The beach had a lot of charm. I stayed along the boardwalk because this was more of a foodie visit…read morethan to work on my tan. I liked the little RV park within the beach complex; it gives a campground vibe, which makes the food truck section take me back to my childhood. If you venture more into the park, you will find the Centennial Monument to the Boar War-- a gem if you like monuments.

2024 review Today is a beautiful hot day for the beach and…read morewe arrived comfortably around 11am and parking was slowly filling up on the closer lots. $5/hour or $40 all day, there is parking police patrolling when we arrived. We chose to park on the west end by the boat marinas and it's a close walk to the white sand beach and lighthouse pier. Few more minutes to walk to the info hub, food truck and washrooms make it pretty easy anywhere on beach. The washrooms are also next to two simple playgrounds and splash pads. Nothing fancy but good place to rinse off the kids before getting back into the car. The sand is freshly groomed and very soft. Minor pebbles, debris that the kids could walk bare feet on. There was lots of space to play and set up camp, not as busy as expected especially arriving this late in the morning. In my honest opinion, while sitting on the towel ground, I could smell an odd aroma. It's probably an algae smell in the water and sands lingering around. I preferred sitting higher up from the wet sand and trenches the kids were digging up to get more airflow. No one else seemed to mind but when the gentle breeze wasn't blowing there was a weird smell. Feedback from my partner said the water is nice but as you go out further, there was some algae pockets in the lake sand making it kinda gross and slimy. Important to check by laws about what you can or cannot bring to the beach. There is frequent beach police patrolling the sands. Today's water quality levels online and on the beach showed it to be really low. Always check beach water quality before leaving as some have been in the red this summer. All in all, a decent place to go for a nice sandy beach. Kites, frisbee, water blow up toys, sand castles and kayaks in the water, this place is pretty chill to hang out at. The kids are having fun today and want to come back.

A beautiful beach where I 100% want to gatekeep lol. It is a very well maintained beach with soft…read moreand clean sand, and shallow waters. I love that it is not too busy on weekday :) There are life guards on duty, ice cream truck on site, and plentiful parking within walking distance!

My dear friend and I decided to meet for our birthdays (belated for her and early for me) on…read moreSaturday at a patio in Oshawa. Afterwards, we wanted a place to open up our gifts and hang out some more. What do two people who grew up in the Beaches go? We hit the closest beach, which was Lakeview Park Beach. This beach doesn't take long to get to. It's basically off highway 401 and straight south for a few minutes. It has a large park, a lovely beach, and is next door to Oshawa Museum. There are a few parking lots here. We went into the farthest one and had no problem nabbing a couple of spots. Parking is free. My car straddled a speed bump. It was a first for me! It was fairly busy when we got there before 6 pm. We managed to find a cute area with wooden benches. There were folks taking professional photos, kids going into the water for a swim, and more. We opened up our presents with a sandy beach with ripples in the water as our backdrop. Pretty good! I felt relaxed and happy, as I typically am at a beach, but even more with a good friend. We chatted and watched more kids go into the water to swim. There is some sort of incineration facility by the pier. It's not exactly horrific, but it did look odd at a beach. At around 6:30 pm, a woman on a megaphone indicated that there was no lifeguard on duty. We still saw kids go into the water. The pier has a lighthouse. It looked cute. We didn't walk down there, but we want to when we're not hauling gifts. The splash pad is amazing. It looks new. There's a huge, clear container that slowly tips thanks to gravity, dumps the water out, hits a large plate, and water splashes on everyone around it. It was so fun to watch that we both stood there watching the whole thing a few times, vowing to return one evening at 10 pm to partake in this fun. Adult splash pad? Yes, please! We walked along the cement path for a bit to check out everything. The path is no boardwalk, but it was pleasant and sure beats walking on sand for the entire duration. We both didn't know that this park existed until my friend did a search. The trees have huge trunks diameter-wise, so they've been around and it was lovely see see them. I am grateful for the find. It was lovely chatting in-person with her after a year of physically distancing ourselves during a pandemic. Miracles happen and yesterday felt like one at this wonderful gem of a beach. (253)

My first visit here. I went for a graduation party. It was a beautiful semi-secluded spot. We were…read moreParked in Area 1 and there was a path that went to the pavilion that was rented for the party. There was a bathroom as part of the pavilion, it is on the outside of the building, and it is open to the public. Which was nice having a bathroom so close. The bathrooms were spotless. I did get a bit of a surprise when I tried to hang my purse and found a pair of female panties hung there instead. Haha! I jumped, acting like they were going to jump out and grab me. So, yah, that happened. Probably someone changing into their bathing suit left it. You can see the water from the pavilion, or walk out to it. The landscaping was beautifully done, parts were immaculate, and some parts weee sanded for having fun, park like setting to play frisbee, horse shoes, Bocce ball. Etc.... You do not have to rent a pavilion, you can just go, and use the grounds. We paid 9.00 to get in. I think that's a per car fee. We don't live in the county, so Idk if that fee is for residence of the county or just non residents. Maybe something to check on before you go. They had grills there, a little fence around part of the pavilion, with picnic tables. Everything was set up very nicely. I have no idea how the pavilion rentals work, or how much they cost. But it was a beautiful spot. Trees, pathways, water, what more could you ask for. It seems quite large, and others were there as well enjoying the day like us. It is a joyful place, and everyone just enjoyed themselves, and respected each other. Very joyful, peaceful family place.

