A Wet Week at Pinery Provincial Park (Part 1)

After spending Fathers Day weekend at Pinery in 2007, we decided, since we enjoyed it so much, to spend a week-plus there this year. The only thing we were worried about was the late night noise we experienced last year on the Friday night. The Park Wardens dealt with the noise the next morning, and it didn’t occur on the Saturday night. It turns out that wet weather would be our biggest issue, as it has for most of the summer in Ontario.

Last year we purchased two Coleman 5 day coolers because our ice didn’t seem to be lasting very long. On a nine-day trip such as this one, you can go through a lot of ice. The first day there, we purchased both our ice and wood within the park, paying park prices of almost $3 per bag of ice, and $7 for a bag of wood. I always like to purchase both within the park to help support the park system, but these prices over nine days would really add up. There are wood restrictions within Ontario Parks, and I am very conscious of this, as the Emerald Ash Borer has now found its way into Brampton Ontario, where I live. Outside of the park, there are many vendors selling wood, ice and anything else you might need. We ended up stopping at Shivers & Shakes (on Hwy 21), purchasing 4 bags of wood for $10, and 99-cent bags of ice. We stopped there a few times for wood and ice, and at the end of the week played mini golf (2 play free with a coupon) and had some ice cream. You will find their ad in the Pinery Information Guide.

The beach at Pinery is awesome. It is extremely long (10 km), made up of white sand, backed by high sand dunes. We spent one day at the beach, and one evening, watching the sunset. After 14 (or so) hours of heavy rain Tuesday night, extending well into Wednesday, the beach was posted due to high E.coli readings. The beach in the town of Grand Bend remained open, and we went to that beach 3 times during our vacation. Grand Bend, and its beach, remind me of a mini Ft Lauderdale when I was there in the late 80’s – lots of vendors and activity. The beach itself isn’t as nice as Pinery, it’s a little gravely, but the atmosphere is great.

On the Wednesday, during the rain, we traveled with the other family we were camping with to Goderich, about 30 minutes north of Pinery on Hwy 21. Our kids wanted to go bowling instead of hanging out in the rain for the day. Can’t blame them for that! We went to Goderich Little Bowl, luckily it was Wicked Wednesday, and we got a deal. We took a drive into the downtown, and down to the beach in Goderich. They have a very nice, well-developed waterfront. On the way back we stopped at the park in Bayfield, then took a drive down their main street (my wife and I like to visit main streets in communities – I am always impressed to see main streets that have been maintained and developed…I think it is very telling of the community). Bayfield is one of the nicest small towns I have ever visited…it is definitely worth stopping.

See Pinery Provincial Park on a Map

Read Campsite Reviews for Pinery Provincial Park

Image courtesy of Ontario Parks

Part 2 coming soon…