Sandbanks Provincial Park is a WILDLY popular beach and campground on the north shores of Lake Ontario. Here's EVERYTHING you need to know about visiting the park - the good, the bad, and the infuriating!
Originally published May 18, 2025. Updated on 5/13/2026.
It was our first time going, and we were a bit nervous, given the park’s reputation.
Unlike our completely masochistic idea to visit Wasaga Beach Provincial Park for the first time *on Canada Day weekend*, we visited Sandbanks in the spring, long before the beach bums were due to show up.
Anyway, Sandbanks park is known for having the absolute best sandy beaches on the north shore of Lake Ontario. The white sand and sparkling water makes it an incredibly popular spot on summer days.
Not only is the park known to be an absolute zoo during the summer months, it’s also near impossible to reserve a campsite during that time.
Definitely one of the “7am Hunger Games” campgrounds!
While we had no desire to lay around on those expansive sandy beaches as frigid, early May air chills us to the bone, there are other reasons to visit Sandbanks.
The park is home or the largest bay-mouth barrier dune formation in the world, and the undulating sand dunes make for a pretty - and interesting - backdrops to one of the hiking trails there.
It also turned out to be a GREAT spot for birding! Early May is a great time for birding in the area, as the park is right on the spring migration path. We had a great time seeing a bunch of birds we’d never seen before.
Weirdly, a corner of a parking spot ended up being the perfect spot for doing so - more on that in a bit.
Anyway, it’s a beast of a park even when relatively empty, so we have a LOT to talk about. Let’s get right to it...
The Basics:
Campground Name: Sandbanks Provincial Park
Address: 3004 County Rd. 12 RR#1 Picton, ON K0K 2T0
Website: https://www.ontarioparks.ca/park/sandbanks
Price: Ontario Provincial Parks uses a pricing matrix across all their parks. See 2026 Camping Fees for more details.
Reservations: Ontario Parks Reservations
Park Classification: Natural Environment
Season: April 24, 2026 to October 26, 2026 for camping, January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026 for winter activities and roofed accommodation.
Logistics
Spoilers: This park is a logistical nightmare on so many levels, I’m honestly having a hard time deciding how I even want to organize MY info on the whole thing.
There are signage issues so bad, I had to run them by a friend to make sure I wasn’t losing my mind or making weird assumptions. Map issues that I can’t decide if they’re a matter of cost savings, or laziness. Website inaccuracies and omissions... OH MY.
As an example, a few places tell you that you can find fossils at “West Point”. There is no “West Point” on the map. After digging around, there’s a mention of West Point on the trail description for the Lake View Trail.
Also, there’s reference on the website to a Visitor Centre & Nature Shoppe being in “The Main Campground Office”. The only “Campground Office” on the map doesn’t have either. As it turns out, there’s no Visitor Centre, there’s a small “Discovery Centre” - with the mentioned shop - and it’s in the West Gate building.
Just so many inconsistencies.
Our problems started off before we even got to the park. I absent-mindedly mapped to “Sandbanks Provincial Park”, and Google took me there, without asking for clarification.
As it turns out, there were two different gates, and we had gone to the wrong one.
When we realized our mistake, I vaguely remembered knowing that... but we booked the trip 5 months before. Definitely forgot, and just trusted Google.
The gate employee was helpful about giving us info on how to get to the other gate... but HER directions didn’t line up with the map (which we ended up following) or reality.
So, I was crabby by the time we got to our spot.
Anyway, here’s some info (well, ranting in this case) to help you find your way around Sandbanks Provincial Park.
Bottom: East Gate
Registration and Check In
Registration was a little weird the first time, mostly because we were already rattled as we pulled up. Road signs gave us the option of “East Gate” and “West Gate”, and I had NO idea what campground we were in, to even figure that out. See, our registration email had our campsite #, but not what campground it was in.
I had to start a new reservation just to see which campground we were in, with that number. So annoying.
Another weird thing - as we pulled up to the East Gate, there was signage telling larger vehicles to keep to the right... but the only lane with a green light was the left one.
For possibly the first time ever, the gate employee didn’t ask to see my disability placard, but DID ask whether or RV was staying on the site and not moving ... immediately after asking about the tow car.
A little odd on both counts, but overall the park staff were friendly and quick - as usual.
2026 Update
By our 2026 visit, the park had moved to the paperless permit system, and they were definitely still working the bugs out.
We had checked in online the morning of our visit, the email said proceed directly to our site ... but the gatehouse made us check in again. No big deal, we wanted to get maps anyway.
On our 3rd day, a warden knocked on our door and told us we had to register our RV as a stationary vehicle.
We asked why this wasn’t mentioned when we checked in, and the warden suggested that the person may be new - we knew that wasn’t the case, as she was training someone who had been standing over her.
Overall, a minor annoyance... but I don’t get the point of those “proceed directly to your site” emails, when pretty much every park we’ve been to so far this year has required another complete check-in process upon arrival.
Maps and Signage
As I mentioned earlier, maps and signage were a big source of frustration when visiting Sandbanks Provincial Park for the first time, especially on that first night.
Anyway, let’s break it down:
Park Map
The park maps are all contained on one side of an 11 x 17 map. Realistically, this is a big enough park that it really warrants more in the way of mapping.
Squishing a whole-park map, 4 smaller campground maps, and a giant legend on one page means that a lot of it is so tiny, it’s just not effective for when you’re trying to find your way around.
The maps for Richardson’s Campground, Woodlands Campground, and West Lake Campgrounds are more or less ok at the size they are (really tiny campsite numbers though!), but the Cedars Campground /Outlet River Campgrounds map is really squished on there.
Not only is it difficult to read - especially while trying to navigate for a driver - but there are a LOT of omissions.
Not to sound salty about it or anything, but - as always - a lot of the omissions are very specifically matters of accessibility. I’ll rant on THAT subject in a bit, but there’s absolutely no info on any of the maps as to which washrooms / comfort stations / parking lots / beach access points are wheelchair accessible.
