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    Home » Places to See

    Wasaga Beach Provincial Park

    Published: Jul 3, 2024

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    Wasaga Beach Provincial Park is an absolutely LEGENDARY summer destination in Ontario. Here's EVERYTHING you need to know to plan your visit!

    Rainbow letters spelling out wasaga, with loads of people behind it. Overlaid text says the complete guide to wasaga beach provincial park.

    Wasaga Beach is legendary, but neither of us had been there until this summer.

    I’d always heard of it as THE place to go on a hot summer day.

    Listening to mentions on the radio, I always pictured something like half the population of Toronto descending on the town of Wasaga Beach - it sounded like chaos. As a hermit, it wasn’t difficult to avoid the situation, LOL.

    During a recent stay at Meaford Memorial Park, we decided to go ahead and finally check it out.

    You know, just first thing in the morning, getting out before it got too wild!

    A day-use park (no camping*), it’s known for having the longest freshwater beach in the world - 14 km of sandy beaches!

    That said, I didn’t actually have any real idea of the SCOPE of this park, til we started looking into it.

    The park actually consists of 8 different beach areas, each with a separate gated entrance - more on this in a bit.

    There are also over 30 km of hiking trails, mostly as a big, overlapping spaghetti mess of trails in a park area, just south of the beach areas.

    ... it was all a bit overwhelming - apparently it’s the busiest provincial park, on top of it - but hey... adventure, right?

    Let’s get right to it!

    *If you’re looking to camp near Wasaga Beach, the closest Provincial Parks are Awenda Provincial Park (38 mins / 43 km northeast), Earl Rowe Provincial Park (47 mins / 53 km south), and Craigleith Provincial Park(35 mins / 33km west).

    Wasaga beach at sunrise.

    The Basics:

    Campground Name: Wasaga Beach Provincial Park
    Address: 11-22nd St. North, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 2V9
    Website: Wasaga Beach Provincial Park
    Price: Ontario Provincial Parks uses a pricing matrix across all their parks. See 2025 Day Use Fees for more details.
    Reservations: Ontario Parks Reservations
    Park Classification: Recreational
    Regular Season: April 7, 2025 to October 13, 2025
    Winter Season: December 12, 2025 to March 15, 2026

    Rainbow letters spelling out wasaga, with the authors taking a selfie in front of it.

    Logistics

    Given that summer weekends are supposed to be incredibly busy at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, it’s DEFINITELY recommended to book your daily vehicle permit ahead of time.

    We didn’t visit on a weekend... but the only day during our trip that had sunny weather happened to be Canada Day, so we made SURE to book ahead.

    I was surprised to see so much availability during the holiday weekend. Even 2 days ahead of time, each Wasaga Beach area had availability!

    Registration and Check In

    Interestingly enough, you could only book ahead for Beach Areas 1-6, I couldn’t find an option for the two newer beaches.

    As it turned out, those were first-come, first-served spots that you pay for upon arrival.

    Also, while you could book a few different time block options (plus an all-day pass), for Beach Area 1, Beach Areas 2-6 only let you book either 4-10pm, or all day.

    Note: You have to pick your beach area and that’s that - you can’t transfer between parking lots.

    Also, if you leave... just know that re-entry isn’t guaranteed, once the parking lot reaches capacity.

    Anyway, we booked for Beach Area 1, and arrived SUPER early - 6 am! - to see if we could pop in to the other areas to scope them out.

    We entered and left Beach Area 1 a few times before things started getting busy, and it was no problem at all. After about 10am, though... it was a bit of a wait.

    The gate attendant was friendly and... festive. Canada Flags everywhere, including on his back ... worn as a cape.

    2 part image showing a long line of cars, and a small gatehouse. The employee is wearing a Canadian flag as a cape, and the building is decorated with flags.

    Maps and Signage

    There were definitely some deficiencies and weird logistics when it came to getting around.

    Park Map

    We asked the gate attendant for a park map, but all he had was a map for Wasaga Beach - the city, rather than the park.

    A bit weird, but we figured maybe it was a quirk of a day-use only park.

    Later on, we saw park maps - the same style as the Ontario Parks campground parks have - at the Wasaga Beach Welcome Centre.

