Campgrounds and RV parks near Carleton Place, ON

Carleton Place sits on the Mississippi River in Lanark County, about 45 minutes southwest of downtown Ottawa. It works well as a base for RV travellers who want quiet river-country camping with quick highway access to the National Capital Region via Highway 7 and the 417. The closest options are small private parks along the Mississippi. Mal's Camping is a family campground on the Mississippi River outside the village of Lanark, roughly 45 minutes from Ottawa and 15 minutes from Perth. Riverbend Park, in Pakenham, offers grassed and treed riverside sites suited to families and longer stays. Victoria Park Campground, in nearby Smiths Falls, provides a compact municipal option along the Rideau Canal corridor. For RVers who want to combine Ottawa sightseeing with camping, Wesley Clover Park Campground sits within the National Capital Greenbelt with 50, 30 and 15 amp sites, serviced and unserviced tent sites, and cedar cabins. Fitzroy Provincial Park, on the Ottawa River northwest of the city, is the largest publicly operated option in the area.

Fitzroy Provincial Park is reserved through the Ontario Parks system. Ontario Parks accepts reservations up to five months in advance of the arrival date, with new dates opening online at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time, so peak-summer waterfront and electrical sites should be targeted right at the five-month mark. Reservations cannot be changed or cancelled more than four months in advance, but cancellations roll in after that window, and campers who shorten a stay before noon on their departure day can still receive a refund on the removed nights, so checking around midday can turn up last-minute openings. Wesley Clover Park Campground takes bookings through its own online reservation system, and unserviced site bookings are accepted only by phone or email through the campground team. Mal's Camping, Riverbend Park, and Victoria Park Campground handle reservations directly through their own websites or by phone.