Great Canadian Beach Thread

[ivegotaname]

Best beach I've been is my own province New River Beach the name is misleading it's not a river it's on the ocean. A mile of sandy beach and trails to walk also camp ground on site

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Cars on the beach is gross. Redneck Riviera.

Lol 100% agree. I hate going to beaches like Sauble or Wasaga. Both amazing beaches but way too crowded. I've never seen cars on beaches though. I wonder if there was an event that was tge reason for that.

I just returned last night from one of my favorite beaches. The Georgian Beach at Killbear Provincial Park on Georgian Bay.

[TorontoDrew]

Probably the best beach in Toronto if you don't mind feeling over dressed in a thong.

Hanlans Beach by George Hornaday, on Flickr

Sand dune walk way. by George Hornaday, on Flickr

[megadude]

I've yet to visit that beach on the islands. The only clothing optional beach I've been to is in Jamaica, which was a public beach next to Hedonism resort. And yes, I saw a tourist couple fooling around on the sand. I can't even imagine what goes on at the island portion of Hedonism.

[megadude]

I am supposed to go to Port Colborne on Lake Erie soon for work. Out of curiosity I wanted to see about going to Nickel Beach and find out how you can park on the beach. Turns out there is no other way to access the beach other than to park on it. There is no offsite parking and no walkups. It's free for town folk, $20/25 for Niagara residents and $50/55 for non-Niagara residents. Also read on google that plenty of cars gets stuck in the sand, but staff are always prepared to bail you out.

So like I was saying before, I still like the tailgate visuals of this as long as it it's not stupidly crowded. And I'd want it to be organized. So I guess it is. They have enough controls in place to keep it from being a zoo. There are other beaches not too far away for the public to access. Crystal Beach in Fort Erie is probably the most popular in the area.









And speaking of Crystal Beach, there was a church service on the beach since 2011, but it was shut down this year.







https://churchonthebeach.ca/

[megadude]

The beach in Oakville. Only been a few times to this beach near the mouth of Bronte Creek. Not very inviting but not surprisingly, today had the most people I've seen before given the weather. A few people swimming today. But the seaweed or whatever was abundant.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by megadude

I am supposed to go to Port Colborne on Lake Erie soon for work. Out of curiosity I wanted to see about going to Nickel Beach and find out how you can park on the beach. Turns out there is no other way to access the beach other than to park on it. There is no offsite parking and no walkups. It's free for town folk, $20/25 for Niagara residents and $50/55 for non-Niagara residents. Also read on google that plenty of cars gets stuck in the sand, but staff are always prepared to bail you out.

So like I was saying before, I still like the tailgate visuals of this as long as it it's not stupidly crowded. And I'd want it to be organized. So I guess it is. They have enough controls in place to keep it from being a zoo. There are other beaches not too far away for the public to access. Crystal Beach in Fort Erie is probably the most popular in the area.









And speaking of Crystal Beach, there was a church service on the beach since 2011, but it was shut down this year.







https://churchonthebeach.ca/

My family has a cottage in Port Colborne. You can also drive on the beach at Sherkston Shores, but need to be a resident to get in there.

Other public beaches nearby are nice, and don't get as crowded, and are not as expensive. Cedar Bay Beach, at Cedar Bay Road & Vimy Road, has a park with some basic facilities, and there's a small lot that you can park in. I think the fee is $10 or something. Pleasant Beach, at the end of Pleasant Beach Road, is technically a right-of-way instead of a beach, and there is free parking at the beach, but you have to arrive early because there are only a handful of legal parking spots. Wyldewood Beach, at the end of Wyldewood Beach Road, is the same as Pleasant Beach, being a right-of-way and just a few parking spots. By the way, Port Colborne aggressively tickets and tows illegally parked cars at these beach locations.

In Fort Erie, there is Bay Beach, along Erie Road, which has parking for $20 for the day. There is also a small beach at Crystal Beach Waterfront Park nearby, with free parking. Waverly Beach Park, at the end of Helena Street, has a few spots to park, and is free.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by megadude

You know what really grinds my gears?
Parking on the beach

It drives me nuts how close people park to the Lake shore at Nickel Beach. yay, let's play in the oil/tranny/fluid spills. My Mom and Uncle say you weren't allowed to park anywhere near as close as they do today.

