Point Farms Provincial Park

After our hectic stay at Pinery Provincial Park for the long weekend, we took a few days of downtime at Point Farms Provincial Park.

It’s a smallish park, north of Goderich, that’s known for its family-friendly experiences and environment.

I don’t know if it was just the timing, but the quiet nature of our stay felt like a special treat, especially after the massive crowds we were surrounded by immediately before our stay.

We didn’t hear anyone, we barely saw anyone. When we went hiking, we had the trails completely to ourselves.

While we weren’t ALONE on the beach during the sunsets, the few people were spaced out far enough that we may as well have been.

It was GLORIOUS!

Due to the lack of cell reception in the park, we found ourselves exploring the area, and had an absolute blast doing so.

Goderich is a gorgeous little down - especially down by the beach - and there’s SO much to do in the area.

Anyway, I’m getting way ahead of myself. Let’s talk about Point Farms PP itself, THEN I’ll get into the fun we had, outside of its boundaries.

Skoden.

The Basics:

Campground Name: Point Farms Provincial Park
Address: 82491 Bluewater Highway R.R.3 Goderich, ON N7A 3X9
Website: Point Farms Provincial Park
Price Ontario Provincial Parks uses a pricing matrix across all their parks. See 2024 Camping Fees for more details.
Reservations: Ontario Parks Reservations

Logistics

Registration and Check In

The park office was a bit of a TARDIS of a building - seemed a lot bigger inside. There were two tellers signing people in, and it was a quick and easy check in. Really nice staff, as usual.

Maps, Signage, Website

Some basic thoughts on the main sources of info:

Park Map

The park map was a 2 sided legal sized paper, full colour and glossy. One side was the park overview map, and the other had more detailed maps about the camping areas.

The map was MOSTLY good, just not very accurate when it comes to the trails. We literally had to load up Pokemon Go to figure out the trail in some places. This is especially true with the trails near the barn!

Weirdly, there’s an area out behind the barn - in between the trails - not marked on the map. It was rows of benches around a central... I don’t know? Might have been a firepit?

Made me feel like I’d stumbled on a ritual sacrifice altar or something, though!

I called the front office the next day to see what it was - I’m curious! - and they didn’t even know, themselves.

So bizarre. I’m definitely going with it being a ritual sacrifice altar, given the lack of evidence to the contrary.

Anyway, both the Stirling Barn and the Point Farms hotel info sites are denoted as “exhibit” on the map, with no further details.

Signage

The road signs are generally really good, makes it easy to get around - especially with all the little loops and offshoots.

The trail signs are MOSTLY really good - basically fantastic where they are good, but missing entirely in some spots, and/or are at odds with the map.

One thing we really liked here was that in certain places, there were clear signs telling you not to take RVs or trailers past that point - heading down to the beach, and in one of the camp grounds.

We hate having to guess if we’re able to, so it’s nice to see that spelled out so clearly!

Website

The website info is fairly vague when it comes to the activities. In reality, there are 3 named trails on the map, that aren’t mentioned on the website.

There’s also no information at all about the Barn or the Hotel. A bit weird, given that the park is named after the hotel!

Services

We arrived before check in time, so we got to watch the crowds leave on the Monday of a long weekend.

It was shockingly well organized, with a park officer directing trailers to kind of a staging area, as to not block off traffic.

The trailer sanitation station is one loop, starting with 2 dump platforms side by side - no bypass lane.

They then spread out a bit for the 2 fill stations, leaving room in between that could act as a bypass lane.

Connectivity

Cell reception was NOT good. We could get bits of data here and there, but that’s it - nothing consistent, anywhere.

I couldn’t even call the front office from our campsite.

Accessibility

The trails are generally NOT accessible, though some of the little connecting trails between campgrounds are. Those tend to be wide, flat, and really well packed.

When it comes to the named trails, those are far more rustic, very muddy, uneven, etc.

The park does have 3 barrier-free campsites - 2 in Colborne, 1 in Huron, all 3 electrical - and they’re all located next to barrier-free comfort stations.

There is accessible parking at the beach, but no wheelchair trail / boardwalk / etc - so the beach itself isn’t really wheelchair accessible

The sand at the beach is the kind that’s hard to walk on - very soft, feet sinking in at weird angles, etc.

Pretty sure that none of the random toilets are accessible, and there’s no parking at the hotel monument at all.

Parking

Lots of little extra parking lots around the park. The one at the entry to Colborne was especially convenient for us.

We were in such a hurry to get out of Pinery Provincial Park ahead of the end-of-long-weekend crowds, we ended up at Point Farms early.

