ACTIVITY: car camping
WHERE: Presqu'ile Provincial Park
WHEN: July 2012
HOW LONG: 4 days, 3 nights
GROUP: 1 mama and 3 boys, aged 7, 6 and 4
DETAILS: Presqu'ile Provincial Park was brand new to us last summer, and it is a new favourite. On the shore of Lake Ontario, a 4 hour drive from Ottawa, Presqu'ile is a short distance east of Sandbanks. Check out the photos- Sandbanks is beautiful. It is also extremely busy. Presqu'ile is apparently usually booked up too, but perhaps not always 2 months in advance, and I had never heard of it before, so we were in.
Choosing to car camp offers a certain convenience but it also promises proximity to other campers and their generators, vehicles, radios, and dogs. I am happy to be out and for other folks to be out. We drive a van to get there ourselves so I mean no disrespect to folks who choose to camp differently than we do, but staying in one of 8 campgrounds on one of almost 400 sites promises a noisier, more bustling, less peaceful experience that choosing a more remote or less busy location. We accepted that there would be lots going on around us (which is especially easy for my oh-so-social kids to embrace) and spent our first afternoon exploring by foot and by bike.
All of the campsites at Presqu'ile are within a short distance of the lake. Many of them are right on the edge of the beach so, if you can reserve on of those (which we plan to do next time) you could hear the waves all night long and the kids (and I) could throw rocks and splash around all day.
There is a bike trail all along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. This park is long and spread out so we did a lot of riding while we there.
The Visitors Services programs were a hit with my gang. I have fond memories of when I first experienced these parks programs so I used this visit to introduce my kids to them. My 7-year old ate them up. He found a schedule and helped make sure that we took part in every possible show or presentation during our stay. I think there were 4. It was tons of fun.
A fire ban was on during our stay so we started off eating pretty simply and not even bothering with our stove. A storm rumbled in during our second night and the rain continued to pour down throughout our entire third day. It cleared late afternoon and, wonder of wonders, the fire ban was lifted so we forked over way too much cash at the park store for wood, hot dogs, ketchup and giant marshmallows and enjoyed our first fire in weeks on our soggy campsite.
Many of these sites do not offer much privacy. Others are treed by giant firs and are back a bit from the road, so when making a reservation (which would be essential all summer long to ensure getting any site at all, let alone a good one) I would check the park site photos and reviews and even call the park to ask for recommendations. As I mentioned above, I'll be booking a site adjacent to the beach next time.
The park has a Nature Centre. With nature based story books, colouring pages, many fish tanks, stuffed critters, bugs and other water creatures on display this was a favourite destination of my gang. They especially loved the touch tank. A collection of bug nets were available for whoever felt like trying to catch food for the frogs and fish. This was very popular. The staff at this place were amazing- patient and knowledgable and fun, just the kind of support I needed on this trip.
Monarchs use Presqu'ile as a migration stop and the park has a breeding and release program.The field beside the Nature Centre building always had a few monarchs fluttering around. We didn't feed them to the frogs :)
The park's southern boundary is Lake Ontario. Much of it is rocky and wavy- gorgeous. Some of it is marked off as too dangerous for swimming. Other parts are easy to access and safe to wade in but not very busy. These areas were our favourite. Traveling alone with three boys I find it easier to let them run and be, throw and splash, if we have some space to ourselves. I tend to let them 'run wild' if I can and that is not always well received by other families. I avoid these battles and judgements when possible, so these rocky wavy beaches were just right for us.
There are also 3 sandy beaches (that all connect together but have separate parking areas) that are typical Lake Ontario, so shallow you can wade out forever, perfect for kids, Sand Banks style beaches. We spent lots of time there too. There is no shade so we were mindful of the sun. Many other families brought their beach umbrellas and sand tents here. We know how to do it up but don't have that much car camping gear, so we did without the shade. We had one rainy day and one mixed sun and cloud day on this trip so the intense sun was not as big of a concern as it could have been. There were many shorebirds along the sandy beach. Apparently the park is residence for many bird species and is also a popular rest stop for many migrators. My boys are still at the 'Let's chase the flock of birds until they fly' stage, so timing out trip around the migration doesn't make any sense, but I can see myself doing so as they grow older. (I like birds.)
Sometimes I just open up the Ontario Parks map and search within a certain radius of my home. It helps expand my view of possibilities, and that is certainly what happened with this trip. We had a lovely experience on a beautiful shoreline, and I expect we will return regularly. This was a great trip.
RECOMMENDATIONS
As I mentioned above, I would only go to Presqu'ile with a reservation, and I would make it a number of weeks in advance to ensure getting a site on the water that has a bit more privacy than many of the others.
Choosing to go to this park is choosing to embrace the car camping experience. That works for us sometimes. If you need to feel isolated and be able to hear the owls at night, go somewhere else! If you can embrace the party that is a provincial park in the summertime, especially if you have kids, then this is a great destination.
Good luck!
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