    These were printed versions of the map on the website - adequate enough for getting you to the beach area you’re looking for, but doesn’t actually have any of the amenities listed.

    That’s what happens when you try to fit 14 km of park as a one-shot image across a 17" page!

    I wish they’d broken it up by area, as separate images. It’s nice to know where things like the comfort stations are located, especially when there are so few of them!

    Another issue: The trails were just shown as a tangle, with no different names or colours for the routes - more on this in a bit.

    A photo of the trail map - a mess of trails, with no labels.
    Frustrating!
    Signage

    Signage in the park was also not great.

    There was nothing to indicate which lots had accessible parking (spoilers: they don’t all have it!), nothing to really direct you to any main features, etc.

    There were also weird ... halfway... attempts to direct you.

    For instance, when you enter the Area 3 parking, it’ll tell you that the dog beach is up ahead... but then none of the lots beyond that are actually marked as being one with access to the dog beach.

    If you don’t have any mobility issues, this might not be a problem -it’s easy enough to wander, I guess. For anyone requiring accessibility, though, it’s a nightmare of a situation.

    As another example, 5 of the beach areas apparently have a Mobi-Mat... we were able to find two of them.

    You literally have to drive around and get out of your car to go looking for them - only one of the areas had a small sign in the parking lot that indicated where it was for that area. (And THAT would have been easy to miss!).

    One of the parking lots in Beach Area 1 had an accessibility sign at the front of it... but no accessible parking in that area, AND no accessible way up to the comfort station there.

    Just a lot of weirdness and poor planning in general.

    Connectivity

    We were easily able to access the internet from everywhere in the park.

    That said, most of our time on the beaches themselves happened long before the crowds showed up. Things might be different when there are so many people in the area.

    Accessibility

    Every one of the comfort stations in the park is noted as having accessible stalls, which is always a good start... but the doors aren’t automatic. Also, accessible paths TO the comfort stations aren’t necessarily a given, either.

    An attempt was made, I guess?

    In terms of the beach itself, most of the beaches supposedly have Mobi-Mats for wheelchair accessibility (LOVE this, even just for my tendon issues!). You’ll theoretically find them at beaches 1-5, though you may have to go hunting for them, as earlier mentioned.

    We were unable to find them at beaches 2, 4, and 5.

    If you’re mobility impaired, you don’t want to go on a quest to find these!

    I have no idea why they didn’t group accessible parking, accessible comfort station, and Mobi-mat together at each instance. It’s like “you can have one or two of these in a spot, but never all three!”

    The park also offers loans of two different kinds of all-terrain wheelchairs (damage deposit required):

    One is the Mobi-Chair®, a FLOATING wheelchair that can bring users across sand and down right into the water.

    The other is the Wheeleez™ Sandcruiser™, which has large inflated wheels, specifically made for travelling over sandy beaches.

    These can be borrowed at both the main park office, and the Welcome Centre at Nancy Island Historic Site (119 Mosley Street).

    Note: You might NEED one of these, even if planning to stick to the boardwalks. Some of them had pretty tall drifts of sand covering them - I can’t imagine trying to roll a wheelchair though them.

    The welcome center, the fishing platform at Beach Area 1, certain areas of the Nancy Island Historic site are also considered to be barrier-free.

    The theatre is up a few levels of steps, but apparently you can watch on a supplied tablet, if you’re unable to get up there. (The main screen video had closed captioning, though).

    3 part image showing 2 different all terrain wheelchairs and a blue mobi mat extending onto wasaga beach.

    Pets

    As far as the beaches go - with the exception of service animals - dogs are ONLY allowed at the dog beach in Beach Area 3 (this is a certain section of the beach area, not the whole beach area).

    Outside of the beaches, they’re allowed on the boardwalks in Beach Areas 1 and 2, on the park trails, and in all picnic areas.

    As with most - all? - Ontario Provincial Parks, they’re required to be on a leash no longer than 2 metres, under control at all times, and be picked up after.

    A long sandy beach with a sign indicating it to be the dog beach.
    The Dog Beach

    Parking

    I’ll go over thoughts on the parking in the different beach areas a bit further down, as needed.

    In general, I was surprised at how little parking each area had. I guess I was picturing a bunch of stadium type parking - but that was just going on my mental image of the whole situation.

