Crown land is public land held by the province. In Ontario it covers roughly 87 percent of the province, and on most of it a resident of Canada may camp for free. This map shows which parcels are crown land so you can see what is public before you plan a trip.
Shaded parcels are unpatented crown land in the provincial land registry. Unshaded ground is something else: private property, a First Nations reserve, federal land, or a parcel the province has patented to someone.
Zoom past the province level to see parcel outlines. Parcel detail is stored to zoom 10 and stretched beyond it, so when you zoom right in, the boundary you see is the last stored detail rather than a survey line. Very small parcels are left out below zoom 8, where they would be smaller than a pixel.
Crown land is not the same thing as permission to camp. A parcel can be crown land and still sit inside a provincial park or conservation reserve, or be under someone else's land use permit or lease, where different rules apply. Ontario also states that its own mapping is illustrative and should not be relied on as authoritative. Check the Crown Land Use Policy Atlas and any posted signs before you camp.
Free for residents of Canada on most crown land, up to 21 days on any one site per calendar year. Non-residents need a permit north of the French and Mattawa Rivers. The Ontario crown land camping guide sets out the details, with sources.
A lot of Ontario crown land is only reachable by water. The canoe route map carries 226 mapped routes in Ontario with traced river geometry, rapids, portages and campsites.
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