This year driving up to Wasaga Beach we decided to eschew the inevitable traffic on the 401 and instead found a route to take us closer to the water. Lake Huron flows down in to the St. Clair River which empties in to Lake St. Clair. We met up with the coast of Lake Huron east of Sarnia, somewhere around Ipperwash Provincial Park.
The roads are a little slower than the highway, but the scenery is fresh and different. Since we left early in the morning, it was easy to arrange to have a lunchtime picnic on one of the many easily accessible beaches that dot the coastline. We drove past the Pinery and through Grand Bend. We finally settled down to picnic on the beach at Kettle Point. In a small town like this you can drive right down to the beach. As a matter of fact, while we sat there we saw a tractor drive in to the water to launch a boat. (There’s lot’s more to read - click more to read on)
After lunch we continued north through Kincardine and up to Southampton. At Southampton we left the coast and started to head east. Given more time I would’ve like to continue north to Sauble Beach or maybe see some of the Bruce Peninsula. That wouldn’t have fit in the timeline this summer, though. We were planning to get set up at the camp site and down to the beach in time for the Canada Day fireworks.
We continued east through Owen Sound. It was a bigger city than I expected. Once we reached Meaford on Nottawasaga Bay, we were on County Road 26 which then goes south through Collingwood and curves around the bay as County Road 92. We followed 92 out of Wasaga Beach and up to County Road 29. Going north past the Township of Tiny, I started wondering if we missed the campground somehow. About five minutes later, we found Wasaga Dunes at 4300 County Road 29. The campground was farther than we expected from the town of Wasaga Beach. I think advertising that they’re a few minutes from Wasaga Beach gives the impression that it’s a short drive to the beach itself. In reality it’s at least ten minutes drive to the town. Once you get into the town it’s another five minutes to the water.
That said, the campground was nice. We booked for a spot in the Wilderness Tenting Area for $29/night. The spot was just a little cleared area surrounded by trees, pretty much what we expected but with less grass and more poison ivy. We set up two tents for sleeping and a screen tent to cover the picnic table. After we knew things would be ready for the evening, we piled back into the van and went out to see the fireworks. We got down to the waters edge and couldn’t believe what we saw. The sand was blowing in from the beach like a storm in the desert. Some of the younger crowd was still out there anways, covering their faces while they ran from the parking lots to the bars. With wind like that there wouldn’t be fireworks over the bay this year.