In fact, there are two parking lots that are ONLY for accessible parking, that aren’t on the map at all. As in, you’d never know there was parking there at all.
Plenty of parks manage to have barrier-free icons on their maps, and - IMHO - it’s shameful that a park this size would make disabled people drive around hunting for the accessible options.
Making them do that in a park that has a reputation for being an absolute ZOO - and near impossible to get around in - during busy season is doubly shameful.
Anyway, there are things that are missing from the legend that are on the map, things that are named differently from what they are in reality, things in reality that don’t exist on the map, etc. Really annoying!
2026 Update
Some of the accessible parking was added to the map - not all - but there are still no “barrier-free” designations on then map, for everything that IS barrier-free, in reality.
The park website only mentions the comfort stations and the beginning of the Dunes Trail (which has a set of steps involved!) as being barrier-free, so a LOT of the park’s accessible facilities are left to “if you happen upon it”.
Signage
I will say that overall, the signage is pretty decent. MOST of the road signage is big, high-contrast, and well placed. There are some exceptions, but they’re just that - exceptions.
The thing about larger vehicles keeping right, when the only staffed booth was on the left was odd, especially as it didn’t leave much room to change lanes in a larger rig.
The truly annoying one was when we first got to the West Lake Campground, where we were staying. We drove through the entire park, through the West Gate, and came to a T.
To the left, we could see the sanitation station, and directly ahead, there was a white arrow on a black background, pointing to the right. Yes, it said “exit” on it, but - to both of us - it ABSOLUTELY registered as a “one way” arrow.
As it turns out, we were supposed to turn left there. But no, we turned right, and had to loop back around and through the West Gate again.
I wonder if the staff place bets on how many newbies do what we did?
Update: In 2026, that “one way” looking sign is still there... but the road out of the campground there is now also an entrance. It used to be one way between that point and the road to the right of it.
Water & Waste Services
Such a big park means that the water and waste situation is... sprawling:
Trailer Sanitation Stations
There are 3 trailer sanitation stations at Sandbanks. In order of best to worst, they are in West Lake campground, Woodlands campground, and Cedars campground.
In each case, they’re right at the entry to the campground, and you don’t have to go all the way into the actual camping area to use it - or turn around after using it.
The West Lake Campground Trailer Sanitation Station is the biggest. It exists as a circle around the main road into the camping area, with 2 platforms on each side. On the right side - as you head into the area - there are 2 lanes, each with a fill platform.
When you cross back over the main road to continue the circle (now headed towards the entrance), they two lanes each have a dump platform. You can enter and exit the circle from either side, but the whole thing runs counterclockwise.
All the hoses are threaded, and there’s no bypass lane on the circle itself. That’s fine, though, the circle setup essentially makes the main road running through it the bypass lane.
You can access it while entering the campground by passing the garbage area and turning left at the building, though.
This one is a single lane, with a dump platform, then a fill platform. (Ew). There is a bypass lane to the right, as well, and both hoses were threaded.
The Cedars Campground Trailer Sanitation Station has a bit of a weird setup. It’s on the right as you enter that campground area. To access the platforms on the left of your vehicle, you have to pass the first access point, and basically U-turn to the right.
When accessing it as you’re leaving the campground, you would just cross over the road to get to it.
Anyway, this is also a single dump platform, followed by a single fill platform, with both hoses threaded.
Other Water There are water taps throughout each of the campgrounds, indicated by a little dot on the campground maps. (This is not reflected in the map’s legend, though!)
Bottom: Cedars Trailer Sanitation Station
Garbage and Recycling
Almost every campground has a large garbage and recycling area at the entrance to that campground.
Weirdly, only Outlet River Campground B has one (the one to the north, on the park map)... even though Outlet River Campground A is huge and was the only one of the two open at that time of year.
Connectivity
We had really good reception everywhere in the park, on Rogers Wireless.
BIG caveat here: That may not be the case during high season, as I would imagine the crowds in the summer are far more taxing on the cell towers in the area!
Accessibility
Oooh boy, where to start with this one?
This is going to end up being a bit of a rant. Let me start off by saying that information is key to accessibility, and the powers that be at Sandbanks really, really need to learn that fact.
So many barriers to entry at this park are ones that could be solved with a few strokes of a keyboard... or just a little thought.
Anyway, let’s try and organize this into some kind of reasonable order..
Accessibility Information
The park website and map don’t have a lot of information about accessibility, and the park is more accessible than it lets on.
As I already mentioned, the map itself has almost NO info about accessibility - just a few of the parking spaces - so disabled visitors basically have to drive around to find out which vault toilets are accessible, which beach entrances are accessible, etc.
There are two little parking lots in Outlet River Campground A - giving easy access to the beach there - that ONLY have designated disability parking spots... but neither of those are on the map. (More on those in a bit).
Accessible Facilities
Registration doesn’t require getting out of your vehicle at either gate.
The main Park Store (Halfway along the main Outlet Beach strip) has barrier free parking and access to get up to the store, and wide aisles inside.
Each of the campground comfort stations is designated as being barrier free / having at least one barrier-free shower. Some of the campgrounds were closed at the time of our visit, but we can say:
West Lake Campground has the nicest, most accessible comfort station. Even the laundry room is accessible, with a button to open the door and everything.
The more centrally located of the two comfort stations in Woodlands (closer to the front of that campground) is more accessible than the one further back, even though the one further back is the one with the barrier-free campsites. Weirdly, there was no disability parking at the further-back one.
The comfort station we saw in Outlet River Campground A is nicer than the ones in Woodlands, but not as nice as the West Lake one.
ALL of the vault toilets in the West Lake Campground are barrier free - in designation AND approach to the building - but we didn’t see a single accessible vault toilet in any of the other campgrounds.
Overall, West Lake Campground is by FAR the most wheelchair friendly... it’s just too bad that it’s also the furthest away from the bulk of the park amenities.