My favourite beaches in Niagara are: Lakeside Park-St. Catharines on Lake Ontario, Crystal Beach aka Bay Beach in Fort Erie, Long Beach in Wainfleet. Cedar Bay/Centennial beach in Port Colborne is okay too with some shaded areas to have a picnic, and tennis courts.

Always consult this website before heading to the beach in Niagara
https://www.niagararegion.ca/living/...s/default.aspx

[megadude]

I'd heard of Sherkston Shores resort before but I kind of assumed they were using "resort" loosely. Well, when you think of "resort" in the beach setting sense, like in the Caribbean. Though this has a mix of of trailers, RVs, cabins, tents and luxury cottages and not hotel rooms and villas. But now with kids, I pay more attention to these things and looks like a fun place to take the family. Go there in the summer and Great Wolf Lodge the other seasons to get the swimming and water slide experience. One of these years I'll have to pay a visit.

It might be the closest thing to a family resort I've heard of or seen in Canada. And it's not just for kids, they have adult stuff to do as well. Anyway, it has miles of private beach apparently, on Erie, and then the beach at the quarry in the middle of the resort. Looks like the sand is actually groomed as it's run by a proper resort operator.

When non-Niagara people hear the word Niagara, they think of the actual falls, Clifton Hill/Fallsview tourist trap area, wineries, charming town of Niagara-on-the-Lake and maybe the gorge/whirpool. There's so much more in Niagara Region. I wonder how many visitors never set foot outside the city of Niagara Falls and just stick to the attractions there. Whether you go as a family or a couple, you could easily do a week + in the region and not get bored. Even if it's a few dudes who want to party, get lap dances/bang escorts, throw footballs at the beach, shoot guns, golf, ride ATVs, go fishing, etc., there's so much in the area to fulfill those activities. When I see a family walking around or at a table in some overpriced chain restaurant, I wonder if they are even aware what's outside the municipal boundaries of Niagara Falls. I would guess 99% made no plans to visit one of the fine beaches on Lake Erie (assuming they're on a few days vacation and not a day trip).

A popular travel blogger could easily fill a week doing fun, interesting and unique things that most people didn't know about.

And in regard to water parks, it's only in the last few months that it's come to my attention that there are quite a few hotels in Canada that have at least mini water parks inside. So, more than just a single slide. I was surprised.


Sherkston Shores:


https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/284852745158421438/


https://www.orbitz.com/Niagara-Falls...el-Information


https://www.expedia.ca/Niagara-Falls...el-Information


https://www.tripadvisor.in/LocationP...e_Ontario.html

This must be what matt above was referring to. But must be for an event, no? Not a regular thing?

https://www.mhbo.com/mobile-home-par...ton-on-l0s-1r0

[Wigs]

I've never actually been to Sherkston, but my cousin and his wife tow their trailer there for like 4-6 weeks each summer and seem to really enjoy it. It's built around an old quarry. There's so many quarries in southern Niagara (Port Colborne-Wainfleet) if you look on a satellite shot via Google.
There's countless rentals along the Lake Erie shoreline too.

The makeup at Sherkston used to be like 80% Americans from Buffalo/Western NY. At one time Americans owned 33-50% of all lakefront between Fort Erie and Wainfleet. I'm not sure if it's still that high in 2022.

[megadude]

Originally Posted by Wigs

[IMG]

My favourite beaches in Niagara are: Lakeside Park-St. Catharines on Lake Ontario, Crystal Beach aka Bay Beach in Fort Erie, Long Beach in Wainfleet. Cedar Bay/Centennial beach in Port Colborne is okay too with some shaded areas to have a picnic, and tennis courts.

Always consult this website before heading to the beach in Niagara
https://www.niagararegion.ca/living/...s/default.aspx

I've only been to Lakeside aka Port Dalhousie. Maybe three times, but never in summer. I liked the sand there. I like the tiny commercial strip there and the surrounding infrastructure. Plus the view of Toronto skyline in the distance and the cargo ships. And some interesting housing stock around there.