    In addition to the Beach Area parking lots, there’s also a fair amount of municipal parking - especially in between Beach Areas 1 and 2 - as well as some private parking lots.

    We saw signs advertising anywhere from $5-20 parking, and I wouldn’t doubt there to be even more expensive options.

    There are also small lots at Nancy Island and the Trail Centre - you’ll need your day pass on the dash in order to park at either.

    Anyway, if you’re bringing a larger vehicle, RV, or trailer, you’ll want to book in Beach Area 1.

    Miscellaneous

    The beach is north facing onto South Georgian Bay, but the park is only open until 10pm, with no camping options.

    Between that and light pollution to the east and west ... probably not the best option for Northern Lights hunting!

    That said, if there’s a particularly strong storm - like the one we saw on May 10th, 2024 - you could definitely do worse for locations.

    Still, the park hours are definitely a barrier, there.

    A rainbow sign that says wasaga, surrounded by people.

    Park Amenities & Info

    We visited on a holiday - Canada Day - during the summer season, so pretty much everything was open and available to check out.

    Given the size of the park - and the logistics with regards to booking Beach Areas - we were only able *officially* to see part of it, though.

    Due to having the most amenities, we chose Beach Area #1 - here’s the info from our stay:

    Creature Comforts

    While the park map says “comfort stations”, they’re all just bathrooms. Despite being almost solely a BEACH destination, there are no change rooms or showers.

    Weird.

    So, expect the washrooms to do double duty!

    Each of the 8 beach areas have these “comfort station” buildings - with flush toilets - and there are also washrooms available at the Wasaga Beach Welcome Centre (Summer months only).

    There are no vault toilets, so far as we could see. Found this weird - each beach area is pretty sprawling, you’d think they’d pepper a few outhouses in there as well.

    Anyway, the buildings in Beach Areas 1-6 are larger, while the ones in Allenwood and New Wasaga Beach Areas are little 4 stall buildings.

    At least one of the smaller ones had a couple of portapotties on the outside of it.

    In the winter, you can find washroom facilities at the Wasaga Nordic & Trail Centre - it did not appear to be open, when we were there.

    Park Store

    There is a very, very small little nook of a gift shop in the Wasaga Beach Welcome Centre.

    It sells a few types of Ontario Parks merchandise, some souvenirs more specific to Nancy Island Historic Site, and some other items that are more generic to Wasaga Beach, rather than the park specifically.

    This is only open during the summer months - you can buy some of the Ontario Parks stuff at the Park Office throughout the year.

    A small, one room provincial park store at wasaga beach.
    The Park Store

    Visitor Centre

    The Visitor Centre situation is a bit odd at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park.

    There’s a small visitor center with a 1 room, fairly basic set of displays in the Welcome Centre. It also has washrooms, as well as tourism brochures for Wasaga Beach and the surrounding area.

    Honestly, it felt more like any little town’s Information Centre, than a Provincial Parks Visitor Centre, if that makes sense.

    Well, that and kind of a ticketing booth for Nancy Island...

    2 part image showing the inside and outside of the wasaga beach welcome centre.
    The Welcome Centre

    Nancy Island Historic Site

    We were kind of surprised to be told that entrance to the Nancy Island portion of the park was “By Donation”.

    I didn’t see anything at all about that on the park website, and it caught me off guard.

    We don’t generally carry cash on us, but the clerk let me know that I could charge the donation. It was all pretty awkward, I had no idea how much was expected, etc!

    Anyway, this historic site has two main buildings to take in - a museum and a theatre - as well as a picnic area, some outdoor displays, and - in theory - a replica of a Great Lakes lighthouse.

    The bridge to the lighthouse was boarded off and looked like it hadn’t been open to the public in a long time, though.

    6 part image showing various views of and inside the Nancy Island museum.
    Nancy Island Museum.
    The museum houses the remains of the HMS Nancy, a ship that factored heavily into the War of 1812.

    There are also other artifacts and displays about the Nancy, its battle with 3 yankee Schooners, and the war in general.

    No, it was not lost on me that I brought my American husband to a War of 1812 museum on Canada Day, LOL.

    On the other end of the very small island is the theatre, which also has a few displays about the war - particularly about how Indigenous peoples helped win the war.