We were able to park in a lot RIGHT next to our actual site, and see when the people who were there for the weekend left. Score!

Beyond that, there seemed to be plenty of parking for the size of the beach.

The situation with the trail heads at this park is kind of weird, and they don’t necessarily have parking nearby.

Pets

The large dog beach is really gorgeous.

It’s conveniently located right next to the parking area and a vault toilet - it seems like so many of the parks have their dog area WAY off to the side, down a long trail, etc.

We stopped to watch a woman with a small dog on a stand up paddleboard. It always amazes me how well behaved some dogs are, that they’ll do that!

Miscellaneous

The beach is directly west facing, which makes for some fantastic viewing of the beautiful sunsets of Lake Huron.

Also, this is very much a walking park, if you’re able bodied enough for it. All of the areas are VERY interconnected with walkable roads, trails, connecting trails, etc.

Finally: The park is known for going fairly all-out with Halloween activities on Thanksgiving weekend. People decorate their campsites, and go trick-or-treating throughout the park.

Campground Amenities & Info

Some basic information on the campground amenities at Point Farms Provincial Park:

Creature Comforts

There is a comfort station each in Colborne and Huron campgrounds.

Each of the campground comfort stations has a small playground right next to it.

Both comfort stations offer flush toilets, showers, and laundry facilities. Colborne has two washers and two dryers, each costing $3 using quarters and/or dollar coins.

A small vending machine is available for supplies - We didn’t visit the other comfort station.

There’s also a small washroom building - with flush toilets - in the group camping area, and another at the beach.

Finally, there are some outhouses / vault toilets in the picnic area, next to the dog beach, and in the campgrounds.

Park Store

This park store had an interesting set up - it was very spacious, with plenty of room for more stuff.

It looks like they may have recently expanded, and maybe are in the process of filling it out more? Kind of felt like a yard sale set up, as-is - everything was laid out on banquet tables.

Anyway, in addition to the usual camping supplies, firewood, ice, and Ontario Parks souvenirs, they also sold board games!

Day Use Areas

The main day use area is a big open field with a bunch of picnic tables. We only saw one large briquette barbeque among them, and apparently there’s a single fire pit in the area somewhere as well.

There is an outhouse, but no actual picnic shelter.

There are also picnic tables in the beach area, and randomly along some of the trails (Under the Bluff, Ravine, and ... some sort of day use area in between the Tortoise and Hare trails, behind the barn.

The ones on the Under the Bluff Trail - near the beach - would be one of my favourite places to have a picnic in this park - were the bugs not an issue at the time.

There’s also kind of a sports area near the entrance to Colborne Campground.

You access it via a short trail from the small parking lot there, and it’s supposed to be a horseshoe pitch and a playing field.

It was basically a marsh when we stayed there. The photos don’t do it justice, because the grass is long enough to cover up the layer of water and loose, watery mud.

The ground feels like a saturated sponge there.

We didn’t have any plans to play ball or throw horseshoes, but this was also where the Tortoise/Hare/Old Farms Trail connected the barn area to Colborne, so we had to go wading. Oof.

Campsite Details

The park has two campgrounds - Colborne Campground, and Huron Campground.

Most of the campsites in Point Farms Provincial Park look pretty similar - or at least have a similar vibe - to each other. Each has a picnic table and camp fire pit, as is usual for Provincial Park campsites.

The Huron campground is radio-free, and generally intended for tents and smaller to mid-sized trailers.

None of the sites are really private - some of the ones in Huron Campground seem a BIT more cozy and private, but they’re mostly fairly open to the road.

There are also 6 big group campsites on the far end of the park. Those ones can accommodate 45 people.

The group campsites are wide open, and definitely feel like farmland. Very different vibe from some of the other group camp sites we’ve seen in other parks.

As a warning: The stair access to get to the beach from the group campground area is WILD. 128 steps - for those who want their camping experience to involve burning quads!

There’s also a set of stairs to get to the beach from the Colborne campground, and it’s not much better:

121 steps!

Entertainment and Activity

Point Farms Provincial Park is a smaller park, but there’s still plenty of nature to enjoy there. Here are some of the things you can do there:

Hiking

Hiking in Point Farms is a bit of a different experience from most Provincial Parks we’ve camped at.

Rather than completely separate trails - each with their own trail head - as a destination, the trails in Point Farms are more like an interconnected web.

There are 3 named trails on the website, a couple more named trails on the map, and then some interconnecting paths along the way.

Below the Bluff Trail

This short trail is a 0.5 km linear trail, and it connects the Old Farms Trail - near the picnic area - to the Ravine Trail, along the beach.

