2020 was the year I finally camped in the back of my Jeep, it was a game changer! The set up and take down is such a breeze. You stay completely dry AND if you go camping into the fall/winter, it’s warmer because you’re off the ground. The trip I took this fall with Meg, my fellow Jeep lover and chosen sister was an epic adventure into Northern Ontario in Algonquin Park.
Calling all Jeep lovers and camping enthusiasts!
I had never camped in Alqonquin Park, which is surprising because it’s definitely Ontario’s most well known park. Meg goes every year and it was about time I checked it out for myself. I will admit, neither of us realized how north in the park we booked until a week before the trip. Don’t ask me how!! 🙂 But honestly, it was awesome and I have no regrets.
We headed up on a Friday morning from Toronto and made it to North Bay in about 4 hours. We wanted to hit up a local brewery called Gateway City Brewery on the way before heading into the park. The pit stop was also a must for me as I was working. I needed to stay connected online until I wrapped up emails for the day, the park was completely off grid. So we stopped for an hour or so to see what this brewery was all about! Sadly, the food truck at Gateway City was closed but we enjoyed beers at this amazing industrial brewery vibe! This was the first trip Meg and I had taken together since we were 17 and went to the Dominican Republic, so it was long overdue.
There was a fine line between sunset and being completely dark, so we took off around 6:30pm. Slowly, we made our way to the entrance of the park at around 7:30pm. It was time to get in and set up, we lost light on the way in so that was a little creepy but still an adventure none the less! When camping in a Jeep, there’s not much to set up. We organized our belongings and cozied in to eat some dinner in bed. Meg pre-cooked everything so we were very fortunate not to have to make dinner. As Meg drove us, we took her Jeep for this trip. Her Jeep is a 2 door, so the sleep was a bit tight (my long legs didn’t help), but cozy otherwise!
On Saturday we were up by 8am, after some struggles with our stove and me having to make a new friend to get some water boiled, we finally got our coffee made and breakfast going. It was CHILLY. But once we were back in the Jeep and with a warm coffee it was fine, we just needed quite a few layers! We got ourselves organized and packed up. We headed towards the camp ground office to rent a canoe for the day. There was a payphone there that allowed us to call the canoe store for free as cell phone reception was non existent in northern Algonquin. After we rented our canoe, we went into town for some gas. We didn’t want to risk being without fuel at night as it was getting down to below freezing.
By 1pm we were out on the water! It warmed up to about 10 degrees and the sun slightly came out, so with some layers we were more than ok! We canoed over to a remote campsite on a rock and set up for lunch, we even brought over some of our Gateway City brews to try. It was a lovely afternoon!
Meg and I did realize though that neither of us are very good “canoe-ers”. Once we wrapped up lunch, we made our way back to shore to make a fire before dark. Another first, neither of us had started a fire on our own before. We were on our way to becoming well seasoned campers by this point. We had an awesome evening once the fire got going and we got the stove working. Meg had prepared vegan chilli, bruschetta and focaccia bread! We shared some wine over the fire and spent the evening talking, well into dark. We crawled into bed around 10pm and had another decent sleep. Truthfully, the Jeep is comfortable but with long legs you for sure need a 4 door. I woke up a few times with some pretty bad leg cramps.
We packed up Sunday morning and made our way to Eau Claire Gorge for a hike. This hike was only 20 minutes from the park. We wanted a chance to stretch our legs and catch some fresh air before the long drive home. It was pretty rainy on the way home so it wasn’t the most enjoyable drive. But the leaves were changing colour at this point so the views for the first hour of the drive were beautiful to look at! Northern Ontario in the fall is absolutely breathtaking. It was so nice to be outside and take it all in!
Whether or not I’ve sold you on fall Jeep camping yet, here are some tips to prepare for that kind of trip!
Jeep Camping Tips:
- Buy a thin travel air mattress that fits the length of the back of your Jeep. It’ll come in handy on the road as it easily inflates and is quite compact. I got mine on Amazon, linked here!
- Bring lots of blankets and pillows to make the back of the Jeep as comfy as possible. The air mattress is good, but you’ll want that extra cushioning. Plus at that time of year you’ll want as much warmth as possible.
- Prep and pack your food ahead of time. When the weather drops, you don’t want to be outside chopping food or making meals. It’s much nicer to have meals that are easy to eat or a quick warm up on a portable stove.
- If you plan on taking photos, video or listening to music, bring portable chargers or spare batteries. The camp site is quite remote and you won’t find much electricity anywhere.
- Reserve your canoe ahead of time. It isn’t overly busy in the fall, but you may want to place it on hold a few days ahead of time, just in case they’re fully booked for the day! We got lucky on the day, but next time I would call in advance.
Whether you are planning on Jeep camping soon or just pitching your tent. We hope our tips helped you plan your next fall camping trip!
XO
Cornelia & Meg