    Up a few levels is the actual theatre, which is SUPER cute - it’s done up to look like you’re riding on an old schooner.

    Also: they had closed captioning, which is always nice to see!

    Overall, an enjoyable way to spend a little time away from the crowds. We were the only ones on the island, aside from one costumed employee!

    Very peaceful. You know, for a war museum that’s just a few minutes away from the ABJECT chaos that is Wasaga Beach on a holiday Monday!

    6 part image showing various views of and inside the Nancy Island Theatre.
    Nancy Island Theatre.

    Day Use Area

    The entire park IS the day use area!

    Each of the Beach Areas feature sandy beaches, washrooms, and a ‘No Wake Zone’ from mid-June to Labour Day, with differences in other amenities and conditions.

    Because we got there so early, we were able to pop in to the other areas to get some photos and info to share:

    2 part image showing a rocky beach and shoreline.
    Allenwood Beach Area
    Allenwood Beach Area

    This one is at the furthest east end of the park, and - as mentioned earlier - is first come, first served. They do not accept bookings for this beach area.

    It has unpaved road and small parking lots, with a warning that blowing sand can make things difficult.

    2 part image showing the allenwood beach area parking and a trail to the actual beach.
    Allenwood Beach Area

    This is the rockiest beach of them all, and the sand is much softer / flouffier / more difficult to walk on than the other Beach Areas.

    An empty beach at Wasaga Provincial Park.
    Allenwood Beach Area
    As mentioned, the “Comfort Stations” are small, 4 stall washroom buildings - each self contained, with its own door to the outside.

    Weirdly, one of them has a changing table and rails for accessibility, but NO accessible way to get up to the washroom building itself!

    The second one also involves walking up an embankment to get to, as well as a couple portapotties on the outside.

    2 part image showing two different small comfort stations, one with porta potties outside.
    Allenwood Beach Area
    Of note: Some of the sand dunes are sectioned off, with signage talking about a dunes restoration project on the go.

    Was disappointed - but not at all surprised - to see that people would literally cut through the roped off areas, despite there being plenty of trails to get from the parking lot to the beach.

    A sign talking about restoring the sand dunes at Wasaga Beach.
    Allenwood Beach Area

    Anyway, of the beach areas, I think this one was the least busy, at least during our trip.

    2 part image showing a sandy beach at new wasaga beach area.
    New Wasaga Beach Area
    New Wasaga Beach Area

    This beach area is also at the east end of the park, right next to Allenwood.

    It also has the same unpaved road and parking areas /reservation situation as Allenwood does:

    2 part image showing the parking lot at new wasaga beach area.
    New Wasaga Beach Area Parking

    ... the same washroom set up, and the same all around vibe.

    A small comfort station at new wasaga beach area.
    New Wasaga Beach Area
    The main differences:

    1. New Wasaga is sandier than Allenwood but still has more rocks than the main beaches do. (The main 6 have basically NO rocks)

    2. Visitors are warned that there are strong undertows near the mouth of the Nottawasaga River, and it’s not recommended to swim there. (This just doesn’t apply to Allenwood, due to the location of the river.)

    2 part image showing Wasaga Beach Area 1, empty.
    Beach Area 1
    Wasaga Beach Area 1

    This area is located on the east side of the “Main Strip”, which has shops and restaurants (located outside of the park boundaries).

    It has a few small picnic shelters (No reservations - first-come, first-served - they’re the only ones in the park), and dog friendly picnic areas.

    2 part image showing different options for picnicking at Wasaga Beach Area 1.
    Beach Area 1 Picnic Areas
    This area is open for fishing along the Nottawasaga River, and it’s the only beach area with a boat launch.

    This is also the one you’ll want to book if you’re driving an RV, trailer, or bus, based on the parking lot.

    Finally, this is the beach area known for having Piping Plovers nesting there, so be ready for some sections to be closed off at times.

    More on this in a bit. (Spoilers: They are SO CUTE!)

    4 part image showing comfort stations and boardwalk at Beach Area 1.
    Beach Area 1
    A few notes:

    1. If you put “Wasaga Beach Area 1" into Google maps, it will take you to municipal parking. You need to specify “Wasaga Beach Provincial Park Beach Area 1" to get to the entrance gate.