This was my favourite trail in the park. You walk through some open woods, catching spectacular views of the blue water off to one side. There are occasional little paths to the beach, as well.

It was hard packed ground, relatively even, and was the only trail that wasn’t at all muddy. The waves were pretty strong when we went, which made for a nice soundtrack to our walk!

Hare Trail / Tortoise Trail

This was a bit of weirdness. On the map, it looks like the Old Farms Trail splits into 2 short trail sections - Tortoise and Hare - which join back together a short distance later.

As we approached this area from the road, we saw a sign indicating where the trail was... and only one unmarked trail. It didn’t line up with anything on the park map, but we assumed it to be the Tortoise Trail.

We decided that I’d do that one, Porter would do Hare Trail, and we’d meet up at the other side to compare notes.

So, he walked closer to the Stirling Barn parking lot to find the other part of the trail... which is where he found BOTH trails. The one I was doing just wasn’t on the map at all.

He continued that way, while my unnamed, unmapped trail took me past that ritual sacrifice area, and met up with his trail near where Tortoise and Hare reconnected.

Anyway. Both very short trails through un-maintained grass, BIG muddy spots in each.

Old Farms Trail

This is a big loop that more or less encircles the park - crossing over and combining with other trails and paths along the way.

It’s 4 km long and rated easy, with the description mentioning that you’ll walk through areas that used to be farm fields and orchards.

All of the other trails can be accessed from this trail,

The areas we used this trail - at the time of our visit - were fairly overgrown with grass, and extremely muddy in places.

Definitely wear long pants, tick spray, and waterproof hiking boots!

Ravine Trail

Ravine Trail is a 1 km linear trail, running from the top of the stairs between the beach and the group area, along a ravine, meeting up with Old Farms trail near Stirling Barn / the road to the group area.

This was a bit of a weird one.

With the name “Ravine”, a moderate difficulty rating, and a description that mentions rugged terrain and steep inclines, I was nervous to do this trail.

At the same time, the idea of walking along a ravine was an attractive one!

In the end, the nerves about difficulty were unfounded - it was actually a pretty easy trail. Some mild-ish slopes, but they were short enough, wide, and even enough to not be a problem.

The BIG difficulty with this trail was those freaking stairs at the beginning of it... but I don’t think they’re technically part of the trail itself.

I suppose, though, that starting off a trail with 128 steps of pure nonsense would make most trails seem easier by comparison, LOL.

Anyway.

The not-so-good news about this trail is that it may walk you along a ravine, but you don’t really get any good views of the ravine. There are a couple spots that open out to what SHOULD be a view, but is obscured by growth.

So... not as difficult as it sounds, but also not as cool as it sounds.

Some Trail Notes in General

1. If you have an app with trails marked - we used Pokemon Go - it may be easier to find your way around the trails in this park. (Rather than relying solely on the park map and signage.)

2. So much of the trails along Old Farms, Tommy Wright, and Ravine trail were almost impassably muddy.

It did rain a little earlier that day, but this seemed to be deep, long standing mud. There were deep tracks in it from bikes and a 4 wheeler. It wasn’t JUST a matter of recent rain.

3. We love how varied the environments along the trails are - the pine forest, the beach, open field, walking along the ravine, etc. It’s very ADHD friendly.

One minute you’ll be in the woods, then you’ll be following a creek to Lake Huron. Glorious!

4. We walked from Colborn, across the picnic area to Tommy Wright trail, which is how the map showed to access the Below the bluff Trail.

In reality, we could have cut across the picnic area and avoided some of the muddiest areas of trail.

5. Porter saw a rabbit on the hare trail. I did not see a turtle on the tortoise trail!

Biking

The three named trails are all open for both hiking and cycling, though ravine and below the bluff definitely seem to be more for mountain biking, than casual cycling.

A good amount of Old Farms Trail is really overgrown, rather than an actual trail-trail.

If you’re used to biking on paved trails, this is probably not a park you’d want to bike in.

Swimming

Trailers and RVs aren’t allowed down into the beach parking lot, probably due to the steep hill - with a tight curve - to get there.

This was a gorgeous, large sandy beach, with some rocks. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a rocky beach -.

The water looks to be pretty shallow fairly far out, or at least involve some kind of sandbar - we saw people a fair way out, not standing in very deep water.

Looks to be a good swimming location in general, but the water was still really cold when we visited in early Spring!

Also as an FYI: there’s a flush toilet building in the beach parking lot - near the entry of the parking lot - and a vault toilet near the dog beach end of the parking lot.

Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

We’ve had an amazing run of bird watching, and it kind of came to an end at Point Farms!

