Have you ever heard of a camping pod? If you haven’t, winter is the time to check one out. Quetico Provincial Park has cozy cabins among its vast landscape, somewhere to lay your head at the end of the day after checking out all the other sights the area has to offer.

Quetico is known as an iconic wilderness class park, boasting towering rock cliffs, majestic waterfalls and pine and spruce forests, and with the park being open year-round, you can enjoy these features even in the winter.

Oh, and this special place is recognized by the International Dark Sky Association as an International Dark Sky Park. Yep, not only will you have a warm pod to snuggle up in, but you can also stargaze for hours before it’s time to hit the hay.

Getting to Quetico Provincial Park

Quetico Provincial Park is a bit of a road trip if you’re coming from Toronto or the GTA. Located in Atikokan, Ontario, Quetico is about one and a half hours west of Thunder Bay and a 16-hour drive from Toronto.

While you’ll likely want to take advantage of one of the rustic cabins or camping pods after a trek that far, day passes are available if you’re not spending the night. These passes start at $12.25 per vehicle.

Exploring and camping at Quetico Provincial Park

Let’s start with the sights. This park is ideal for those who love an outdoor adventure such as snowshoeing to a majestic waterfall.

Strap on your snowshoes and head over to the French Portage trailhead. From here, go east following the French Portage Trail until it joins the French Falls Trail.

As you make your way through the pine forests, be sure to snap a few pics. The hike is about 6 km roundtrip, but at the end of the first leg, you’ll be rewarded with the frozen waterfall that awaits.

There are also cross-country ski trails within Quetico’s Dawson Trail Campground, 15 km to be exact! All trails are “set for classic skiing and include 3 km of campground roads groomed for skate skiing.”

Once you’ve gotten all your skiing, snowshoeing and exploring out of your system, settle in at one of the roofed accommodations.

There are two camping pods available to book at Quetico Provincial Park, each costing $92.40 per night. The pods come with a queen-over-queen bunk bed, bench, electric baseboard heater, electric power and a table. Outside you will find a barbeque, picnic table and campfire pit. As for what you need to bring yourself, Ontario Parks recommends drinking water, camping gear and bed linens. 

The three rustic cabins are your other option! The Log Cabin at Dawson Trail Campground, the Art Studio Winter Retreat, and the Ojibwa Cabin at Ojibwa Campground.

The Ojibwa Cabin is nestled along the shore of French Lake in the Ojibwa Campground and getting there is half the adventure. In the winter, the only way to get to the rustic cabin is to ski or snowshoe the 2 km trail to your stay.

The cabins also cost $92.40 per night and are equipt with a queen bed, couch with fold-out bed, table and chairs, porch, picnic table, campfire pit, electric heat, propane BBQ, microwave, mini-fridge, kettle, coffee maker, 20L potable water, firewood and 2 pairs of snowshoes during the winter.

Enjoy your winter getaway, Ontario!

Quetico Provincial Park

Where: 108 Saturn Ave, Box 2430, Atikokan, ON

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Taylor Lucas

Associate Editor – Taylor is a Toronto-based journalist with a passion for storytelling. Whether chasing a story, writing, or editing, she brings a creative spin to the media world and has a blast doing it. Taylor brings years of journalism experience in sports, local/national news, and entertainment. In her spare time, you can typically find Taylor trying out a new restaurant or cocktail bar, cooking, golfing or binge-watching true crime documentaries.

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