Length of stay: 1 day
Visited: August 2021
Turkey Point Provincial Park is located along Lake Erie in Southern Ontario. It offers many recreational activities within the park and surrounding local community, but its main draw is its sandy beach and shallow swimming area.
We arrived at Turkey Point just after 7pm and checked in at the Park Office to collect our permit. We booked a site in the Fin and Feather Campground, which is in the radio free zone. Our site was pretty amazing, and best of all quiet. After setting up our tent, we made dinner and started a fire. It was nice to finally take a break and relax.
The next morning, we woke up to blue skies and sun. According to the weather forecast it was supposed to rain later in the afternoon, so we figured we might as well get up early. After making some coffee, we headed out to go on a couple of hikes in the park.
We first hiked along the Lookout Bluff Trail (2.2km loop, rated easy). There’s a small parking lot by the trailhead, which is located near the Park Office. The trail weaves through the forest along the edge of a bluff at the south end of the park and leads to a “lookout” (I use this term loosely as the view itself was very underwhelming) over Long Point Bay.
It was a bit tricky to navigate as there are biking trails that criss-cross along the main hiking path. But we continued to follow the red markers. The trail is also signed with ten numbered posts.
Afterwards we hiked along the Oak Savanna Trail (1 km loop, rated easy), which is located just east of the Whippoorwill Campground. The trail loops through an area of plantation and naturally forested areas that have had prescribed burns in an effort to return the area to a natural oak and pine forest.
The path is relatively flat and narrow. Thankfully this trail was easier to navigate and is signed with yellow markers on the trees.
Afterwards we drove to the beach area, which is located just outside the park in Turkey Point village. The park maintains a 2km stretch along the shoreline and there is one main parking lot as well as two other smaller ones.
We then drove back to our campsite to make breakfast and pack up. From here it’s about a 30 minute drive to Long Point Provincial Park, the final stop on our road trip around Lake Erie.
L
My progress on the Ontario Parks Challenge can be found here
This looks like a lovely park! The trails look nice and easy to hike and that Sandy beach and water looks mighty inviting on this day!
Hope you didn’t blown away by those insane winds yesterday! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
It was a little unusual how the beach was separate from the campground and hiking trails and that it required driving to get to, but the park overall was lovely.
The wind on Saturday was insane and we even lost power for a bit. Thankfully we didn’t have any damage. I did take advantage of the nice weather on Sunday and finally put up my Christmas lights outside. Now all we need is some snow! Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well.
Sorry about the blackout. I did read a few areas near GTA we’re without power but glad you’re ok and that the Christmas lights are up.
Enjoy your week ahead. This is my last week of work then I’m off till January. Lots of stuff to finish but the motivation is there. 😆 Take care.
It’s always nice to add some light to these long dark nights. That’s awesome that your taking the next two weeks off. Best of luck getting everything finished!
Always good when you get a great campsite. The park looks like a good place to explore and the sunny day was a bonus. I take it you managed to score a park badge here. Thanks for sharing. Allan
It makes such a huge difference when you score a great campsite and that it’s secluded and quiet. If we ever return, I would definitely try to book the same site. The trails were pretty decent. Since we like to start our day pretty early, we had the trails (and beach) all to ourselves. Unfortunately they were sold out of park crests though. Thanks for reading. Hope you had a nice weekend. Linda
Looks like you had idyllic conditions! Did they have any crests?
Any day that isn’t raining is good enough for me! Similar to the other parks we visited along Lake Erie, they were all sold out of crests as well. That seemed to be a common theme of that trip.
The place appears to be magnificent. I feel, as if I have come close to nature whenever I see the photos of your posts.
Thanks for your lovely comment. I’m such a fan of getting an early start to the day as that’s when the park is usually calm and quiet and it just feels so peaceful. We had the trails and beach all to ourselves, which is always such a treat.
This appears to be a delightful place to hike and camp. It’s the same the world over with confusing trail signs where coloured markers have disappeared or are misleading, but all part of the adventure as long as you don’t head miles off course
I’m never a fan of trails that branch off in multiple directions and aren’t clearly signed. I’m terrible with navigation and direction. We stuck to the path that looked the widest and that turned out to be a good call. The trail system isn’t too large and thankfully we still had reception just in case we took a wrong.
Oh YES, I love a sandy beach … had more than enough of these the last couple of days! And a quiet camp site – the best!
Life doesn’t get much better than that sometimes. Now that it’s winter, I’m wishing I could be on a nice warm sandy beach. For now I’ll have to live vicariously through your adventures.
Looks like it should be called “seagull point”! Beautiful park!
Ha, no kidding! Seagulls and beaches tend to go together hand in hand! Thankfully we didn’t eat breakfast here otherwise I’m sure we would have had a lot of “friends” wanting to join.
Your trail and lake photos are delightfully calming. Thank-you for posting those. I can imagine myself there, breathing in the early morning air, while trailblazing through the forest.
Thanks for your kind words. There’s just something so peaceful about being outside early in the morning. Everything is so calm and quiet and it was nice to be the only ones on the trail.
I love the photo of the lake, so beautiful! The sign says there are ticks in the area, very scary!
