Point Pelee

“It's one of the most beautiful places in our country.”

This is what Ron, a friend of a friend said as we were casually chatting after a basketball game one evening. He wasn't referring to the East Coast or the Rockies nor was he talking about the Niagara region.  According to Ron, one of the most beautiful places in Canada is Point Pelee and Point Pelee Island .  He spoke so adoringly of the little towns of Leamington and Wheatley area of Ontario too.  He was entirely justified.

Rob and I don't give each other birthday presents nor Christmas gifts for that matter… per se.  We've started a new tradition of booking ourselves into new and exciting experiences that we can both enjoy together.  Last year, it was Treetop walking for Rob’s birthday and a visit to a Mystery Dinner Theatre for mine.  This year, I turned 30 and so we decided that it would be nice for us to visit “one of the most beautiful places in Canada .”

Point Pelee National Park is the most southern land mass in Canada , sharing the same latitude as Rome and Barcelona .  This provides the area with a Carolinian climate which makes for some very interesting foliage and animal species—especially out on the island.

The park offers a diverse collection of trails --- through dense marshland, along sand dunes, through the past (i.e., the DuLaurier trail has interpretive stations that portray what life was like in the area during the Pioneer era), and most famously, to the Southern tip of Canada .

To get to the tip, you can either walk a few kilometers from the Visitors Centre or take advantage of the people mover that makes roundtrip journeys to the tip from the Centre every twenty minutes.  Definitely pop into the Visitors Centre to learn about the areas rescue from summer condo domination and to find out some interesting facts about the critters that have made Pelee their home.  They also offer workshops (including one where you get to meet one of the aforementioned inhabitants) and the staff is amazingly knowledgeable and eager to share information with visitors.

The highlight of our visit was the chance to see all of the butterfly nests as we drove along the main road which runs through the park.  It was a sight right out of a horror movie.  If you've seen a large white mass of what seems to be spider spool—take a closer look at the bundle—it might be a butterfly nest.  Driving down the main road of the park, we were so amazed by the sheer number of trees that donned the large white clumps.  Along one of the trails, we were fortunate to find one low enough to the ground for us to get a closer look.  We could see dozens of caterpillars crawling around inside of the cotton-like sac. 

If you are hoping to catch a glimpse of a few butterflies (or thousands for that matter), then this is the place to be!  Every year, in late September or early October, the butterflies emerge and set off on their migratory path for Mexico .  Though we were a little early to see this supposed “must-see-before-you-die” kind of event, we hope to make the trip back next year.

Unfortunately, there is no individual camping in Point Pelee National Park, due to an effort to replenish the area, but there are group camping opportunities available.  We opted for a nights stay in a very affordable motel in Leamington (Sun Parlour Motel).

Though we weren't able to get out to Point Pelee Island this time around, it's in the plan for next time.  The ferry leaves from both Leamington and nearby Kingsville at least twice a day.  It's advisable to book your ferry tickets in advance, especially during peak season.

Overall, we'd have to agree with Ron, Point Pelee did turn out to be one of the “most beautiful places in Canada ” that we've seen… so far.

Point Peele Provincial Park--
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/on/pelee/natcul/natcul5_e.asp

Park info line: Daily monarch reports (519) 322-2371