The La Cloche Mountains are white quartzite, once a range taller than the Rockies and now worn down to long ridges above water so clear it looks tropical. The Group of Seven kept coming back here and so will you. We run the bus from Toronto for the weekend. You book where you sleep.
Book your accommodation first, then pick your date below. The bus leaves from the Major Mackenzie park and ride and from 34 Asquith Avenue in Toronto.
Cancel 14 or more days before you go and you get 90% back.
Choose your own adventure: we drop you off, and the bus picks you up in the same spot.
A few hours on real trail with roots, rocks and some climbing, so wear proper shoes.
A full-size coach: reclining seats, air conditioning, large windows, a washroom on board and room for daypacks and gear.
Killarney sits on the north shore of Georgian Bay, where the La Cloche Mountains rise as long rounded ridges of white quartzite that were once a range taller than the Rockies. Pine and hardwood fill the valleys between them, and the lakes run clear and turquoise.
That colour has a sad reason behind it. Acid rain stripped these lakes of plankton in the 1960s, which is part of why the water is so transparent. The fish are slowly coming back. The unreal blue is here to stay.
A.Y. Jackson Lake, Carmichael Lake and O.S.A. Lake are all named after the painters who came up here to work. Stand on a ridge above any of them and it becomes obvious why none of them could leave the place alone.
From George Lake Campground you can walk the Cranberry Bog and Granite Ridge trails, get onto the start of the La Cloche Silhouette loop, take a bike out, or simply spend the day on the beach.
Rock older than almost anything you have stood on, and a bus that gets you to it.
You get off at whichever one matches the bed you have booked, and you are collected from the same place.
We pick you up
Just north of Yonge and Bloor subway station. Come up the Asquith exit and look for the coach. There may be more than one bus, so check the sign in the window before you get on.
This route runs a full-size coach, with a washroom on board.
We pick you up
The GO park and ride at Major Mackenzie Drive and Highway 400. Useful if you are north of the city and would rather not come downtown first.
The park's main campground, with showers, flush toilets, a park office store and free bear locker rentals. The beach is right there, Killarney Outfitters will drop rentals at the main canoe beach, and the famous La Cloche Silhouette Trail starts and ends here.
Good to know:
Facilities: Showers and flush toilets, Park office store, small items only, Free bear locker rentals, Beach and canoe launch
Note: There is nowhere to buy food or supplies here. Arrive with everything you need for the whole stay.
A casual, family run resort just outside the park on the Killarney Channel, going for over 50 years. Rooms run from basic dormitory-style La Cloche Rooms through lodge rooms and cabin suites to waterfront log cabins.
Good to know:
Facilities: Restaurants and bar, Heated pool and sauna, Free use of canoes, kayaks and bikes
Note: Book directly with the lodge. Parkbus does not sell rooms and none of this is part of your bus fare.
We drop you back
The bus calls at both pickup points on the way back, so you get off where you got on.
This is our estimated return time, not a guarantee. Traffic can change it and some trips do run late, so please leave yourself some room afterwards rather than booking something tight against it.
A weekend in a park with no shops, and a bus rather than a boot to carry it in.
Accommodation is not included and we do not arrange it. In this park it is the hard part: George Lake sites open five months ahead and summer weekends go quickly, and the yurts and cabins go faster than that.
Your options are George Lake Campground through Ontario Parks, a room at Killarney Mountain Lodge, or a backcountry permit if you are an experienced canoe camper or through-hiker. Sort that out first, then come back and take a seat.
If you are camping at George Lake, tell the park you are arriving by Parkbus and they will deliver a food storage container to your site.
Everything that smells goes in it: food, rubbish, toothpaste, the lot. The campground gets regular visits from bears, raccoons and chipmunks, and the container is the whole plan.
There is no shop at George Lake Campground beyond a small park office selling souvenirs and odds and ends. Bring all your food for the whole stay.
Phone reception is patchy and depends on your network. It is best on high ground and in the middle of the bigger lakes. There are payphones by the park office, and calls to Parkbus are free.
Weekends run through the summer and into the fall colours in October. Choose the Friday to Sunday weekend or the Saturday to Monday long weekend.
Only one trip scheduled
October 10
Last seat. This is the only date this season, so there is no second chance at it.
We're Canada's outdoor bus service. Since 2010 we've taken more than 300,000 people to parks and trails without a car. You bring a pack. We handle everything else.
Killarney is a long way from Toronto and the road up is not a fun one on a Friday. On the coach it is a book and a nap in each direction.
The bus serves George Lake Campground inside the park and Killarney Mountain Lodge just outside it. No taxi, no last leg to solve.
Friday to Sunday, or Saturday to Monday on the long weekends. Both run through the summer and into the fall colours.
White quartzite ridges, pink granite shoreline and lakes that are clear to the bottom. This is the country the Group of Seven painted.
★★★★★ 4.6/5.0 on Google
All stops enable guests ample time to explore the destination. This is a highly a good idea trip for those that appreciate spending time in nature minus distractions.OnAir48444 · Tripadvisor · Oct 2025
Highly recommend them. The bus service is so useful for people who doesn't want to drive and gives return facility. They were on time and bus facility was good too. Total worth the cost if you want to avoid hassle driving/parking.Sidhant Duggal · Facebook · Aug 2022
This is a great service if you don't have a vehicle or just don't want to drive. I'm so happy to have discovered this. There will definitely be more Parkbus trips in my future!James Taylor Wilson · Happy Parkbus customer
Factor in the cost of gas, parking and renting a car, it's a lot cheaper than taking a personal vehicle.Toronto Star
Parkbus is a great option for nature lovers, whether it's a day trip or overnight camping getaway.The Globe and Mail
Cancel more than 14 days before departure and you get a 90% refund, with 10% withheld for payment processing. Inside 14 days refunds are not available, except for a medical emergency in the 48 hours before departure, which needs a signed doctor’s note within 14 days of the missed trip and returns 50%. Tickets are transferable: you can change the passenger name up to 48 hours before departure.
If Parkbus cancels a trip, you get a full refund. We decide no later than 48 hours before departure and only on confirmed conditions: the park closed or the park authority asking us to stand down, an evacuation order or alert, an area restriction order, the highway closed, or the trip judged unsafe to run. A forecast is not one of those things, and trips run rain or shine.
Book your bed first, then book the bus. We do the 450 kilometres in each direction.
Not quite the right fit? These all leave from the same spot downtown.