    2. This beach has clean, hard packed sand for the most part. Closer to the boardwalk gets looser / fluffier / harder to walk on.

    3. The layout of the boat launch area / parking is a little weird. Probably want to keep it to small boats, and I bet it’s a nightmare to get in and out of on busy days.

    4 part image showing boardwalk, a mobi-mat, and various views of getting down to the Area 1 beach.
    Beach Area 1.
    4. The first parking lot has the MOST accessible access to the beach - accessible spots, and it goes straight to boardwalk from the parking lot. Flat and easy path. It just doesn’t have any easy access to a comfort station!

    5. 1b has accessible parking, but wheelchair users may find it difficult to get to the actual doors of the comfort station.

    6. Beach Area 1 seems to be the either the most popular area, or MAYBE tied with Beach Area 2. I think 1 was more chaotic though.

    7. Beach Area 1 borders on the main strip (the east side of it), with restaurants, bars, and touristy shops.

    2 part image showing the Wasaga Beach Area 2 parking.
    Beach Area 2 parking
    Wasaga Beach Area 2

    This one is located on the west side of the main strip, and has a playground and bike path, in addition to its picnic area.

    2 part image showing a comfort station and playground at Wasaga Beach Area 2.
    Beach Area 2
    Beach 2 has a bit of a weird setup with regards to accessibility.

    There’s accessible parking by the comfort station, which has a bit of a steep hill to get down to the start of the boardwalk.

    The boardwalk itself has short, very steep ramps to get to the sand - we weren’t able to find the Mobi Mat that this area apparently has.

    4 part image showing the path to the boardwalk, the boardwalk, and ramps down to the beach at Beach area 2.
    Beach Area 2.
    That said, the boardwalk is wide, long, and flat. If you can get down to it, it’s mostly easy to traverse.

    The boardwalk itself - in terms of structure - was in really great shape, but there were big drifts of sand across it in places.

    As with Beach Area 1, the boardwalk takes you all the way out to the Main strip.

    The boardwalk at beach area 2, looking on to main strip area.
    Beach Area 2
    There seemed to be more individual picnic areas in Beach Area 2 - picnic tables in little nooks here and there, groups of them in grassy areas, and even some along the beach.
    2 part image showing the wasaga beach area 2 picnic areas.
    Beach Area 2 Picnic Areas.
    As for the beach itself - at least during our time there - Beach Area 2 had very clean sand that was dense and hard packed.

    Super easy to walk on!

    A long sandy beach on Georgian Bay - Wasaga beach area 3,
    Beach Area 3
    Wasaga Beach Area 3

    This Beach Area is in the middle of the park, and is the only Beach Area with a section that allows dogs on the beach. (NOT the whole beach area!).

    It’s located near the Park Office, and has picnic areas.

    2 part image showing a comfort station and mobi-mat at Wasaga Beach Area 3
    Beach Area 3
    Unlike most of the Beach Areas, we had no problem finding the Mobi-Mat, as there was ACTUALLY a sign for it!

    It’s located at the 3a comfort station, which also has accessible parking.

    As with Beach Areas 1 and 2, the sand in this area was very clean, well groomed - freshly raked - and easy to walk on.

    3 part image showing a sandy beach at sunrise.
    Beach Area 4
    Wasaga Beach Area 4

    This beach area is the first one - moving west / up in the numbers! - that specifies having shallow waters and a park-like landscape.

    It has a bike path, a large playground, and dog friendly picnic areas.

    Note: Most of the picnic tables in this beach area are in the grassy areas, relatively far removed from the beach itself.

    6 part image showing various amenities at Wasaga beach area 4.
    Beach Area 4
    Another note: We didn’t see any accessible parking in this area, nor could we find the Mobi-Mat.

    We could have missed them, but we were looking - so it certainly wasn’t obvious where they were, if they existed there!

    2 part image showing sandy Wasaga beach area 5, and waves rolling in from georgian bay.
    Beach Area 5
    Wasaga Beach Area 5

    This beach area also specifies “shallow water” and having a park-like landscape, rather than the sand dunes of the first 5 beach areas.

    Like Beach Area 4, it also has a bike path and dog friendly picnic areas.

