We planned a nine day holiday in June at County Shores mainly for the pickerel fishing on Bay of Quinte. The original site I had booked wasn’t available for us when we arrived due to higher than usual lake levels which created wetter than usual campsites. Instead we had a choice of a few pull thrus. All were pretty much the same in terms of low privacy, so we chose the one above. Pretty much all sites have a view of the water which was pretty nice. The extent of this years Lake Ontario flooding was very evident at this campground. So much of their docks were under water and ruined from high water and high waves. The boat launch was pretty much inaccessible and our boat had to be launched by their equipment due to water, mud and the highly probable risk of getting stuck! Here are some photos of the flooding at the park:
This trip we brought our boat which meant a separate vehicle to tow. As it was, I towed the fiver and Dave towed the boat with a truck rental. Bay of Quinte isn’t really that far from home and since we were still at Long Beach Conservation Area, only a half hour farther than from home. We arrived on a sunny Saturday and once we found an alternate site, got set up pretty quickly.
We paid for a boat slip so that we could easily leave to go fishing at any time, and fish we did! We had only a couple windy days and one rainy, stormy day. Other than that, we were out every day. We quickly learned the right speed to troll and the right bait to catch some pickerel. Our days on the water turned into evenings with beautiful sunsets and some pretty good catches of fish. It was so much fun!
And for the fish photos!
I’d have to say this holiday was awesome! Our boat ran fantastic and the fishing was great! We brought home pickerel for the freezer. 🙂
We drove into the closest town (Deseronto) once to do laundry and restock our supplies. It would have been convenient to have had laundry facilities at the park, but there weren’t any. Other than that trip, we really didn’t leave the park. Most of our time was spent fishing on the water or relaxing back at camp. We enjoyed spending our evenings looking at the view of the Bay and some awesome sunsets while our campfires burned.
Even at it’s busiest, County Shores was a quiet park to visit. We spent most of our non fishing time relaxing. Would I recommend a visit to County Shores? Well, it would depend on the type of holiday you’re looking for. As a fishing resort, you can’t get much better. The owners take pride in knowing the Bay of Quinte and the best places to catch fish and which lures and technique are working. Their store stocks an array of fishing gear and bait like I’ve never seen at a campground. The docks and launch took quite a beating because of the flooding, but the park takes pride in their facilities and you can bet they’ve already started work on restoring their many docks and the launches. As it was, the service they provided to get our boat into the water was awesome. If you’re looking for a more wilderness feel, this isn’t the park for you. The sites are close together with not many shade trees and very little to no privacy between. Some sites are better due to the location but still it’s pretty much wide open. The park has 30amp and water connections along with a free pump out once during your week long stay.
After the weekend the campground cleared out and the lack of privacy really wasn’t a big deal for us. The sites were grassy and the pads pretty level at least for the pull thrus. The camp store has some food supplies if you’re caught short, but the nearest town is Deseronto.
We absolutely would return to County Shores, in fact, Dave has already said for his week of holidays next year, he’s returning to this park. Hopefully we’ll get our original site closer to the water and the big oak tree!
Here are some more photos of the park and our stay:
One thing I do know is that if you do book a stay at County Shores, Todd and Krista will take very good care of you to make sure you have a wonderful stay at this park. The customer service they provided was exemplary. The knowledge they shared of fishing the area helped us to catch the fish we did. So, we’ll be back again next year! In the meantime, if you’re considering this park, here is a link to their webpage:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/At3QUAP8cLVqa0At2
Sue and Daves RV Adventures 