Finally, they added a barrier-free outhouse to the Lakeshore Beach day use area at some point between our two visits. It does not have the symbol on the door, but that door is painted blue.
Accessible Camping
First of all, there’s no information on the park site about the barrier free campsites, so we kind of happened upon them as we drove around.
None of the barrier free sites are designated as such on the map.
Looking at the reservations site, it seems like most campgrounds have at least one designated barrier-free site, with the possible exception of Richardson’s.
That one doesn’t have a comfort station, though.
Accessible Beach Access
Not all the beaches are accessible to those with mobility issues, but a few are - to varying degrees. Here are the specifics:
Lakeshore Beach Accessibility:
There are a couple of accessible parking spots at the south end of the parking lot, and the path to the beach is relatively flat there - especially compared to most of the others in the park.
While there hadn’t been a Mobi-Mat during our 2025, there had been one added by the time of our 2026 visit.
It’s a bit wonky - some lumps, some pockets of open air under it in places, a fair amount of sand on it in others - but it’s passable. It stops short of the beach by a fair amount, though.
The sand at that beach is the soft kind that you sink into as you walk on it - I have a really difficult time with my foot tendon issues. I was really, really glad to see they’d added that Mobimat!
There are no platforms or barrier-free picnic tables on the beach itself, but - two lanes over from the accessible parking spot, at the far end of that parking lane - there’s a single wheelchair accessible style picnic table. You can’t miss it - the benches on it are painted blue.
Across the lane from that picnic table is a single wheelchair accessible outhouse - the one with the blue door.
Outlet Beach Accessibility
Most of the trails up to the main Outlet Beach strip are WILDLY inaccessible. Even my able-bodied husband was side eyeing those paths, many of which go up at a 45 degree angle - or steeper.
P4 Parking Lot has a few disability parking spots (err.. “handicapped” - I guess they’re older signs!) near the front of that parking lot. They are next to a comfort station that has barrier-free facilities.
The access to the beach is accessible in terms of being more accessible than all the tall, hilly approaches to the beach, but there’s no MobiMat.
That said, this entrance is the most accessible beach for someone like me - not a wheelchair user, but with other mobility issues.
It’s a wide, fairly flat path with well packed sand... and it’s the shortest, most direct path to the beach.
There are 7 designated parking spots there, and Mobimat EVERYWHERE - from the parking lot to the comfort station, another one from the parking lot to the beach, and even a short offshoot to an educational sign off to the side.
The MobiMat starts off really well installed and looked brand new, then cuts to the right for a bit and basically zigzags to the beach. There’s a section that's not quite as well installed but it's passible.
This path to the beach is MUCH longer than the short, direct path at P4. If you’re someone that has mobility issues and does not need a wheelchair, P4 may be a better access point for you.
Dunes Beach
There are some accessible parking spots in a small lot off to the left side, as you’re approaching the beach. These are along the back of the store/grill building.
There was no MobiMat or anything at the time of either of our visits.
Accessible Camping Beach Access
Outlet River Campground has two small parking lots that open out onto the small campground beach. Each has several parking spots that are ONLY for those with disability parking passes... and neither appears on the map.
The first one is across from Site 17-ish, and the comfort station area. This section is nicer than the other - sandy beach. There was no Mobi Mat at the time of our visit, though.
It's a very short walk to the beach and it's mostly well packed sand so it's not *awful* if you aren’t using a wheelchair. Once you get over the dunes the sand gets a little bit more difficult to walk in.
The second one is a bit further up, across from campsite #37. This one opens up onto a rocky section of beach, and it DOES have a Mobi-Mat. The mat was in poor shape at the time of our visit.
It looked pretty old, was partially covered, and quite lumpy - definitely could use some clearing and re-grading underneath. This beach is right on the edge of the swimming area, and there are signs saying not to swim to the left of it (as you’re looking at the beach).
Accessible Hiking Trails
The only Sandbanks Provincial Park trail that’s mentioned specifically as being barrier-free is the 1 km loop at the beginning of the Dunes Trail, accessed from an offshoot parking lot at Dunes Beach.
Here’s the thing: there are steps on this loop. WTAF.
If you do the trail clockwise from the trailhead, you’ll travel along packed gravel, then rejoin the main trail loop close to the sandbanks / beach. There’s a bit of boardwalk, before the trail continues down off the boardwalk, to the right.
... and by down, I mean two wooden steps down from the boardwalk to the actual trail. No way around it! Seriously, what?
Anyway, if you continue forward on that boardwalk - not taking those steps - you’ll eventually ramp down onto the beach.
If you cross the beach, you’ll come to some designated disability parking near the store, and you could continue up the road from there to eventually get back to the trail head parking... but that’s DEFINITELY not the “barrier free” trail as mapped.
So..that happened.
We’d hoped the steps were a temporary thing, but they were still there during our 2026 visit, with the added bonus of the section of “barrier free” trail below being competely flooded!
Anyway, aside from the Cedar Sands Trail (Moderate) and the main loop of the Dunes trail (which involves sandy, steep hills), all of the park trails are marked as being easy.
We walked at least part of most of them, and they were all wide and flat, well packed ground. I was having a really bad go of my tendons during our stay, and was able to do some walking on them, no problem.
Had I been booted (Realistically, I should have been - was just being stubborn!), I wouldn’t have had any trouble at all with the remaining trails.
Accessibility, Miscellaneous
The beach has two types of all-terrain wheelchairs available to borrow, on a first come, first served basis. One is the land type, and one is the floating type.
They’re only available after July 1, and require a $100 deposit. There is no information on the site as to where you’d go to actually borrow them, though.
Seriously, Sandbanks... just a few strokes of a keyboard!!
Bottom: Outlet River Dog Beach
Pets
Dogs are welcome at Sandbanks Provincial Park, and all of the usual rules apply - keep them leashed at all times, never leave them unattended, always pick up after them - and properly dispose of their droppings - and don’t allow them to harass other people or wildlife.