    2 part image showing the beach area 5 comfort station and picnic area.
    Beach Area 5
    This Beach Area stood out as having the largest, most fun looking playground.

    If you’re visiting with young kids, I think this would be the best beach area to book, all things considered.

    2 part image showing the large playground at Wasaga Beach Area 5.
    Beach Area 5
    The sand was really clean and well groomed - they were actually going over it, as we were there.

    In general, this whole area (Areas 2-6) had the nicest sand of all the beaches, with Beach area 1 only slightly behind.

    2 part image showing a large tractor grooming a sandy beach at wasaga beach area 5.
    Beach area 5
    Like Beach Area 5, we didn’t see any accessible parking - even by the Mobi-Mat. (Which DID exist there!)

    Again, we may have somehow missed it - but it shouldn’t require a hunt to find!

    A long sandy beach on georgian bay, with picnic tables along the sand.
    Beach Area 6
    Wasaga Beach Area 6

    Beach Area 6 is the smallest beach area in Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, and has limited capacity.

    Like the two newer beach areas (the first ones I mentioned in this section), the parking lot in this one isn’t paved, and has a note about the blowing sand.

    There is no accessible parking in this area, and no wheelchair accessible path to the beach itself.

    2 part image showing the parking and comfort station at Wasaga beach area 6.
    Beach Area 6
    There is also no picnic area in this section of the park.

    Finally, this area is noted as having shallow waters, and it’s also the only beach area designated for wind sports.

    There’s a sign out on the beach - down to the right - that specifies it to be a wind sport launching area.

    2 part image showing a sandy beach at sunrise, and a sign that indicates a wind sport launching area.
    Beach area 6.

    Wasaga Beach Areas At a Glance

    Having a hard time keeping the amenities straight? I don’t blame you!

    Here’s a little graph I made, listing the information provided on the Ontario Parks site... just in a bit more functional presentation.

    Please note: the amenities listed are as the park has noted. That doesn’t always line up with what we were able to find (Mobi Mats!), but I’m giving benefit of the doubt here.

    If there’s any concern, check the notes on the area you’re interested in, above!

    A graph organizing amenity information at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park.
    Note: Information is based on the Wasaga Beach Provincial Park website. We weren't able to find everything mentioned, especially with regards to Mobi-Mats.

    Rentals

    In the summer, the park offers Personal Floatation Devices (PFDs) for rent, available at each of the Gatehouses in Beach Areas 1-6. A refundable deposit is required.

    As mentioned in the accessibility section, two different types of beach-specific all-terrain wheelchairs are available to borrow with a refundable deposit.

    You can get those at the Park Office and at the Welcome Center.

    In the winter, the Wasaga Nordic & Trail Centre offers rentals of cross-country skis, snowshoes, and fat bikes.

    A large outdoor wind sport activity metre.

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    Entertainment and Activity

    Like most provincial parks, there are several different outdoor activities available at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park - even beyond the obvious (swimming!)

    Here’s some information about what we saw and did:

    Hiking

    The trail system in the park is removed from the beach areas - maybe a 5 minute drive from Beach Area 1, or the Nancy Island Parking lot.

    It’s kind of a self-contained park of its own, housing the over 30 km of trails in a big pine-oak forest.

    This was ... an intimidating and disappointing mess, to be honest.

    4 part image showing various views on the Wasaga Beach hiking trails.

    All of these recreational trails are accessed via a single trail head, at the Wasaga Nordic & Trail Centre.

    The hiking description on the web page talks about passing the “raised beaches” - remnants of a glacial lake - as you enter the trail system, and how you’ll see foredunes and huge parabolic sand dunes.

    Wish we could tell you what any of that means - it was a very flat forest walk, looking like any other super basic trail.

    One problem is that the whole system is only mentioned in aggregate on the map and any info posted about it - it’s a big spaghetti mess of trails.

    None of the maps - except for one on the side of the building - have any specific trail named, nothing is separated by colour or symbol, (there are named trail signs ON the trails, though - Blueberry Trail seems to be a main one!), and there’s no info about anything like length, difficulty, or what you’ll see, and where.

    4 part image showing various views on the Wasaga Beach hiking trails.

    Were we on a trail that had parabolic sand dunes?

    No idea.

    So, if you like randomly wandering the woods without any real direction, this is a good one for you.