Area 4 & 5 fun to explore from dunes walkway to rocky beaches... it was fun & peaceful. Not many…read morepeople, but those I encountered were friendly.

I do love North Beach, although of course like every beach in PEC it's a nightmare in summer with…read morethe massive influx of tourists. If you pick an off-time to come, you can really enjoy some beautiful shoreline and peaceful swimming.

This beach is a great alternative to Sandbanks especially in the summer when the lineups are out of…read morecontrol. It's $14.50 for a car and there was plenty of parking and space to set your towels and beach toys. The beach and water were both spectacular on a hot August day. Highly recommended!

Absolutely amazing. There are no word to describe how amazing this place is. The workers, the…read morebeaches, the fishing, the scenery, all of it. If your looking for something gorgeous but affordable, I would definitely recommend coming here

Emily Provincial park is a nice park. We were at site 118 electric site. However, the electric hook…read moreup is on the other side of a very busy walking path to the comfort station. Very much a tripping hazard. We disconnected at night so that folks wouldn't trip in it in the dark. Outside of that issue, everything was fine and standard. Park staff are very friendly and welcoming. The one beach for guests was open and nice. The other beach for day use was closed due to bad water quality. Saw a Barred Owl close up, a little to close when walking over to the comfort station at night (scare the cr*p out of us), nice to see close up in wild doing owl things and no did not careless we were there it was to busy making its dinner

Nice campground. Well looked after The bathrooms are very…read moreclean. Beach is ok but no place for dogs to swim other than the contaminated beach for day use, which was closed due to constant E. coli contamination. Ontario parks don't cater to families with pets. Should be a beach area for pets so owners don't leave barking dogs at the campsite to bother other campers.

Presqu'ile Provincial Park was beautiful. The tent sites are all fairly private, and the bathrooms,…read moreshowers, and water sources aren't too far away. We were disappointed that the Nature center was "closed for the season." We were also disappointed that beach swimming was closed due to high bacteria levels. We enjoyed getting ice cream cones in the camp store which was run by really helpful park staff. Our kids loved the trail that parallels the water, and it was neat to see a lighthouse up close. I will say that the mosquitoes were terrible, so don't go without an ample supply of bug spray. Also, the raccoons in this park are BOLD and cheeky. Keep your food and trash out of reach of the critters. Overall, though, it was a beautiful park.

I was an indoor kid. You know the type, I know all the sitcom theme songs, I played three…read moreinstruments, I caught Carmen Sandiego many times, etc, etc. However, I'm trying to be a more outdoor parent. 100+ days of quarantine has made me extra grateful for all of the nature at our doorstep in southern Ontario. My wee family has been exploring. I went to Presqu'ile Provincial Park on a day pass and enjoyed a short, family-friendly hike and a swim on the sandy beach. It was a lovely day! The water was warm at the end of June (miracle!) and the park is doing a wonderful job implementing social distancing. I highly recommend the daytrip. So many bonus points for the chip trucks at the entrance. Chip truck poutine is always five stars.

Hubby & I came here with a group on a shorttrips.ca bus tour. It was a Thursday so the beach was…read morepretty empty. The beach was clean. But right by the water it's rocks not sand. That could be hard on some peoples feet. I didn't go swimming as I wasn't sure about the water quality. But I did see several people swimming. It's a nice place but there were lots of mosquitoes around. Hubby got bitten so many times that his legs got swollen. The gift shop is quite small with no where to sit inside to get out of the heat. There is one handicap washroom at the gift shop & some picnic benches outside of the gift shop. The washroom near the beach was okay for a pubic park washroom. It was super hot in there though. All the windows were closed so all the heat stayed trapped inside. Not sure if I would come back here. They need shower facilities near the beach but there weren't any in the area I visited.

Darlington is for the birds! It's my favourite spot to hang…read moreout with the birds in this one unique tiny bit of natural habitat they have left in the GTA. Place is hopping with everyone enjoying the last long weekend of the summer with amazing weather. The park could use help with its facilities being overwhelmed when use is at capacity. Ontario government cutbacks are in full force at our parks and campgrounds. Quite a shame Ontario looks so pathetic and non-functional to visitors and you'd think they would be more embarrassed.

Hidden Gem in Irondequoit! Smack between Charlotte Beach and Durand Beach, it's private and cozy,…read morewith much much less people! I've never seen more than 50 people here at a time. It's got a long sandbar, making it an ideal place for boats to anchor and allow boaters to swim, and a great place for kids! We often see people on rafts or paddle boards! There is not a parking lot, street parking only, but honestly, still less walking than parking at Charlotte Ontario Beach park!