Road Trip Toronto to Pinery – Beach & Oak Savanna
Toronto
Pinery Provincial Park
270
km
3h
drive
Summer
season
The Itinerary
Pinery Provincial Park stretches along the Lake Huron shore south of Grand Bend and protects something genuinely rare: one of the last substantial oak savannas left in North America. This is an open woodland of scattered black oak over grassland, a habitat that once covered large areas of the continental interior and now survives in fragments. Behind it sits a system of parabolic dunes, and in front of it roughly 10 km of fine golden sand.
The drive from Toronto is about 270 km, most simply by Highway 401 west to London and then Highway 4 north and Highway 21 west to the lakeshore. The park's other distinctive feature is the Old Ausable Channel, a former course of the Ausable River now cut off from the lake and running the length of the park as a long, still, shallow waterway. It is ideal flatwater for canoes and kayaks, rentable in the park, and it holds a distinct community of fish and turtles.
Around 10 km of hiking trails cross the savanna and the dune ridges, and the Cedar Trail and Riverside Trail are the usual introductions. Because the beach faces west, the sunsets are the park's signature, and the day-use areas fill on summer evenings for exactly that reason. Grand Bend, ten minutes north, is a busy beach town with the services the park lacks. Autumn is excellent here: the oaks colour late, and the park stays open year-round for skiing on the trails in winter.
The drive from Toronto is about 270 km, most simply by Highway 401 west to London and then Highway 4 north and Highway 21 west to the lakeshore. The park's other distinctive feature is the Old Ausable Channel, a former course of the Ausable River now cut off from the lake and running the length of the park as a long, still, shallow waterway. It is ideal flatwater for canoes and kayaks, rentable in the park, and it holds a distinct community of fish and turtles.
Around 10 km of hiking trails cross the savanna and the dune ridges, and the Cedar Trail and Riverside Trail are the usual introductions. Because the beach faces west, the sunsets are the park's signature, and the day-use areas fill on summer evenings for exactly that reason. Grand Bend, ten minutes north, is a busy beach town with the services the park lacks. Autumn is excellent here: the oaks colour late, and the park stays open year-round for skiing on the trails in winter.
Points of Interest
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✦
Pinery Beach10 km of fine golden sand and shallow water.
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✦
Old Ausable ChannelFlatwater canoeing and kayaking through the park.
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✦
Rare Oak SavannaA rare oak savanna, one of the protected ecosystems here.
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✦
Grand BendLively beach town 10 minutes to the north.
Protected areas along the route
🌿
PINERY PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURAL ENVIRONMENT CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
PINERY- SHORE WILDERNESS AREA
Wilderness Area
🌿
PINERY - FLOOD-PLAIN WILDERNESS AREA
Wilderness Area
🌿
PINERY - DUNE FOREST WILDERNESS AREA
Wilderness Area
🌿
PINERY - FOREST WILDERNESS AREA
Wilderness Area
🌿
KOMOKA PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURAL ENVIRONMENT CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
Aylmer Wildlife Management Area
Provincial Wildlife Area
🌿
Fingal Wildlife Management Area
Provincial Wildlife Area
🌿
TRILLIUM WOODS PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
Bronte Creek Provincial Park Deletion
Public lands
🌿
BRONTE CREEK PROVINCIAL PARK (RECREATIONAL CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
PORT BRUCE PROVINCIAL PARK (RECREATIONAL CLASS)
Provincial Park
Take this route offline
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- Departure Toronto
- Destination Pinery Provincial Park
- Distance 270 km
- Duration 3h
- Category Long (250–500 km)
- Best season Summer
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