It's good to have a mix of beaches surrounded exclusively by nature, beaches in beach towns and beaches in the city (big or small). Sometimes I like to see cargo ships and buildings like Vancouver's beaches or Burlington on a small scale and sometimes I only want to see trees and an endless horizon. And bonus if there's also elevation in the background like in BC or Georgian Bay (on a smaller scale).

As for water quality, yeah, good idea to check. There's always going to be families who show up only to be disappointed. This happened two years ago up north on Georgian Bay in a couple of spots. But I'm sure it happens more often on Erie due to the more southerly location and shallowness compared to the other Great Lakes.


Lakeside Park aka Port Dalhousie, St. Catharines:

Jackson Myers

[Wigs]

megadude, yes Port Dalhousie (Da-lousie, not DalHousie) is a great area of St. Catharines.

Another nice Lake Ontario beach in St. Catharines that most GTAers haven't discovered yet is Sunset Beach. Heck most people outside of St. Catharines have never been.

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Sun...!4d-79.2206526

[megadude]

Originally Posted by Wigs

I've never actually been to Sherkston, but my cousin and his wife tow their trailer there for like 4-6 weeks each summer and seem to really enjoy it. It's built around an old quarry. There's so many quarries in southern Niagara (Port Colborne-Wainfleet) if you look on a satellite shot via Google.
There's countless rentals along the Lake Erie shoreline too.

The makeup at Sherkston used to be like 80% Americans from Buffalo/Western NY. At one time Americans owned 33-50% of all lakefront between Fort Erie and Wainfleet. I'm not sure if it's still that high in 2022.

That quarry looks scary though. Like there's no shallow spot. There's reservoirs and then there's quarries. I've fished reservoirs like Mountsberg in Milton/Hamilton where it's like 6 feet deep max for most of the lake and I've fished places like Belwood where I saw 27' on my depth finder. But quarries can be hundreds of feet (so can reservoirs depending on topography of course).

Two popular swimming quarries with beaches I've gone to are Elora Quarry (limestone) and Professor's Lake in Brampton (gravel). They have roped off or obvious shallow areas. Hard to tell in the Sherkston one.

Elora:

https://www.narcity.com/toronto/this...ise-in-ontario

Profs Lake:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor%27s_Lake


https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/288652657336756965/

[Wigs]

I always wanted to go to the Elora one. but once blogTO and other outlets told people to go, I'm sure it's jam packed most of the time.


As for Sherkston Quarry this is oddly fascinating info:

The Quarry here is natural and was once a working limestone mining Quarry. The Quarry ceased operations (Empire Limestone Co.) during World War 1 in 1917, and due to the natural springs at the bottom, it soon filled up with water. At the nearly 50ft bottom, the majority of original machinery, 3 miles of tracks, over 20 railcars, the original pumphouse, etc. still sit. Divers are coming to discover its beauty from far and wide. The best time to dive in the spring or late fall is because visibility is clearest at these times.

https://www.thescubanews.com/2020/12...-scuba-diving/

Creepy railroad tracks and RAILCARS!

[megadude]

Originally Posted by Wigs

megadude, yes Port Dalhousie (Da-lousie, not DalHousie) is a great area of St. Catharines.

Another nice Lake Ontario beach in St. Catharines that most GTAers haven't discovered yet is Sunset Beach. Heck most people outside of St. Catharines have never been.

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Sun...!4d-79.2206526

Ah, that place! I almost went there a couple of years ago out of curiosity. It's right in front of a wastewater treatment plant! Though since I've never been, I have no idea if you can tell or not.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by megadude

Ah, that place! I almost went there a couple of years ago out of curiosity. It's right in front of a wastewater treatment plant! Though since I've never been, I have no idea if you can tell or not.

according to google reviews "smell" was mentioned only 56 times of the 2415 reviews
your mileage may vary. It is a nice looking beach though.


Worst smelling beach in my life was that one in Toronto near Ashbridges Bay!

