Pinery Provincial Park | |
---|---|
![]() Park Entrance Sign on Highway 21 | |
Location | Ontario, Canada |
Nearest city | Grand Bend, Ontario |
Coordinates | 43°15′36″N81°49′40″W / 43.259958°N 81.827821°W Coordinates: 43°15′36″N81°49′40″W / 43.259958°N 81.827821°W |
Area | 2532 ha (6,330 acres) |
Established | 1957 |
Visitors | Greater than 500,000 |
Governing body | Ontario Parks |
Pinery Provincial Park is a provincial park located on Lake Huron near Grand Bend, Ontario. It occupies an area of 25.32 square kilometres (6,330 acres). It is a natural environment-class Provincial Park created to help preserve oak savannah and the beach dune ecology. It has 1,275 sites of which 404 have electrical hookups. These include the yurt camping area and the group camping sites.
The initial package of land for the park was purchased from the Canada Company in 1957. [1] In 1966, the park saw a 433-acre addition, adding 200 campsites to the park's existing 1,075 to accommodate the growth of the park patronage, which had reached peaks of 1,500 campers per day, causing many to be packed into overflow areas. [2] Visitors to Pinery Provincial Park may access free wireless internet at the Visitor Centre provided by the Friends of Pinery Park. [3]
The park office is located on Ontario Highway 21 south of Grand Bend. The park is open all year round. Senior staff, including the superintendent, can be reached at the park office between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. during summer months. The office is open from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. There is a sub-office for the Riverside Campground that is open during peak arrival times.
Riverside campground is located beside the Old Ausable Channel. It is the largest of the Pinery campgrounds. This campground is open all year round. There are a large number of electrical and pull through sites for RVs and motorhomes. Permits are obtained at the park gatehouse. Firewood is available for purchase at the gatehouse and from the Hosts at posted hours.
This area is open from May to September. It is the farthest from the main gate. It contains the smaller, more secluded sites within a short walk to the beach. These are camping sites that do not have electricity or pull-through site capabilities.
This area is open from May to October. The sites are within easy walking distance to the beach, the outdoor amphitheatre and visitor centre. Dunes campground provides a mixture of electrical and tenting sites.
There are three group camping areas. The ten sites each accommodate up to 35 people. Water taps and vault toilets are on site. The sites are located near the beaches but are not adjacent to the comfort stations.
Twelve yurts are located in Area 1 of the Riverside campground. These yurts are wheelchair accessible. Each "Yurt" includes bunks for sleeping 6 people, table and chairs, electric lighting and a heater. Also included are a propane gas barbecue and picnic shelter. These special sites are in high demand in all seasons.
The park features the largest area of Oak Savanna in Ontario. To preserve this habitat, a population control program for white-tailed Deer has been implemented. During the early 1960s, because the value of the native savanna was not recognised, large numbers of red and white pine trees were planted in the park, displacing the native vegetation. That is also how the park got its name.
The Old Ausable Channel is a wide, slow-moving river which flows through the park. It was separated from the main Ausable River when two channels were excavated at Port Franks and Grand Bend at the end of the 19th century.
Juniper trees growing in the dunes are constantly shifting with the sands. Fallen junipers are eventually re-buried, with main branches becoming new trees, so that distant trees are genetically identical, and sometimes still connected below ground. The oak trees are also critical to this habitat. Oaks are one of the few trees that will share the water it draws from deep underground with the surface plants that surround it, a critical element in this dry sandy ecosystem. Many of the plant species in the park depend on fire to reproduce. In recent years controlled burning has been attempted to try and restore some of the original flora and fauna.
To ensure that the water at public beaches is safe for swimming, the Community Health Services Department regularly conducts sampling for beach water quality. Ontario beaches are posted with warnings of possible health risks when elevated E. coli levels are detected. Storm water runoff, combined with sewer overflows, sewage treatment plant by-passes, agricultural runoff, faulty septic systems, and large populations of waterfowl which colonize a beach or the surrounding area all contribute to water pollution which can result in beach postings.
The park, in 1996, is where serial killer Herb Baumeister took his own life after fleeing police in Westfield, Indiana to avoid arrest. Hikers discovered his remains not long after, on July 3 of that same year.
Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation's 61st national park on February 15, 2019. The park runs for about 20 miles (32 km) along the southern shore of Lake Michigan and covers 15,349 acres (6,212 ha). Along the lakefront, the eastern area is roughly the lake shore south to U.S. 12 or U.S. 20 between Michigan City, Indiana, on the east and the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant on the west. A small extension south of the steel mill continues west along Salt Creek to Indiana 249. The western area is roughly the shoreline south to U.S. 12 between the Burns Ditch west to Broadway in downtown Gary, Indiana. In addition, there are several outlying areas, including Pinhook Bog, in LaPorte County to the east; the Heron Rookery in Porter County, the center of the park; and the Calumet Prairie State Nature Preserve and the Hobart Prairie Grove, both in Lake County, the western end of the park.
Pancake Bay Provincial Park was established in 1968 by Ontario Parks. It is a recreation-class provincial park created to help preserve the fragile beach dune ecology. There are 325 campsites, including 160 with electricity. There are three comfort stations. Yurt camping is available in the park. Group camping sites are also available.
Grand Bend is a community located on the shores of Lake Huron in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Municipality of Lambton Shores in Lambton County.
