Length of stay: 1 day
Visited: June 2021
Located along the northern shore of Lake Erie, James N. Allan Provincial Park is reputed to be a good spot for swimming, boating, and bird-watching. It features two swimming areas, one that spans a kilometre along a pebble beach and the other, smaller beach with fine sand. The park commemorates the life of James Noble Allan who was born in Haldimand County where the park is located and was a prominent Ontario politician.
There is currently a heat warning in Toronto and the temperature is expected to reach 30°C today. We figured the only way we would brave the outdoors is by visiting the beach. We planned to take a day trip to Lake Erie and stop at a few provincial parks. We spent the morning hiking at Rock Point Provincial Park and decided to stop at James N. Allan for lunch and possibly a swim.
We arrived at the park shortly before 12:30p.m. The park entrance is located off of Myrnam Beach Road. We followed the gravel road and turned right at the junction to park in the lot that provides access to the larger beach area. There’s a short path from the parking lot to the beach. We grabbed our cooler and towels and went to check it out.
The shore is undeveloped and consists of large pebbles and stones. There are plenty of trees along the shore providing some good shade coverage.
We found a nice flat spot in the shade, rolled out our towels and unpacked our lunch.
We had changed into our bathing suits earlier at Rock Point Provincial Park. But it was a little chilly sitting in the shade. I did dip my toes in the water, which felt refreshing, but that’s as far as I got.
After spending about an hour at the beach, we packed it up and headed to the smaller beach area located a bit further down the road. Along the way we passed by a large area of wetlands.
The second beach area is sandy and the water is calm. It’s much shallower here and ideal for families with small children. I’d much prefer to swim in the waves though. We didn’t stay too long as there was a long line of cars trickling into the park all looking for parking. It was time to move onto our next (and final) stop at Selkirk Provincial Park.
L
My progress on the Ontario Parks Challenge can be found here
Your lunch looks amazing! What’s in the glass container?
Thanks! I enjoy snacking so our lunch consisted of a variety of healthy snacks. The glass container contained pico de gallo. I forgot to buy nachos so we instead ate it with crackers.
Love pico de gallo! Looks so delicious. Even with crackers 🙂
Same. I pretty much make a fresh batch of it every week. I’m hoping to grow tomatoes in my backyard next summer so that I’ll have an endless supply.
Beautiful spot for a swim and a picnic.
It definitely was a great spot for a picnic. It was nice and cool down by the water, perhaps a bit too cool in the shade as we wussed out and didn’t end up going swimming.
Great picnic spot and food shots. Always good to take time to stop and look around. Hope all is well. Allan
Usually I’d much rather prefer a sandy beach to one with pebbles, but this one had plenty of shade coverage, which I’m always a fan of. It was a nice way to stay cool, enjoy our lunch, and just watch the waves. Take care.
Wonderful views!!
It’s always a real treat to spend time by the water and enjoy the fresh air. I find the waves so mesmerizing and can easily spend a few hours watching them. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
The heat has been oppressive but you found a great and scenic way to relax and cool down.
The beach and trails look great and I love the yummy spread you prepared and enjoyed! 🙂
And another weekend is just around the corner!
The weather this summer has been all over the place. It seems to be either hot and humid or cool, with not much in between. Oh, and there’s been no shortage of rain! We definitely enjoyed our lunch at this park. We were planning on going for a swim afterwards, but I chickened out. Happy Fri-Yay!! Have a great weekend.
The rain this summer has been unusually plentiful for sure – and not rainy day tomorrow! Enjoy your weekend. The week just flew by. 🙂
Yup, at least today and Sunday are supposed to be hot and sunny! So looks like Saturday will be the perfect day to just lounge around the house and get caught up on housework. Take care.
As always beautiful photos – the greenery is lovely and great place to cool down with a swim! 🙂
Thanks for your kind words and for commenting. In retrospect we should have gone for that swim before lunch. After spending an hour snacking in the cool shade, neither of us was brave enough to go for a swim. Next time.