    If you like to know what’s up... this one is just frustrating. (See the map under the Winter Activities section, to see what I mean!)

    As my husband says... “They were definitely SKI TRAILS that they allow you to walk on in the summer... not the other way around”.

    Anyway, they were wide, relatively flat, not super well groomed - from the little we saw of it.

    I’d tell you which trail we were on, but I have no idea. Clearly!

    A bike trail with a sign saying Shore Lane Trail, Great Lakes Waterfront Trail.

    Biking

    There’s a network of trails going though Beach Areas 1-5 that allows for cycling.

    Additionally, Shore Lane Trail is also open for biking on - it goes through both park lands, and City of Wasaga land.

    Finally, people were cycling in the hiking trail system during our walk... but I didn’t see anything mentioning it as a bike trail. It certainly worked as one, though!

    Several cyclists on the trails at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park.

    Swimming

    It seems kind of silly to have a swimming section, when the whole post is about a swimming beach, doesn’t it?

    I’m a stickler for format, though, so let’s do this! 🙂

    See my Day-Use section for specifics on the amenities in each of the different beach areas.

    In terms of the actual beach / swimming, the beaches at Wasaga Provincial Park are wide and sandy, with generally clean water.

    The water quality seemed really good when we were there, and CLEARLY the park does regular shoreline cleanups.

    Most of the beaches were pretty pristine , when we arrived. As I mentioned above, they were actively grooming it early that morning!

    I do feel bad for anyone that had to deal with it AFTER the Canada Day chaos, though.

    2 part image showing a crowded beach at wasaga beach provincial park, and people swimming in georgian bay.

    Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

    First off, we didn’t see a TON of birds during our stay.

    Though the hiking trails are noted to have a ton of different species, the setting made it difficult to see any of them.

    On the trail system, we saw:

    Black-Capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, Brown Creeper, Song Sparrow, White Breasted Nuthatch,

    ... and we heard: Black-Throated Green Warbler, Downy Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, House Wren, Northern Flicker, Ovenbird, Pine Warbler, Red Breasted Nuthatch, Red-Eyed Vireo, White-Throated Sparrow.

    On the way to the beach - walking from the parking lot, past the sand dunes, and onto the beach itself:

    We saw: American Crow, Barn Swallows, Brown Thrasher, Grey Kingbird, Song Sparrow.

    ... and a VERY dramatic Killdeer. (We actually saw a second one, sitting on a nest... but the one that was running around peeping like the world was ending was HILARIOUS.)

    We heard: A Broad Winged Hawk. We were all excited about this, until we realized it was some dude with a whistle.

    3 part image showing a Killdeer, a Gray Kingbird, and the author’s husband photographing piping plovers.
    A Killdeer, a Gray Kingbird, and my husband photographing the Piping Plovers. 🙂

    Piping Plovers

    Piping Plovers are a super tiny, endangered shorebird.

    30 years after disappearing from the area, they started nesting at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park again - about 15 years ago.

    Now, they’re closely monitored, and fences are put up around the nesting sites, giving them plenty of room. This is RIGHT down on the beach, in Beach Area 1.

    ... good lord, were they ever cute.

    We saw both adults and tiny, fat little fluffball baby Piping Plovers running around!

    The way they skittered around the beach - absolutely dwarfed by the seagulls - was amazing to watch.

    At some point, a park staff member set up a scope aimed into the enclosure, and was there to answer any questions about the birds and the program.

    10/10, best aspect of the park!

    3 part image showing an adult piping plover, a baby piping plover, and a group of baby piping plovers on the beach.
    Piping Plovers!

    Boating

    You’ll see all kinds of boating out on Georgian Bay, including motorboats, sailboats and wind surfing.

    There are two boat launches in the vicinity of the park - a Provincial Park boat launch in Beach Area 1, and a municipal boat launch next to the Welcome Centre & Nancy Island Historic Site parking lot.

    2 part image showing the 2 boat launches at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park.
    Top: The Boat Launch in Wasaga Beach Area 1
    Bottom: The municipal boat launch next to the welcome centre.
    Beach Area 6 is the one designated as allowing wind sports.

    There’s also a 32 km long canoe route - the Nottawasaga Canoe Route - along the Nottawasaga River.

