Pinery Provincial Park

The Pinery protects around twenty-one square kilometres of oak savanna on ancient dune ridges along Lake Huron, one of the largest surviving examples of an ecosystem that once covered much of the continent's midwest and is now among the rarest. It holds over eight hundred plant species and around three hundred bird species, with prescribed burns used to keep the savanna open. Ten kilometres of beach front the lake, backed by dunes, and the Old Ausable Channel, a cut-off river arm, runs behind them for paddling. It is a Dark Sky Preserve, and Lake Huron sunsets from the beach are the reason many people come.

What you actually see

• The oak savanna - one of the largest surviving examples anywhere.
• The ten-kilometre beach - dune-backed Lake Huron shore.
• The Old Ausable Channel - a still cut-off river arm for canoeing.
• The dark sky - a designated preserve with strong star visibility.

When to go

May to October; the park is extremely busy in July and August with day-use capacity limits. Autumn colour in the oaks is good. Winter brings skiing on the trails.

Honest expectations

Summer day-use fills to capacity and the gates close, often by late morning on hot weekends. Camping books months ahead. Beach erosion has narrowed sections in high-water years.

Nearby

Grand Bend lies north; Goderich is further up the shore.