Such a beautiful place for a picnic, Linda! What’s Breton Original? Are they crackers? We are still battling a heatwave in Sligo and the temperatures don’t want to drop below +20′ during the night! We are glad to live close to the beach and have been going for a swim every day 🙂 Aiva xx
It was definitely a great spot for a picnic. We were in the shade and had fabulous views of the lake. Breton is a type of cracker. I forgot to buy nachos to eat with the pico de gallo that I made, but the crackers were a good substitute. It was hot and humid here all last week, but thankfully it’s started to cool down. It must be nice to live so close to the beach as it’s generally a bit cooler by the water and going for a swim is always a great way to cool down. Have a wonderful weekend.
What a great spot for a picnic! Looks like a wonderful day!! Lori
We usually just scarf down our lunch in the car, so it was nice to have a picnic, sit in the shade along the pebble beach and admire the waves. Thanks for reading and commenting.
What a better option than going to the beach on a hot day🙂 You got a perfect spot for a picnic!!
Christie
You bet. We’re lucky that we have so many great options for nice beaches and swimming here in Ontario. It’s always a real treat to be by the water in the summer as it’s a great way to stay cool. Plus the views are beautiful.
Green and beaches! What more can you ask for? Glad you had a picnic there too. Stay cool!
Right!? It was nice to take some time to have a picnic and just relax and admire the views. We don’t do this as often as we should.
I’m always amazed at how much the Great Lakes look like oceans. And although I know better, they look so salty! Thanks for sharing your trip story. I looked it up on a map and it’s not really too far from where I was up in Geneva NY (well, about 3 hours, but it seems close looking at the map!) Glad you had a nice snack while you were there 🙂
Same, especially when it’s wavy. It’s incredible to think how massive these lakes are. I guess they don’t call them the Great Lakes for nothing! It was definitely nice to sit by the shore, watch the waves and eat our lunch. I just looked up Geneva NY on a map, and you’re right, it’s not too far from Lake Erie (or Lake Ontario).
Great looking lunch! One of the best ways to cool off on a hot day is to go to the beach. Looks like a lovely spot.
This was definitely a great spot for a picnic. I’m a huge snacker, so it seemed fitting to pack a lunch that consisted of a variety of snacks. And agreed, one of the best ways to stay cool is by being in and around the water. Have a wonderful weekend.
What great scenic day .heat or not it such beautiful place to see..great photos.
For sure, and if anything it’s more tolerable spending time outdoors in the heat when you’re at the beach. Thanks for your kind words and for commenting.
😃😃💕
Exercise and picnic surrounded by Greens and water feels like heaven on Earth. Thanks
It’s the perfect combination! We don’t go for picnics as often as we should. It was nice to just slow down, relax, and enjoy our surroundings, especially when we had such great views of the lake. I could watch the waves all day. Thanks for reading and commenting. Take care.
Both the beach and your picnic look very appealing. I usually only get my toes in the water too!
I was more than happy to just dip my toes in the water. It’s funny because when I was kid I would have no issues swimming in the cold lake. That’s is obviously no longer the case now!
Ugh! For some reason I wasn’t getting your posts on my feed, how are you doing you two?
I’ve had similar issues with WordPress where all of a sudden I just stop following someone and their posts don’t show up on my feed.
We’ve been doing pretty well. We’ve managed to visit quite a few provincial parks in Ontario over the summer. All of our camping gear is packed away for the year though. We’re currently planning a roadtrip to the US which I’m really looking forward to. Hope all is well with you.
That’s weird, will catch up with your visits.
That sounds really exciting, which part of the US will you be visiting?
We’re hoping to drive all the way to Savannah, Georgia and plan to stop at a few other places on the drive there and back, including Pittsburgh, Charleston, Atlanta, and Nashville.
Have a good trip you two!
Thanks! We’re counting down the days!