Heard some Grey Catbirds, as well as a few other birds we couldn’t identify, but they were high up and very well hidden. We also saw a wild turkey, some sort of grouse or quail (?), and a Bluejay... but mostly just a bunch of Robins.

There are a couple of lookout spots on the Ravine Trail that have potential to be fantastic birding spots, as you look out over a bunch of treetops.

The birds weren’t very active at the time we walked that trail, though.

Boating

There’s no boat launch in the park, but we did see someone launching a stand up paddleboard from the dog beach on the first day, and a couple of guys carrying some kind of inflatable watercraft up from the beach the next evening.

There were a few motor boats and Seadoos out on Lake Huron at one point - possibly launched from closer to Goderich.

Hunting and Fishing

The park has a small game hunting program between October and February, when the camping season has closed down. We didn’t see any fishing - or any reference to fishing - in the park during our stay.

That said, there seemed to be plenty of opportunities to fish along Maitland River, nearby.

Discovery Program

As with most (all?) Ontario Provincial Parks, Point Farms runs a Discovery Program in the summertime.

The website description is pretty generic - Exploration Station, Discovery Activity Book, etc etc.

I’m a little surprised that there’s nothing specifically mentioning the former hotel site, or the Stirling Barn.

Actually, I’m surprised that the website doesn’t have any information on the Stirling Barn - a big barn in the middle of the park! When Googling, I found that as of 2017, the barn was to be converted into a Visitor Center ... but I have no idea if that’s still going ahead, though. It certainly didn’t look like they were in the process, during our stay.

Niantic Games

There are a few stops / portals, at least a couple gyms, and a fair amount of spawns... WHEN you have enough cell reception to open and use the app.

Cell phone coverage is spotty enough that you MAY be able to get your daily tasks done, but that’s about it.

If there’s an event during your stay, I recommend going down to the Main Beach in Goderich. Several stops, good cell phone coverage!

Misc

Point Farms Provincial Park is closed during the winter, though they allow certain activities to take place.

You can go hiking or cross-country skiing on the roads and trails. Snowmobiling is allowed, but ONLY on the roadways.

Nearby Attractions

The Town of Goderich is just a short distance from the campground, and has ample restaurants, stores, etc for whatever you might need.

There’s also the beach - it seems to be one big beach, but is referred to as St. Christopher’s Beach, Goderich Beach, and Sunset Beach, and Rotary Beach, so far as we can tell.

We mostly visited the Main Beach, with the pier and amazing views of the cargo ships.

There’s a long boardwalk going along the entire beach area, and it looks like it’s been recently renovated to be a Fitness Trail.

Not the trails with the hokey signage telling you to stop and do X number of jumping jacks - literally weight / resistance training equipment lines the trail.

VERY cool - though we didn’t end up getting a photo.

We ended up spending a fair amount of time at Menesetung Bridge , and a GLORIOUS sunny afternoon at Falls Reserve Conservation Area.

Click those links to read up on our experiences there.

Spoilers: both 10/10, totally recommend you visit them!

Final Thoughts

This was a surprisingly great park, especially given its small size, limited activity offerings, and lack of cell phone coverage.

It was quiet, peaceful, and had a lot of really great things in close proximity.

If you aren’t planning to explore outside of the park, you may find your entertainment a bit more limited.

That said, there are some gorgeous trails, a gorgeous beach, and gorgeous peace and quiet!

(Yes, after a long weekend at Pinery... peace and quiet counts as gorgeousness.)

Definitely looking forward to staying here on future trips - and exploring even more of the Goderich area, when we do!

More Provincial Park Campground Reviews

Want to read some more of what we have to say about the campgrounds we've stayed at? Here are some more reviews!

Awenda Provincial Park
Balsam Lake Provincial Park
Bass Lake Provincial Park
Bon Echo Provincial Park
Canisbay Lake, Algonquin Provincial Park
Chutes Provincial Park
Driftwood Provincial Park
Earl Rowe Provincial Park
Emily Provincial Park
Inverhuron Provincial Park
Killbear Provincial Park
Lake Superior Provincial Park
Long Point Provincial Park
MacGregor Point Provincial Park
MacLeod Provincial Park
Mara Provincial Park
McRae Point Provincial Park
Neys Provincial Park
Pinery Provincial Park
Port Burwell Provincial Park
Quetico Provincial Park
Rideau River Provincial Park
Rock Point Provincial Park
Rondeau Provincial Park
Sauble Falls Provincial Park
Selkirk Provincial Park
Sibbald Point Provincial Park
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
Turkey Point Provincial Park
Wheatley Provincial Park