Other than that, they aren’t allowed on any of the swimmers beaches... not that THAT stopped anyone during our visit, LOL.
Anyway, there are two dog main dog beaches in the park, with one of those being split into two sections.
The designated pet area at Lakeshore Beach is GORGEOUS, and much larger than the dog-friendly beach at Outlet River.
The Outlet River dog beach is split by the mouth of the Outlet River.
On one side, you can access the dog beach from behind the Amphitheatre / Group Picnic Shelter 2 area.
On the other, you can access it via Outlet River Campground A.
Parking
There is a TON of parking at Sandbanks Provincial Park, and yet it still feels like it would probably be an absolute zoo in the summer.
It looks like you have to actually reserve parking - beyond just having a daily vehicle permit - so keep that in mind if you have a seasonal vehicle permit.
While I haven’t tried to book one at Sandbanks specifically, I know that those with a seasonal permit tend to be able to book a parking spot with no additional cost, through the Ontario Parks app / registration portal.
Miscellaneous
When we pulled up to our campground for our first visit, we were shocked by how trashy everything looked. It looked like the grass hadn’t been mowed since the year before, and everything was bright yellow with dandelions.
The camping season had been open for 2 weeks, at that point... so I was shocked to see it in such disrepair. It was giving “old, abandoned drive-in theatre” vibes.
We soon regretted even commenting on it, to ourselves - we jinxed things.
On the last full day of our stay - the day when we were mostly in our RV, recovering from our adventures - they finally decided to do maintenance. HOURS of loud droning going on.
I was shocked that they brought riding lawn mowers right onto our site, while in use. There was a good 20 minutes of them working around our RV, scaring the hell out of our cats.
It seemed a bit much, TBH. We’ve never had park employees come right onto our site while in use, to do maintenance. It felt really intrusive, the noise was awful, and I felt terrible for the cats!
Campground Amenities & Info
We visited outside of the main season, so several of the regular campground amenities - and campgrounds - were closed at the time of our stay.
Here’s some basic information about the amenities at Sandbanks Provincial Park, though:
Creature Comforts
Aside from Richardson’s Campground, all of the campgrounds at Sandbanks have at least one comfort station, each with flush toilets and showers.
Laundry facilities were added to the map between our two visits - each campground comfort station offers laundry facilities. (Richardsons does not have a comfort station.)
The pricing wasn’t marked in the West Lake Campground laundry room, but at least one other had the pricing as being $3/load, for both the washers and dryers.
Anyway, the comfort station in West Lake Campground seems to be the newest and the nicest, though most of the ones we saw in the operating campgrounds seemed to be in decent condition.
The Cedars campground comfort station is the only one I noticed to have a dish washing station. That amenity isn’t denoted on the map, so I’m not sure if any the others have them and I just didn’t notice... or not.
There are also vault toilets in the Outlet Beach day-use area (along with 2 comfort stations, in P4 and P8), the Dunes Day Use Area, and Lakeshore Day Use Area.
Row 2: Outlet River Comfort Station & Vault Toilet
Row 3: Woodlands Comfort Stations
Park Store
There are 3 park stores in Sandbanks Provincial Park, and 2 of the 3 were actually open during our stay!
The Main Park Store - located between P5 and P7 - was pretty cute, and had a decent selection of items for sale. Most of it was beach related - beach toys, suncreen, etc - though there were some camping supplies, snacks, ice cream treats, souvenirs, etc.
I almost fell over when I saw it was $6 for a small bottle of iced coffee, though!
Anyway, there was a sign outside offering full, hot breakfasts at the grill inside.
Their Facebook and Twitter accounts seem to both be disabled, but you can find out more about the store and restaurant at the Friends of Sandbanks page for Currah’s Park Store and Grill.
More on that in a bit, but when we DID find the shop, we saw that it was a very small one, with just a small selection of souvenirs and nature-themed items.
Finally, there’s the Currah’s Dunes Grill and Patio, at the Dunes Beach. It was not open during our stay, though.
Visitor Centre
Ok, so the park website does not have anything listed as a Visitor Centre, and there is nothing designated as a visitor center on the park map.
I couldn’t imagine they’d just make up a store description for a shop that didn’t exist, though, so we did some digging. The “Visitor Center” referenced in the park store section is actually the “Discovery Centre”, which is located inside the West Gate.
While there wasn’t a symbol for a visitor centre or discovery centre, I later noticed that “Discovery Centre / Gift Shop” was typed under “West Gate/Park Warden Office” on the park overview map.
Anyway... don’t expect much. There’s a cute display out front that invites you to look for fossils on a large rock and a little sandbox activity. Inside, there are a couple small educational exhibits.
It’s definitely more of a “distract yourself while in line / distract the kids while you’re registering” kind of thing, rather than any kind of actual destination, if that makes sense.
Day Use Area
There are a few different day-use areas at Sandbanks Provincial Park, all with completely different vibes. These are:
Dunes Beach Day Use Area
This is a small day use area on West Lake, near the West Lake Campground (shocking, right?).
It’s got a 3 mini picnic shelters, some benches, a playground, a canteen/grill (in the main season)... and the grimiest beach in the park, during both visits. More on that in a bit, though!
In 2026, we noticed that the Dunes day use area looked different from the last time - more open, with some downed trees. I’m guessing a storm went through, but we hadn’t heard anything about one.
Lakeland Lodge Day Use Area
This is a small day use area on the side of the road, along a stretch of private property in the middle of the park.
It’s the site of a long-gone hotel - a bit of lawn on the side of the lake with a single bench and no picnic tables.
The parking situation is weird - no lot, just unlabeled parking on the side of the road. We weren’t sure if we were supposed to parallel park or pull in, one person drove right out on the grass to the ledge overlooking the water.
A little directional signage is a good thing!
Anyway, there’s no beach in the traditional sense - just a rocky ledge - and it’s not super scenic or anything. A decent place for watching ducks, though!
