French River P.P. is located on 20526 Settler's Rd., in Alban, ON. This park is backcountry only and spans the distance from Georgian Bay to Lake Nipissing. A very useful waterway, the French River has been used by natives and Europeans alike for generations. I visited the day use area in August 2024.
French River has historically been used by natives and Voyageurs to easily access the Ottawa River and the Atlantic Ocean via Lake Huron (Huron > French > Nipissing > Ottawa > St. Lawrence > Atlantic). The park was considered a candidate for provincial park status in 1985, and it was incorporated in 1989.
French River is named after the people who travelled it most - French Voyageurs.
The historical importance is amazingly highlighted by the museum. There is a very small entry fee.
French River offers:
- an interesting museum
- paddling on scenic backcountry routes
- stunning photogenic regions
- hunting legal in almost the whole park
- swimming in the beautiful river and many surrounding streams, channels, and lakes
- fishing - smallmouth, pike, and pickerel
- snowmobiling throughout the winter
- native pow wows held here annually
The one hiking trail is:
This one way trail starts by the museum and climbs downwards to scenic Recollet Falls - a heritage waterfall. There is a section of the trail used by backcountry campers and Voyageurs alike as a portage route. (no bikes)
Drive in via Settler's Road. You'll see a parking lot. Straight ahead is the visitor's centre/museum, access to the snowmobile bridge, and parking for backcountry campers. On the left is the pow wow grounds and just past these grounds is the Recollet Falls trailhead. See map below.
As for the French River itself, there are innumerable access points and canoe routes to take. One I see a lot is the Upper French River (Restoule/French River) Canoe Route, which starts at Restoule Park. All canoe routes listed here.
Note that the photos in this section are not explicitly from this park, they are good photos of species that live here.
Butterflies
Unique Wildflowers
Massassauga Rattlesnake
Moths
Purchase a backcountry map prior to camping. The most detailed and waterproof one is the one on the right.
Gorgeous park - come here for day use and do everything possible.
Go behind the visitor centre to the snowmobile bridge - read below.
Spend the couple of bucks to see the museum. It's wonderful.
Although I could've easily picked the amazing visitor centre for the spotlight, I chose the snowmobile bridge (also called the William E. Small Bridge) as it is a marvel of engineering. The largest snowmobile bridge of its kind in the world is 512 feet long, 12 feet wide, and is 90 feet over the water. For reference, Ferris' famous suspension bridge is only 30 feet above the water. The bridge's construction was completed in 2005 by the Voyageurs Snowmobile Club. The bridge can carry innumerable humans or a large, heavy grooming machine or over 100 snowmobiles. What a beast. The image on the right is the view of Settler's Road from the bridge. Really gives you a sense of its scale.
Great backcountry camping - and I find it awesome that this entire waterway is protected. A historic route's history can continue to thrive via the museum, the gorge, the travellers, and just because it can't be developed. Beautiful park. I'll give it an 8.5/10.
