Point Pelee National Park
The Southern Tip of Canada
Point Pelee National Park is the southwestern tip of Ontario on the way to Detroit. It is a peninsula of land that extends about 8km into Lake Erie. It is the southern most point of mainland Canada and just off the coast is also Middle island which is the actual southern most point of Canada.
Point Pelee is about a 3–4hour drive from Toronto depending on traffic. My friend Zak and I went on Sunday of the long weekend. We didn’t realize it was the long weekend and might be busy until we had to wait in line to get into the park at the gatehouse. It wasn’t too bad though and we were able to find parking along the beach. The point itself is a sand bar that changes with the water level so sometimes it is a long walk to the point and other times there isn’t as much of a point. When we visited the point was rather short but a friend who’s from the area showed us a picture during the winter walking out quite a ways out.
There are strong currents around the point and several people have drowned so swimming isn’t allowed and there is a park ranger making sure people don’t go in the water. The entire west side of the peninsula is a beach so there are plenty of other places to go swimming.
Interestingly, Point Pelee is at a similar latitude as the northern border of California. There are actually 27 US states further north than the southern most point of Canada and this means that there are actually more Americans living further north than Canadaians too (https://youtu.be/DFJAgb7dn78).
Near the point is a new lookout tower that was built only a few years ago. It had a good view of the point (cover photo) as well as the forest covering most of the peninsula. The forest canopy seemed really tropical and there were some really thick barky vines as well. I got the sense that it was a very vibrant ecosystem.
Further north at the base of the peninsula is a large marsh. There is another lookout tower and a boardwalk that goes a short distance through the grasses. It’s also possible to rent kayaks and paddle through some of the marsh. The grass was really tall which was exciting to walk in.
We were fortunate to meet our friend from the area for dinner and I had some spectacular perch fish tacos. On the way back home we caught a stunning sunset over the farm land.
Although it was just a day trip, Point Pelee was a really nice area and would be a great place to spend some more summer weekends at a cottage along the water. Hopefully I’ll be able to come back again. The food was fresh and tasty and also our friend recommended a visit to Pelee Island which is just off the coast.
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