Lakeshore Beach Day Use Area
I’ll get to the actual beach area in a bit - in the swimming section - and I’ll keep this to the actual day use area.
This one feels really utilitarian and almost an afterthought - it’s just some picnic tables and vault toilets in a parking lot. This picnic area isn’t scenic at all, and I can’t imagine actually picnicking in a parking lot that’s sure to be a madhouse in the summer.
We didn’t see any picnic tables at all on the beach... which would have made for a much nicer day use area.
Lakeshore Lodge Day Use Area
This day-use area is geographically near the Lakeshore Beach area - basically at the south end of the beach - but you have to drive about 2 km to get to it, as there is some private property between the two areas.
Anyway, the Lakeshore Lodge Day-Use area is a much nicer one for picnicking. It’s the site of a former hotel, with some ruins and signage talking about the history.
There are quite a few picnic tables on the sprawling lawn, which overlooks Lake Ontario and has a great view of Lake Shore Beach.
Outlet Beach Day Use Area
As I mentioned earlier, the parking and trail situation at the Outlet Beach day use area is WILD.
We really didn’t much in the way of picnic tables there during our visit, but apparently they exist - maybe they’re only brought out for the summer?
Anyway, we’ll talk more about the beach in the swimming section of this post.
Rentals
Sandbanks Provincial Park offers a few different types of rentals.
For starters, there are a couple different options for picnic shelters: 2 large picnic shelters (one at Dunes Beach, the other by the Amphitheatre at Outlet Beach), and 3 mini picnic shelters, all of which are at Dunes.
You can also rent Canoes, Kayaks and Stand-Up Paddleboards out of the wood yard (Behind P11), and borrow Personal Floatation Devices (PFDs) with a $30 deposit, or all-terrain wheelchairs for a $100 deposit.
The park is also part of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) Tackleshare Program, so you can borrow fishing rods and tackle from the park.
EV Charging Station
There’s an electric vehicle charging station at the West Lake Comfort Station. It’s an EVR-Green 4000 Leviton EV Charging, with a single charging port.
It’s only available from April 1 to November 1.
There’s a sign on it saying that it’s temporarily a free amenity - a promotion as part of a green initiative from Ontario Parks. It says that standard fees will apply in the near future, but doesn’t give any specifics beyond that.
Note: This was still the case in 2026.
Campsite Details
There are over 500 campsites at Sandbanks Provincial Park - divided over 5 main car camping areas - with one of those campground areas being divided into 2 distinct sections (Outlet River A & B). In addition to that, there’s a group camping area, and a couple cottages to rent.
Here’s what you need to know:
Car Camping
2 main campgrounds and one of the Outlet River campgrounds (B) were closed during our stay, but here’s our observations on the sections we were able to visit:
Cedars Campground
Closed at the time of our first visit. This one is advertised as being “family oriented”, probably due to it having less traffic than some other campgrounds, while still being close to the beach.
We did get to check it out during our 2026 visit, and found this campground to be more woodsy and rustic than the other campgrounds. The sites generally seem to have more privacy, also.
Prior to our 2025 visit, I could have sworn I had seen a photo or mention of a playground in that campground at some point, but there isn’t one on the map. (Not that that means anything, at Sandbanks!). We didn’t notice one in person, either - but we’d forgotten to specifically look for it!
Anyway, the sites in Cedars campground are all non-electrical.
Outlet River Campgrounds
The Outlet River Campgrounds are divided into two main sections - on either side of the main park road - with a small loop of sites in between the two main sections.
Most of the sites across the two main campground areas are non-electric sites, but Outlet River A has a section of hydro sites in the center of it, and that little loop of sites between the two main sections is all electric sites.
Outlet River Campground B was closed during our stay, but Outlet River was open - and seemed popular.
Most of the campgrounds in Outlet Campground A were wooded, but there were a handful of sites along the water’s edge. Those were SUPER cute - I bet they’re near impossible to book, in the summertime.
The further you get from the water, though, the more “meh” the sites get. There were a LOT of Trilliums blanketing the forest floor in places, though, so that was really pretty.
Apparently the sites in Outlet River Campground B have a bit more space between them, and more privacy.
Anyway, that little loop of sites between them is definitely geared towards RVs, and had a really “trailer park” vibe. Very close together, no privacy... kind of felt like an afterthought.
Richardson Campground
Closed at the time of both our visits. We could see some of this campground on the way to the Lakeshore Lodge Day use area, and it seemed pretty small, rustic, and lacking in privacy.
This is the only campground that doesn’t have its own comfort station. Most of the sites are non electrical, but there’s a loop at one end where all the sites have electrical service.
During our 2026 visit, we noticed that it seems to be undergoing some major work - as seen from the road out to the Lakeshore Lodge day use area.
We’re guessing that they’re electrifying more of the sites, as that appeared to be the nature of at least SOME of the equipment we saw.
West Lake Campground
This campground has 3 loops, and seem to mostly be electrical pull-through sites - it’s a campground well suited for large trailers.
The first loop on the right and the second loop to the right/straight ahead - as you’re entering the main campground area - were badly flooded at the time of our visit.
One guy was even using a sump pump to try and clear his site!
The third loop was where we were staying - sites 853-874. It was apparently a bit higher ground than the other two loops, and had no flooding at all.
Note: The campground was DRY at the time of our 2026 visit, which was odd considering the flooding we’d seen on the Dunes Trail, nearby. Maybe they added some drainage after the flooding last year?
Also, it has the biggest / best trailer sanitation station, of the 3 campgrounds that have one.
Note: While water levels were high - and part of the Dunes trail was flooded! - during our 2026 visit, the West Lake Campground was dry. Happy to be able to update with nicer photos!
Woodlands Campground
The Woodlands Campground is one of 3 that has its own trailer sanitation station. It’s made up of 3 loops of sites, all of which have electrical service.
At the time of our stay, the sites in Woodlands seemed much better maintained - and had better privacy - than the ones in West Lake Campground.
