North Beach Provincial Park visit
Looking for an absolutely stunning sandy beach that isn’t packed and you can share it with your dog. You have to check out Prince Edward County dog beach at North Beach Provincial Park. Located on the west side of Prince Edward County along Lake Ontario, North Beach has 2 km of sandy beach to enjoy.
There are two main beach areas at North Beach, the Lake Ontario and the North Bay side of the park.
As you drive from the main gate, your first views are the stunning sandy shores onto Lake Ontario. The waves are inviting and the beach seems to extend for 100 meters or more. However, dogs are not allowed on the Lake Ontario side, which has much larger waves. The North side is protected and calmer, which was perfect for us today. We had just purchased a paddle board from a local shop, Clear Water Designs, and had to try it out. I purchased some Kayaks from them over 20 years ago that are still in amazing shape, so we grabbed a board while we in the area.
The North Beach side, where the dog beach is located, is an inviting shallow bay. This was perfect for Nala to play and for use to try out the new board. Nala loves everything about water. Generally, the hardest part is convincing her to get out of the water! We met up with Suzanne and family and Nala spent hours playing with Nyx and Maze.
There were picnic tables next to the parking lot where we ate our lunch. In addition, the washroom and changing areas were also close by. After our swim, we decided to explore a bit and walked down the road. North Beach doesn’t have any hiking trails, but the road does extend the length of the park and gives great views of the area.
What an absolutely stunning location to spend the day! Please keep in mind that like all provincial parks, a parking pass for the day is required. In addition, this park requires advanced reservations, which can easily be made online.
Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park Visit
Prince Edward County is actually home to three provincial parks; North Beach, Sandbanks and Lake on the Mountain. We had made reservations for Sandbanks, which also has a dog beach, but decided to save that visit for another day and drove to the east side of Prince Edward County to Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park.
Although a quick visit, Lake on the Mountain is a neat stop for a picnic or quick spot to stretch the legs. This curious 1 sq km lake is located 62 m above the adjacent Lake Ontario, but doesn’t appear to have any water source. From the one side of the road, you can stand at the water edge.
As you walk across the street to the parking lot, you stand overlooking Lake Ontario and the Glenora Ferry.
After a quick visit, we drove down the hill and grabbed the Glenora Ferry over to Adolphustown. If you’re heading back towards Napanee or Kingston area, take the ferry. It’s a quick free ferry ride, and will save you a bunch of time compared to driving back to one of the two bridges from the 401.
Prince Edward County is an absolutely beautiful place to spend the day. In addition to the three provincial parks, there are also several stunning beaches and places to watch the sun set. Overall, a highly recommended spot to spend a day with the family.
For other near by Provincial Parks with on leash hiking trails, check out Presqu’ile Provincial Park!