The Ausable River is a river in southwestern Ontario Canada which empties into Lake Huron at Port Franks, Ontario. The Ausable's initial source is in a moraine near the community of Staffa, Ontario located in the municipality of West Perth, Ontario at a point 334 metres (1,096 ft) above sea level. Although the river has a total measured length of over 240 kilometres (150 mi), because of its meandering course, the mouth in actuality is only 64 kilometres (40 mi) from its source near Staffa. The Ausable drains 1,142 square kilometers (441 sq mi) of land, and falls 158 metres (518 ft) in elevation from source to outlet.
Indiana Dunes State Park is an Indiana State Park located in Porter County, Indiana, United States, 47 miles (75.6 km) east of Chicago. The park is bounded by Lake Michigan to the northwest and is surrounded by as well as within the authorized boundaries of Indiana Dunes National Park, a unit of the National Park Service; the NPS owns the water from the ordinary high water mark to 300 feet (91 m) offshore. The 1,530-acre (619.2 ha) Dunes Nature Preserve makes up the bulk of eastern part of the park, and includes most of the park's hiking trails and dune landscape. This was one of the first places Richard Lieber considered when establishing the Indiana State Park system. Like all Indiana state parks, there is a fee for entrance. Indiana Dunes State Park was established in 1925 and designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974.
Bon Echo Provincial Park is a provincial park in southeastern Ontario, Canada, approximately 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of Cloyne within the township boundaries of both Addington Highlands and North Frontenac.
Awenda Provincial Park is a provincial park in Tiny Township, Simcoe County in Central Ontario, Canada, located on a peninsula jutting into Georgian Bay north of Penetanguishene. The park occupies an area of 2,915 hectares and was established in 1975. It is classified as a Natural Environment Park and therefore all land is protected.
Gulf Islands National Seashore offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi. The protected regions include mainland areas and parts of seven islands. Some islands along the Alabama coast were originally considered for inclusion, but none are part of the National Seashore.
MacGregor Point Provincial Park is a park located on Lake Huron, off of Bruce Road 33 near Port Elgin, Ontario, Canada.
Rock Point Provincial Park is a park located on the north shore of Lake Erie near the mouth of the Grand River in the Carolinian zone of southwestern Ontario. It occupies an area of 1.87 square kilometres (0.72 sq mi).
Sandbanks Provincial Park is a provincial park located on Lake Ontario in Prince Edward County near Picton, Ontario, Canada. The park is considered one of the best sandy beaches in Ontario and contains the largest bay-mouth barrier dune formation in the world. The 1,550.87-hectare (3,832.3-acre) park was established in 1970 and operates year round. Birdwatching, camping, cycling, fishing, and swimming are among the activities available in the park.
Bronte Creek Provincial Park is located in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Ontario Parks system.
Long Point Provincial Park is a provincial park on the northwest shore of Lake Erie near Port Rowan, Ontario, Canada. The park is part of a sandy spit of land called Long Point that juts out into the lake. It covers part of the area of Long Point Biosphere Reserve, which was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve because of its biological significance.
Neys Provincial Park is a natural environment-class provincial park on the north shore of Lake Superior, just west of Marathon, Ontario, Canada. This 5,383-hectare (13,300-acre) park includes the historic Coldwell Peninsula and the surrounding island system, consisting of Pic Island, Detention Island, and the Sullivan Islands.
Myrtle Beach State Park is a 312 acre state park located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on land donated by Myrtle Beach Farms in 1934. The park was the first South Carolina State Park to open in 1936. It was developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal Program created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The program was designed to provide employment during the Great Depression while addressing national needs in conservation and recreation. The CCC was instrumental in the development of many of South Carolina’s state parks. A number of buildings built by the CCC in the 1930s are still in use there.
Echo Valley Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, located west of the town of Fort Qu'Appelle in the Qu'Appelle Valley between Echo Lake and Pasqua Lake. in the RM of North Qu'Appelle No. 187. The three main roads to access the park are Highways 210, 56, and 727.
Craigleith Provincial Park was established in 1967 by Ontario Parks. It is a recreation-class provincial park created to help preserve historic oil shale beach. Craigleith Provincial Park is a small park located between Collingwood and Thornbury on the southern shores of Georgian Bay.
Good Spirit Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park on the eastern side of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Founded in 1931, the park surrounds the western and southern shores of Good Spirit Lake and is one of Saskatchewan's six founding provincial parks. The park is in the RM of Good Lake No. 274, 48 km (30 mi) north of the city of Yorkton. Highway 47 runs along the western boundary and Highway 229 provides access to the park's amenities.
Candle Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in the central region of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Prior to the park's establishment in 1986, it was a provincial recreation site. Located in the Rural Municipality of Paddockwood No. 520, Candle Lake Provincial Park surrounds most of Candle and Torch Lakes in the boreal forest ecozone of Canada. The park has a variety of activities including camping, boating, fishing, swimming, mini golfing, hiking, and golfing. Around the lake there are also boat launches and several marinas. Natural attractions include a purple sand beach, sand dunes, mature forests, crystal clear lake water, and several natural sand beaches.
The Old Ausable Channel is a self-contained waterway in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada that runs through the Pinery Provincial Park and the community of Grand Bend. It is a 14 kilometre long river channel that was isolated from the Ausable River by the digging of canals for drainage in the late nineteenth century. Part of the Pinery Provincial Park's rare oak savanna, the channel is an important part of the region's ecosystem.