Some were wooded, some were out in the open, but they all seemed like they’d seen a lawn mower sometime in the previous 8 months.
There were a lot of trillium flowers in some sections of this campground, and it’s known as a hotspot for birding.
Next time we stay at Sandbanks, I think we’ll be staying in the Woodlands campground.
Group Camping
The group campsites at Sandbanks Provincial Park are in kind of a weird area. You have to leave the park entirely, drive through a very touristy area, then re-enter park property on the other side of that road from the main park.
It’s not far though, maybe 5 minutes from the East Gate?
Anyway, there are two group campsites, and can supposedly host 30-50 people. They’re for tent camping only, and I can see why - the road through there is VERY rustic, with a lot of small hills. Definitely wouldn’t want to bring a trailer through there.
The campsite off to the left - as you’re entering the group camping area - is smaller, but cuter than the other one. There’s a view of the lake across from that site. I can’t see how they could possibly fit more than 4 tents on it, though. There are 3 picnic tables on it.
Anyway, both group sites have a vault toilet nearby, and there’s a garbage and recycling area between the two sites. There’s enough space between the two sites that you’re not likely to hear or see the other group.
Roofed Accommodation
There are two cottages available for rent at Sandbanks Provincial Park: Jacques Cottages, and the majestic Maplerest Heritage House:
Jacques Cottage
This one’s kind of in a weird location, at the end of a short residential road, about halfway between the Lakeshore Lodge Day Use Area and the Lakeland Lodge Day Use Area.
As in, you have to turn down a residential street - with no Parks signage - pass a few private cottages, then you’ll come across one with signage on it.
Odd.
Anyway, this one sleeps 4, and overlooks Lake Ontario.
Bottom: Maple Rest Heritage House
Maplerest Heritage House
This one doesn’t look anything at all like any roofed accommodation we’ve ever seen at Ontario Parks - it looks more like a full B & B!
It’s got 4 bedrooms, and sleeps 8.
Anyway, they’ve both got different offerings and restrictions - and it’s a bit off-topic for this blog - so you’re best off checking out the Sandbanks Provincial Park Camping page for full details, and to decide which might meet your needs.
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Entertainment and Activity
While Sandbanks Provincial Park is MOST known for their beaches, there are plenty of activities *beyond the beach*, for the whole family to enjoy.
Here is some info about your options:
Hiking
One thing I liked about Sandbanks is that we were given a little coated card (think “shiny business card side”, rather than actually laminated) at registration that listed out all of the trail info.
Along with the a map of the park that excluded pretty much everything BUT the trails (One whole side of the card), it also included distance, difficulty, designations (pets allowed, biking allowed, wheelchair friendly), whether or not there was a trail guide*, and a little description of what you’d see, for each of the 6 trails in the park.
Would love to see that in more parks!
* Trail guides - for the trails that have them - are available at the trailhead, or at the Friends of Sandbanks Gift Shop in the West Gatehouse.
Anyway, here’s the breakdown:
Cedar Sands Trail - 2 km loop, Moderate.
A really nice walk through the woods, moderate difficulty was on account of a moderate amount of stairs and inclines. There are a couple of outlooks over a marshy area of Outlet River, some boardwalks.
Some of the boardwalks are a bit wonky - safe, but not level anymore. Anyway, dogs are allowed, and there is a trail guide available for this one.
Lakeview Trail - 3.5 km linear, Easy
This one is a bit weird, as the trail handout says it’s 3.5 km long (one way) with a 1.2 loop... while the site says it’s 2.4 km with a 1 km loop.
We only got around to doing part of the loop, which is accessible from the Lakeshore Lodge day use area. If you continue from that loop, you’ll end up at the Lakeland Lodge Day Use Area.
(Note: The website refers to this area - in the trail section anyway - as “Lakeview Lodge”. I had to check my photos - it’s definitely “Lakeland”. This park gives me a headache. Anyway...)
When you’re starting the trail from the Lakeshore Lodge area - going counterclockwise - you’ll come to “West Point” in about 200 metres. West Point isn’t labeled on the park map, but it’s *referred to*.
The rocks along the shore feature Ordovician Period fossils, but you’re definitely going to have to *hunt* for them. It’s much more rough down there than at Craigleith Provincial Park or Rock Point Provincial Park.
No trail guide, but there are some laminated sheets with bird identification info, attached to the trailhead. Also, the handout designates it as barrier free, with both dogs and bikes being allowed on it.
MacDonald Trail – 1.5 km linear (3 km return), Easy
This is a weird one, and one of those “basically a campground trail” situations. The trail handout says that it’s 1.3 km one way.
This starts near the West Lake Campground, and can be accessed either from a corner in the road, or from the Woodlands Trail in the same area.
It just takes you from West Lake Campgrounds out to the Lakeland Lodge Day Use Area, going through some fields and what appears to be farmland.
It is NOT well marked from the Lakeland Lodge area - we had to open the Pokemon Go app to figure out where the trail was, take a photo with our zoom lens to be sure the signage we were seeing was Ontario Parks signage, etc.
Even then - knowing we were on the trail - it STILL very much felt like we were trespassing on the private property in the area. Definitely not a “destination” hike. No trail guide for this one.
The handout designates it as barrier-free (We didn’t do it, definitely take that with a grain of salt), with both dogs and bikes being allowed on it.
Sandbanks Dunes Trail - 2.5 km loop / 1 km “Barrier-Free” loop, Easy to Moderate
This is the second of the two trails that we consider more “destination” trails - rather than campground paths - at Sandbanks Provincial Park.
You start off with some signage introducing you to the fact that the larger loop goes through part of the world’s largest baymouth barrier dune formation.
From there, you can either do the longer, moderate trail (steep inclines on loose sand, but easy outside of those areas), or the shorter “barrier free” trail.
No, that’s not a misuse of quotation marks, BTW.
The short loop is easy - flat, well packed gravel and some boardwalk, for the most part - but there are a few steps involved. There’s no way around them, so I have no idea why this trail is listed as being barrier free.
