Family on the Go

We traveled to the easternmost point of the United States and enjoy exploring national and state parks, so why not visit the southern-most point in Canada? That’s exactly what we did on our way to Toronto from Detroit.

Point Pelee National Park is the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland where you can walk, hike, paddle or bike surrounded by nature and the sounds of wildlife and the waves of Lake Erie crashing on the shore.

The park is only about an hour drive from Detroit, three and a half hours from Toronto and Niagara and almost two hours from London, ON, making it the perfect detour or day trip from any of those areas.

We took the bridge from Detroit to Windsor to enter Canada. Now, you will need a passport if you are visiting the park from the US. The bridge did have a 45-minute wait to cross the border and the Windsor tunnel showed no wait, so we suggest checking wait times before crossing.

Once we got into Canada, we enjoyed the very pleasant drive to the entrance of the park. It felt relatively rural and almost familiar. There were more farms and greenhouses than we had expected, and the boys were enthralled with the wind turbines. There are a few places to stop along the way, but not many, so we grabbed lunch at Tim Horton’s in a small town and made our way back on the road to Point Pelee.

When you pull up to the park, it might seem like the line of cars is long, but it moves quickly and is worth the minimal wait once inside. The entrance fee to get into the park is $16 Canadian or around $13 US per car and is well worth it.

The tip of Point Pelee is 8 km (5 miles) from the entrance. There are multiple trails, paths and beaches on either side of the road with parking lots and restrooms.

One area we liked was the Marsh Boardwalk. It offers kayak and canoe rentals to paddle through the marsh to one of the connecting ponds, a short walking trail through the marsh, a lookout for immaculate views, a small store and concessions and restrooms within a quarter mile walk.

We were grateful for a nice parking lot when we noticed an odor coming from our youngest, so we were able to change a diaper and toss it in one of the many nearby trashcans. As someone who doesn’t appreciate trash in the car, especially with all the snack bags and drink containers, trashcans placed conveniently throughout parks are a welcome sight.

After some time at the Marsh Boardwalk, we got back in our car and made our way to the Visitor Center and Gift Shop to catch the tram to the point.

The parking lot for the visitor center was big and was also pretty full, but we had no issue finding a spot. There was a small pond and path outside the visitor center that our older son loved. What he didn’t realize was how much fun he would have inside the visitor center. They had taxidermy animals, dress up clothes, a diorama of the park and extremely helpful and friendly staff. They even brought out a snake that had me running for the hills but made our boys very happy. The gift shop was also very well maintained and had a lot of great souvenirs – and even had bottles of water for $1. We were thrilled because we couldn’t remember the last time we saw water that inexpensive at a tourist destination.

After looking around the visitor center and gift shop, we went outside to wait for the shuttle to the tip. The free tram ride was the highlight for the boys, and the driver was extremely kind and helped us fold our stroller. It’s also wheelchair accessible.

The shuttle closes for the season October 30 to March 15, so plan accordingly – or walk the 2 km (1.2 miles).

Once we got to the stop, it was about a half mile walk to the southern-most point, jutting out into Lake Erie. The Tip Tower is currently closed, so we weren’t able to make that climb, but it was a great walk to the lake and a nice place to hang out for a bit before hitting the road to Toronto.

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