps five on a queen bed and a bunk bed, in one room.
• Electricity, a propane fireplace, a mini fridge, and a gas barbecue outside. Cooking is outdoors only.
• $159.75 a night, the same as the Silent Lake yurt.
• Toilet and water tap outside, about 55 m away. The showers are 388 m away and open in winter.
• No pets.

The catch: the cabin’s page says on-site parking is only May to October, while the park’s page says parking moves off-site from December. Ask the park about November, and pack light in case you carry your gear in.

6. Catch the first snow, or dodge it

November is when the snow arrives. Environment Canada’s 1981–2010 averages for the nearest weather stations:

To catch it, go north late in the month. Yurt 92 at Silent Lake was free Nov 16–19 and 22–26. To dodge it, go to Pinery or Sandbanks early. A snow day means at least 0.2 cm, and the first-snow column is our estimate from those averages, so any one year can be weeks off. Algonquin sits higher than Huntsville and usually gets it sooner.

7. Before you book a November roof

• Plan for at least two nights. Every Ontario Park here has a two-night minimum for yurts and cabins (three on long weekends), and Sandbanks rents only Saturday-to-Friday weeks.
• Know the rules. You pay in full when you book, the person booking must be 21 or older, and there’s no smoking or vaping inside and no cooking in yurts. Details differ by unit, so read its page.
• Check the season dates. At Killarney, the main gate closes around the end of November and the yurts become walk-in. At Algonquin, Mew Lake is the only campground still open.

How we know all this, and how to plan your own trip

This is a Campaid sweep, run on October 21, of every yurt and cabin at the six parks above, for five stays: the Nov 6–8, 13–15 and 20–22 weekends, and the Nov 1–5 and Nov 8–12 midweek stays. A unit counts as open only if the whole stay can be booked on it. Units the booking system returned without a clear answer are left out of both counts, which is why the totals move from one stay to the next. Campaid keeps a winter catalog of which parks are actually open, so a closed park doesn’t look like a full one.

To plan your own November trip, tell Campaid your dates and what kind of roof you want. It checks every park at once, night by night, and shows you what’s open before you go to the booking site. Try it free.

Frequently asked questions

Can you camp in Ontario Parks in November? Yes, but mostly under a roof. Algonquin (Mew Lake), Arrowhead, Killarney, MacGregor Point, Pinery, Sandbanks and Silent Lake all rent yurts, cabins or cottages through November. Most car campgrounds have closed.

Are there any yurts or cabins left for a November weekend? On October 21 we found 2 open units out of 67 for Nov 6–8 (two Arrowhead cabins) and none for Nov 13–15 or Nov 20–22.

Where can I find a yurt or cabin midweek in November? For Sunday Nov 8 to Thursday Nov 12, Silent Lake had 7 yurts and cabins open, MacGregor Point 6 cabins, Killarney 2 yurts and Pinery 1 yurt. For Nov 1–5, Arrowhead had 7 of 9 cabins open.

Are Algonquin’s Mew Lake yurts available in November? Only in scattered weeknights. Mew Lake was fully booked for all three weekends, and no unit was open for a full Sunday-to-Thursday stay. But on October 22, yurt 36 was free on Nov 1, 11–12, 15 and 29–30, so a two-night midweek stay is possible. Check the calendar for each unit.

Is Sandbanks open in November? Only its two cottages, rented by the week, Saturday to Friday. The campgrounds close Oct 27 and reopen Apr 23. On October 22, Jacques Cottage (sleeps four, $203.74 a night) and Maple Rest Heritage House (sleeps eight, about $246) were both bookable in November.

Related reading: Fall colours camping in Muskoka and Algonquin: where you can still get a site · Pinery Provincial Park: Burley, the dunes and Riverside · Thanksgiving canoe camping in Ontario