Although, to be fair... it’s listed as barrier free on the trail signage and website, but NOT on the trail handout. 3 of the trails on that handout have accessibility designations, but not the ONLY one listed as such on the website.
Fun!
Richardson’s Trail - 3.3 km linear, Easy
Another campground trail, this one goes between the Richardson’s Campground and the Dunes Beach areas.
Woodlands Trail - 3.5 km linear, Easy
Yet another campground trail, this one meanders through some old farm fields and forests, taking you from the Dunes Beach to the East Gate, with access points to West Gate, West Lake Campground, MacDonald Trail, and Woodlands Campground along the way.
Biking
While the whole area - Prince Edward County - is known as a destination for bike touring, there aren’t any dedicated bike trails in Sandbanks Provincial Park.
Visitors are allowed to bike on the campground roads, and on the Lakeview, MacDonald, Richardson’s, and Woodlands trails.
Swimming
Sandbanks is known for its swimming, but it was definitely too cold during our stay to really enjoy that aspect of the park!
Dogs aren’t allowed on any of the swimming beaches, and there are no lifeguards posted at any of them. Swimmers do so at their own risk, same as at all the rest of the Ontario Provincial Parks beaches.
On then subject of risk, we recommend wearing swim shoes when visiting the beaches - there were a LOT of broken shells washed up along the beach, during both of our visits.
Anyway, there are 3 main beaches with day use areas, and a smaller, camper’s beach:
Dunes Beach
The Sandbanks Dune Beach was - far and away - our least favourite of the beaches.
It’s a beach on a relatively small inland lake, rather than on Lake Ontario (like the other two are), and it was... err... rustic.
Really mucky water, lots of slime and foam, just really not inviting in any way at all, IMHO.
This one has a steep drop off, BTW.
Lakeshore Beach
100% our favourite of the beaches at Sandbanks Provincial Park.
We were both kind of hating the park so far, when we pulled up to the beach. Still grumbling, we walked the trail to the beach... and RIGHT THEN, the skyopened up.
It had been cloudy and miserable to that point - and almost immediately went right back to clouds for the rest of our stay - but in that 20 minutes or so of sun, I could see why the park was so popular.
Maybe I’m just a sucker for clear blue water and some white caps!
The sand was very soft and clean. There were some small shells in areas - more towards the south side of that beach - but overall just lots of gorgeous sand.
It looked to be shallow a fair way out, with a gentle drop off.
Outlet Beach
This seems to be the “main” Sandbanks beach, it’s straight ahead when you’re entering from the east gate.
There are TWELVE parking lots for this beach area, most of which have absolutely wild paths to get to the beach area. I’m talking 45 degree inclines in some cases - possibly even steeper!
Aside from the few accessible sections listed earlier, all of these trails are very hilly and most kind of feel like you’re walking where you’re not supposed to, LOL.
Anyway, this beach is sandy, with shallow waters and a gradual drop off.
Outlet River Campground Beach
This is a small beach in Outlet River Campground A. There are two small parking lots for the beach, but they’re exclusively for those with disability parking passes.
The first of the two- located across from the comfort station that’s closest to the lake - is a gorgeous, sandy beach. The second lot opens out onto a rockier section of the beach.
Birding, Wildlife, and Nature
We visited Sandbanks right after visiting Presqu’ile Provincial Park - which is KNOWN for birding - and we were shocked to have a WAY better birding experience at Sandbanks Provincial Park.
We just never hear Sandbanks discussed much, in that sense, and it’s barely mentioned on the park website.
Our favourite birding spot was the northwest corner of the Lakeshore Beach parking lot, which was always LOUD with birds. We got more than a handful of first-time sightings for us, and a number of great photos!
The day use area of Dunes Beach was also a great hotspot for bird activity, but they tended to stay higher up in the trees, out of sight.
Row 2: Brown Thrasher, Brown-Headed Cowbird(f), Brown-Headed Cowbird(m), Cape May Warbler
Row 3: Cape May Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Common Grackle, Common Merganser
Row 4: Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, Field Sparrow, Gray Catbird
Row 5: Killdeer, Long-Tailed Duck, Mourning Dove, Mute Swan
American Goldfinch, American Kestrel, American Redstart, American Robin, American Crow, Baltimore Oriole, Belted Kingfisher, Black-and-White Warbler, Black-Capped Chickadee, Black-Throated Green Warbler, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Blue-Headed Vireo, Blue Jay, Brown Creeper, Brown-Headed Cowbird, Brown Thrasher, Canada Goose, Cape May Warbler, Cedar Waxwing, Chipping Sparrow, Common Grackle, Common Merganser, Common Raven, Common Tern, Common Yellowthroat, Dark-Eyed Junco, Double-Crested Cormorant, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Towhee, Eastern Wood-Pewee, European Starling, Eastern Warbling Vireo, Field Sparrow, Golden-Crowned Kinglet, Great Blue Heron, Great Crested Flycatcher, Grey Catbird, Hermit Thrush, House Finch, House Sparrow, Killdeer, Least Flycatcher, Long-Tailed Duck, Mallard Duck, Marsh Wren, Merlin, Mourning Dove, Mute Swan, Nashville Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Northern Flicker, Northern House Wren, Northern Parula, Northern Rough-Winged Swallow, Northern Yellow Warbler, Osprey, Palm Warbler, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Red-Breasted Merganser, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, Red-Headed Woodpecker, Red-Winged Blackbird, Ring-Billed Gull, Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Rusty Blackbird, Savannah Sparrow, Scarlet Tanager, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Tennessee Warbler, Tree Swallow, Turkey Vulture, Veery, White-Breasted Nuthatch, White-Throated Sparrow, Wild Turkey, Wood Thrush, Yellow-Rumped Warbler.