[megadude]

Originally Posted by Wigs

I've never actually been to Sherkston, but my cousin and his wife tow their trailer there for like 4-6 weeks each summer and seem to really enjoy it. It's built around an old quarry. There's so many quarries in southern Niagara (Port Colborne-Wainfleet) if you look on a satellite shot via Google.
There's countless rentals along the Lake Erie shoreline too.

The makeup at Sherkston used to be like 80% Americans from Buffalo/Western NY. At one time Americans owned 33-50% of all lakefront between Fort Erie and Wainfleet. I'm not sure if it's still that high in 2022.

Yeah, I noticed. I've fished a few down that way and Haldimand and Norfolk counties if I'm remembering my geography correctly. Niagara region has many fascinating bodies of water, natural and man made. Lake Gibson, which I believe is man made, actually has musky in it. Pretty sure it's the only place that for a couple hours around. I mean, Lakes Ontario and Erie will have them, but not in numbers. Too bad Gibson is off limits to boats. And I think a few years ago they might have even cut off shore access.

Of course, there's all kinds of falls, rivers and canals for industrial/power generation purposes. Watching the ships pass through a lock is fascinating. So is seeing the Welland River change from brown to blue in a certain spot because of the turbines up/down stream (current also changes directions). And I'm in awe when I look at the generating plant from the top of the gorge and see the rapids and whirpools. Even the water at Dufferin Islands Park is cool to look at.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by megadude

Yeah, I noticed. I've fished a few down that way and Haldimand and Norfolk counties if I'm remembering my geography correctly. Niagara region has many fascinating bodies of water, natural and man made. Lake Gibson, which I believe is man made, actually has musky in it. Pretty sure it's the only place that for a couple hours around. I mean, Lakes Ontario and Erie will have them, but not in numbers. Too bad Gibson is off limits to boats. And I think a few years ago they might have even cut off shore access.

Of course, there's all kinds of falls, rivers and canals for industrial/power generation purposes. Watching the ships pass through a lock is fascinating. So is seeing the Welland River change from brown to blue in a certain spot because of the turbines up/down stream (current also changes directions). And I'm in awe when I look at the generating plant from the top of the gorge and see the rapids and whirpools. Even the water at Dufferin Islands Park is cool to look at.

glad to hear you appreciate Niagara!
I didn't fully appreciate it until living elsewhere and seeing a decent chunk of North America. We have a lot of assets on this peninsula being surrounded by so much water, with the escarpment for great hiking and scenic fall drives.
Plus, I just bought fresh, local Niagara peaches and plums the other day
Tender fruit season has arrived

[megadude]

Originally Posted by Wigs

I always wanted to go to the Elora one. but once blogTO and other outlets told people to go, I'm sure it's jam packed most of the time.


As for Sherkston Quarry this is oddly fascinating info:
https://www.thescubanews.com/2020/12...-scuba-diving/

Creepy railroad tracks and RAILCARS!

That is interesting. Once I read what's still down there I immediately thought that's the kind of structure smallmouth bass would love. Sure enough, there's a pic of one on the site. In small lakes, it's largemouth you'll find more of while in rivers (cool and flowing water) it's the smallies (except in N. ON where smallies outnumber largies because smallies handle cool water better). The fish were obviously purposely introduced (to control the insect population among other things) but I get the feeling they especially wanted smallies to make the diving experience more interesting as they congregate more around that kind of structure. Though you can still find largies doing that too but I've always heard it's smallies and walleye that do this the most.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by megadude

That is interesting. Once I read what's still down there I immediately thought that's the kind of structure smallmouth bass would love. Sure enough, there's a pic of one on the site. In small lakes, it's largemouth you'll find more of while in rivers (cool and flowing water) it's the smallies (except in N. ON where smallies outnumber largies because smallies handle cool water better). The fish were obviously purposely introduced (to control the insect population among other things) but I get the feeling they especially wanted smallies to make the diving experience more interesting as they congregate more around that kind of structure. Though you can still find largies doing that too but I've always heard it's smallies and walleye that do this the most.

cool! I've heard they stock the quarry with trout from time to time. I honestly have no idea what's the difference between bass and trout lol
all I know is perch and pickerel (walleye)!