Ticks and lyme disease are becoming a growing concern in Ontario, largely because of climate change. We usually check ourselves for ticks after hiking. So far we’ve never seen any and hopefully it stays that way!
It’s so nice to see photos of greenery at this time of year!
It’s pretty amazing how the forest transforms throughout the different seasons. Everything looks a bit barren and depressing at the moment, especially since we’ve had a lot of overcast (and rain) lately. It’s been nice to look through my pictures of the summer and reminisce about our camping trips.
Ugh! I don’t like that stage of barren trees before the snow either. My Dad was here right at the end of the leaves turning and after he left, the trees were bare
Same, it just looks a bit depressing. Maybe I should add some Christmas lights to our trees out front to make it look more vibrant, ha.
Love that idea!
Challenge accepted!
Another handsome walk guys, albeit one with a disappointing number of turkey sightings. I am also wondering if you got the crest…
Ha, it would have been very fitting to spot a turkey at Turkey Point, eh? Unfortunately the park was all sold out of crests. Bummer. We didn’t have much luck with badges at the parks around Lake Erie.
That is a lovely swimming beach. Good to hear that you had a nice camping spot.
Sandy beaches are so much better than the ones with pebbles and rocks, even if the sand gets everywhere. This was probably one of the best campsites we stayed at all summer. It’s nice to be secluded and not have to deal with noisy neighbours.
I’ve camped here
I used to camp at Long Point when I was a kid, but this was my first time visiting Turkey Point. I would definitely camp there again.
I recall it was nice
It didn’t feel very crowded when we visited, which is always a bonus. Plus we scored such an awesome site that was pretty secluded. If we do camp here again, I would try to book the same site.
Another good hiking day! I really enjoyed seeing the picture of Lake Erie. As an East Coast girl who has never seen the Great Lakes, I’m always amazed at their size. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your kind words. The Great Lakes are pretty amazing. I guess that’s why they are called great. Lake Erie is the smallest of these, but still has a lot to offer in terms of a beautiful shoreline, nice sandy beaches, and an abundance of wetlands. Thanks for reading. Linda
Ontario makes great use of its shoreline on the Great Lakes with beautiful parks like this one.
It’s pretty awesome that Ontario has access to four of the five Great Lakes. Lake Erie is the smallest of them, but sure has a lot to offer. It was fun exploring many of the parks there and to see how different the landscape looks in comparison to some of the other Great Lakes.
The beach at Turkey Point Provincial Park looks like a great choice for young children and anyone who is a water sports fan. I am glad to hear you had a nice camping spot, Linda 🙂 Thanks for sharing and have a nice day 🙂 Aiva
For sure. It’s always a real treat to have a sandy beach with a gradual drop-off. This park is very family friendly and offers a nice range of activities. There’s something here for everyone. We’ve had a lot of issues with campground noise this summer, so it was finally nice to have a quiet and private site. Enjoy the rest of your week. Linda
“Underwhelming” views, you say? Maybe(?) it’s because I don’t get out much, but I really do find your photography eye-catching. Turkey Point certainly ain’t a turkey. Thanks for posting yet another great travelblog! Take Care!
Thanks for your lovely comment. The landscape in the park is beautiful. We were expecting a lookout from the Lookout Trail, and were a bit disappointed that we couldn’t see much of the lake. Either way, it was still a nice trail overall. And yes, the park definitely isn’t a turkey! Enjoy the rest of your week. Linda
Looks like a great trail! Loved the first pic 🙂
The trails at Turkey Point are all sweet and short and well-maintained. Since we got up early, we had them all to ourselves, which is a rarity these days. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment. Linda
The beach photo is so lovely. I’d like to sit there for a while. Lake Erie seems to be more prone to larger waves than Lake Ontario, at least the parts I’ve seen.
I always find being by the water so peaceful. I could sit and watch the waves all day as well, it’s very mesmerizing. Lake Erie can get some extreme waves. I know there’s been a lot of issues over the past few years with erosion along the shoreline.
Looking very nice place! The photos are excellent! Well shared 🎉😊👍💕
Thanks for your kind words. There’s just something so peaceful about being outside first thing in the morning. It was nice to have some solitude and feel like we were the only ones along the trails and in the park.
It’s my pleasure 🤗💓God bless you 🤗😊💓
Enjoy the rest of your day. Cheers.
Thank you 🤗💓
So many birds on the beach and a great place to walk along the shore.
It was nice to check out the beach first thing in the morning as we were the only ones there … well, us and all the seagulls. No matter how old I get, I still enjoy chasing them.
We always walk around on beaches here in NS in the evening.
The evening is another great time to take a stroll along the beach, especially when the sun is setting.
Beautiful place. So calm and blessed. Happy Holidays.
I prefer to get an early start to the day as that’s when it’s usually peaceful outside and there aren’t too many people on the trails. Enjoy your weekend and the holidays as well. It’s hard to believe it’s almost Christmas!
Looks beautiful!
Oh how I miss the warm weather and sandy beaches now that it’s winter. We had a wonderful time camping at Turkey Point and I would definitely come here again.