Row 2: Red-Breasted Merganser, Red-Winged Blackbird(f), Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Row 3: Song Sparrow, Turkey Vulture, Warbling Vireo, White-Crowned Sparrow
Row 4: White-Throated Sparrow, Wild Turkey, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-Rumped Warbler
During our 2026 visit, we saw a ton of deer tracks... but not even a single deer!
We did, however, see two new-to-us birds: A Red-Headed Woodpecker and a bunch of Northern Rough-Winged Swallows!
Row 2: Double-Crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Mallard Duck
Row 3: Northern Cardinal, Northern Rough-Winged Swallow, Osprey
Row 4: Red-Headed Woodpecker, Turkey Vulture, White-Breasted Nuthatch
Boating
Ok, so the boating options in the park are a bit odd.
You CAN go boating on East Lake, West Lake, and Lake Ontario, but there’s only one boat launch in the park. It’s really small, kind of janky, and opens into really shallow water.
Just doesn’t seem like a great place for boating, to be honest.
It’s listed as being suitable for boats under 18 feet long, and - at least at the time of our visit - I’d say that was being generous. Anyway, it’s located n the Outlet River A campground, on Outlet River, near where it opens out onto Lake Ontario.
There’s a small parking lot across the street from it, designated as being for vehicles with trailers only.
It would be easy enough to put a canoe in on West Lake from the Dunes Beach area, though, and East Lake can be accessed via Outlet River.
The park has a rentals building right off the Outlet River, and it looks like you can probably launch a canoe, kayak, or paddle board from a little access point next to it.
In terms of power boat launching, the Glendon Green Boat Launch is located just a few minutes outside of the park, at the mouth of the Outlet River.
It’s a really nice facility - a ramp for the boat launch, a large dock with a bit of a viewing deck and chairs, and a fantastic view of the area.
There are also picnic tables and a PortaPotty on a lawn next to the launch.
Payment is via the Passport Canada app, there doesn’t appear to be any other way to pay for parking / use of the boat launch.
Fishing
You’re able to go fishing on both East Lake and West Lake - Northern Pike, Pan Fish, Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass, and Yellow Pickerel are available in those lakes.
You can also go fishing in Lake Ontario, there just aren’t any boat launches in the park that would handle the size of the boat you’d need to have to fish on THAT lake.
Also, Glendon Green doesn’t have any real access to Lake Ontario - just Outlet River, which gets to be ankle deep near Lake Ontario!
Discovery Program
Like most of the Provincial Parks, Sandbanks Provincial Park hosts some interactive, educational programs during their main season.
The park website’s description mentions stopping by the Visitor Centre (which doesn’t exist?), but there IS an amphitheatre, down by the main Outlet Beach area.
It’s next to the mouth of the outlet river and has a picnic shelter there too - that whole area was gated off during our 2026 visit, though. Looks to be a pretty major construction project.
I’m guessing they post schedules all over the place, when it’s in season / available ... so be sure to check those out.
Oh, and if those signs say “Visitor Centre”, you might want to try the West Gate building. That’s the “Discovery Centre”.
It’s not really big enough to host programming in it, but the staff there - who were also confused by the mention of a Visitor Centre - figured that must be what was being referred to.
Niantic Games
There are a fair number of Pokestops, Pokegyms, Ingress Portals, etc throughout the park. Each campground has at least a couple, then there are many more scattered along the beaches, day use areas, trails, etc.
I’d have to say the greatest concentration of them would be in the Lakeshore Lodge Day Use area, and the Dunes Beach area.
Also, we had excellent cellphone coverage throughout the park, as mentioned earlier.
Nearby Attractions
I’ve been slacking off on covering nearby attractions on these posts for a long time now, as we tend to stick to the actual park we’re staying in.
That said, we took a quick excursion to Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park, about a short distance away. Cute - but very small! - park, click that link to read all about it.
Anyway, on the way there, we passed what looked like a really old, dilapidated army base.
We Googled for details, and it turns out that it’s Base 31, a decommissioned and repurposed WWII Airforce training base.
It's even the site of Escape Camp Picton, an indoor/outdoor escape room company with a WWII theme.
SO COOL.
It's too bad we only happened upon this on our last day in the area, we would definitely have planned to check it out. Next time!
Final Thoughts
Wow, really mixed bag here. We loved the birding at Sandbanks Provincial Park - we managed to visit right during spring migration, and it was probably the best birding we’ve ever experienced.
And yeah, that’s including the stop at Presqu'ile Provincial Park, immediately before it. You know, the park that’s KNOWN for birding!
We enjoyed that the Dunes Trail was wildly different than most trails we’ve been on, it was nice for a change of scenery.
Most of the beaches seem... OK. We were surprised to see that a smaller, further-away beach was SO much nicer than the main one.
Honestly - maybe we’re not beach people - but we don’t really see why the park is as popular as it is.
The fact that it IS as popular as it is... is definitely a negative for us. Based on everything we’ve heard - including from a friend in the area, and employees at the park - here’s no way we’d catch ourselves within 50 km of this place, in the summer! It sounds like an absolute nightmare.
We’d be happy to come back again during spring migration, especially now that we’ve figured out all of the logistical issues in the park.
Basically... we love everything “nature” about the park, but pretty much anything where people are heavily involved (crowds, cartography, website, maintenance, etc)... less than great.
More Southeast Ontario Provincial Parks & Places to See
Want to read some more about the parks we've camped and at places we've seen in Southeastern Ontario? Here are some more posts!
Southeastern Ontario Campground Reviews:
Bon Echo Provincial Park
Bonnechere Provincial Park
Charleston Lake Provincial Park
Ferris Provincial Park
Presqu'ile Provincial Park
Rideau River Provincial Park
Silent Lake Provincial Park
Winter Camping at Silent Lake Provincial Park
Southeastern Ontario Places to See:
Gariepy Creek Falls
Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park
North Beach Provincial Park
Want to explore beyond Southeastern Ontario? Check out our full list of Campground Reviews, Ontario Waterfalls, and other Places to See.
We also have a ton of Camping Recipes to cook up, while on your adventures!
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