Length of stay: 2 days
Visited: April 2026
After a long, cold and snowy winter, we were finally starting to see signs of spring. But with the warmer weather came the rain. We planned to spend the weekend at MacGregor Point, located on the sandy shores of Lake Huron. Saturday was looking promising with nothing but sunshine, but on Sunday the forecast was calling for heavy rain all day. Nevertheless, we packed the car and headed off on an adventure to make the most of things.
We got off to a slow start. We both planned to work from home Friday so we could leave a bit earlier in the afternoon to have dinner at the cabin we booked. Except thanks to a last minute meeting, I had to go into the office. And by the time I got home, ate dinner and finished packing the car, it was around 6:30pm. From home it’s just over two hours to get to the park. But the nice thing about visiting in the spring is that the days are longer. We managed to make it there before it got dark outside.
We unpacked, stayed up for a bit and then hit the hay. All was peaceful and quiet. But at around 1:30am one of our neighbors decided to start blaring their music. Why!? Some people suck. This went on for about 30 minutes, which wasn’t great. But we managed to fall back asleep once the music subsided.
Day 1: Blue Skies and Boardwalks
The next morning we woke up to blue skies and sunshine. It was supposed to be a lovely day so we wanted to make the most of our time outdoors before the torrential rain on Sunday. After an early breakfast we headed into town to pick up a few groceries and snacks. We then hiked the Huron Fringe Trail (1.2km loop, rated easy). The trail consists mainly of a boardwalk that passes through a variety of different habitats including cedar forest, wetlands and beach. Along the way there’s a series of storyboards that explain more about the landscape and environment.
There were lots of critters enjoying the wonderful weather as well. And the birdseed too of course.
The trail leads down to the beach and provides access to the rocky shoreline. Once back on the boardwalk we passed through another swampy area before looping back to the parking lot.
Afterwards we drove to the beach area where there’s also a playground. We figured we might as well let toddler M tire herself out before nap time. It was then time for lunch so we returned to the cabin.
We headed out later in the afternoon to hike the Tower Trail (3.5km loop, rated easy). The trail passes through the forest and wetlands and features an observation tower as well as a bird blind. Along the way there’s a series of storyboards with clever captions that provide more information about the landscape and importance of wetlands.
After passing through the wetlands, the trail weaves deeper into the cedar forest. This portion of the trail was quite soggy, muddy and flooded in places. But we somehow managed to keep our feet dry, all the while carrying toddler M.
All that maneuvering and navigating around the flooded areas had worked up our appetites. We returned to the cabin to get started on dinner and just enjoyed a quiet evening indoors.
Day 2: Rain
Thankfully we had a much more peaceful sleep last night and didn’t hear any music during the early hours of the morning. But the weather forecast wasn’t so forgiving. Heavy rain was expected for most of the morning. We took our time getting up as we figured we probably wouldn’t go for a hike. Check-out time was at 10am so that’s when we aimed to leave. We made a hot breakfast then leisurely cleaned up and packed our stuff.
The rain started mid-way as we were packing our car. A sign that it was time to head home. While it would have been nice to stretch our legs before the drive back, we can’t complain too much as the day before was beautiful and we certainly made the most of it. Besides, I’m sure we’ll be back at some point.
L
Visiting a provincial park at the start of Spring or end of Autumn are always interesting – the barren trees and all that point. But also quieter, calmer and more peaceful.
I am an elder now in camping terms and I also get quite irritated at inconsiderate neighbors who forget to respect others later at night or early in the mornings. I would’ve said something.
I can’t wait even more now for this weekend’s camping trip!
Carrying toddler M through the flooded stretch of the Tower Trail and still coming out with dry feet deserves some sort of medal. And the playground stop before nap time is exactly the kind of scheduling we run our own trips on. Sorry about the 1:30am DJ next door – that particular camping hazard never gets less baffling.
Let me just start by saying: Who makes music at 1:30 in the morning (and loud enough so that the neighbours can hear it)? Really! Love the little squirrel (and I’m sure little – no, toddler M too 😊). You definitely made the best of a lovely sunny day.
In this age of headphones and earbuds, I will never understand why anyone would assume that the whole world has the same taste or desire for their music, especially in the early morning hours. People can be so thoughtless. People can be so thoughtless. Looks like a real soggy environment Linda, typical to so many areas in early spring. Glad you managed one good day of hiking. Happy Monday. Allan
This sentence took me by surprise and made me chuckle: “Some people suck.” —- That’s the truth.
Your neighbors blared their music at 130 a.m.? Who does that ?! You captured beautiful photos. I am obsessed with squirrels right now so seeing that precious baby made my morning !!!!! I’m glad you guys got a nice sunny day. It’s good you were able to keep dry. That’s one of the rough things about spring for sure is all the rain. Glad you stayed dry though. Glad you made the most of the time you had. Great post !
Another fun weekend! I felt as though I were on the trail. Lake Huron is very beautiful, I used to boat it years ago on the American side of course. The squirrel is sooo cute! Have a safe and wonderful new week, guys. ❤️🇨🇦☺️
Good for you for introducing M to so many wonderful places.
Looks lovely. (Suzanne)
It’s such a lovely park. The choices some people make in the middle of the night can be very questionable…
You made the most of that sunny day, and your hike through the boardwalks and wetlands was a nice look at early spring.
Ah man some people do suck. But what a great day you had on Saturday. Ah spring…wet and brown. No mosquitoes 🤣 yet though!
That type of sudden awakening in the night like that drives me nuts since I know I’ll have trouble getting back to sleep. Agreed – some people are so rude. Just use your headset or AirPods or whatever. Ugh.
Your pictures really have a spring sense about them; well captured, Linda, especially the little squirrel. Carrying M and maintaining dry feet is definitely a feat!
Sounds like a lovely time away in nature, except for the rude, inconsiderate neighbor; sheesh! Spending time in the woods is always good for the soul.