    While there aren’t any canoe launches in the park, there are a couple nearby, outside of the park: One is off Oxbow Drive at the Schooner Town Heritage Site, and the other is on Klondike Park Road, at the Wasaga Sports Park.

    Someone Kayaking on the Nottawasaga River.
    Nottawasaga River, near Nancy Island

    Fishing

    Georgian Bay is a popular spot for fishing in general, and there are two ways you can engage in fishing in the park: In a boat, or off the shore.

    See above for the boat launch options.

    In terms of shore fishing, you’re allowed to fish on the south shore of Beach Area 1, near the Nottawasaga River bank.

    There’s also river bank fishing allowed from the Nancy Island parking lot.. Just NOT from Nancy Island proper.

    Pickerel, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Splake are the fish you can expect to find.

    Finally, Wasaga Beach Provincial Park participates in the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Tackleshare Program, loaning fishing equipment out for free.

    This is available out of the Welcome Center at the Nancy Island Historic Site.

    A piping plover, absolutely dwarfed by a seagull standing behind it.
    Can you believe the size difference? The Piping Plovers are teeny tiny!

    Discovery Program

    The Discovery Program at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park seems to be a bit different than most we’ve seen described.

    They do have the usual activity book available (at the welcome center), but it sounds like their programming is generally aimed to be more of “book an interpreter to talk to your school” kind of thing, rather than some of the programming we see at other parks.

    Given the mainstream draw of the park, I guess that makes sense, though.

    We were shocked at how few people even noticed the Piping Plovers enclosure, when that was THE DRAW for us. Imagine being like 20 meters from an endangered species, and NOT taking a look?

    Normies are weird. Anyway. Yeah. I don’t think people flock (ha!) to this park for the educational opportunities.

    Winter Activities

    I had no idea Wasaga Beach was known for any kind of winter activities - I’m so used to hearing of it exclusively in the summer!

    Once the snow settles, the park apparently turns into a winter wonderland, with 24 km of groomed trails for cross-country skiing, and a 10 km snowshoe trail through a forest!

    There are ski trails available for all levels, from beginner to challenging, and the Wasaga Nordic & Trail Centre offers warm up shelters and equipment rentals as well.

    A few notes:

    1. See the Nordic Trail Map on the Ontario Parks website for more winter trail information.

    2. In the winter, the park hours are 9 am – 5 pm, and there an additional fee for cross country skiing.

    3. As we definitely learned this past winter - which was near *tropical*, IMHO - it’s important to check out Ontario Parks Snow Report OFTEN, when planning your trip. Trail conditions can vary wildly day to day, and be shut down almost overnight.

    2 part image showing the wasaga beach nordic centre and a winter trail map on the outside of the building.

    Niantic Games

    There are a TON of portals / Pokestops / gyms / etc throughout the park, with an especially high concentration on Nancy Island.

    Whichever beach you go to, you should have no problem at least getting your daily tasks in.

    A rope and wood fence, leading out to Georgian Bay

    Final Thoughts

    Oof. Where to start? Totally a mixed bag for us.

    The park as it was at 6-8 am? Absolutely gorgeous. We loved the Piping Plovers, and this was definitely the nicest, best groomed beach either of us has ever been on, anywhere.

    You know, if only it stayed that way - both in cleanliness and peacefulness!

    The crowds were definitely a deal breaker for us, as we knew they would be. This is probably an extrovert’s paradise, and I bet it’s a great place to see and be seen.

    We, uh... are not extroverts.

    We did choose to stick around a bit later than we would normally have, JUST to say we did. Several of my friends told me I’d lost my mind, when I told them what we were up to, LOL.

    If you go there early enough, it’s totally worth it to get in, see the Piping Plovers, and get out.

    Otherwise.. I guess have patience? It’s a logistical mess of a park, from every possible angle - maps, signage, that whole trail nonsense, parking layout, massive crowds.

    But hey, there really is a park for everyone, right? Everyone we saw there looked to be having a really great time - more power to them!

    For us... we drove back to Meaford Memorial Park and sat on the little strip of beach behind our RV, quiet and separated from the public beach.

    Feet in the water, only hearing the waves come in, and doing a shot of bougie maple syrup.

    That’s more our Canada Day style.

    A huge crown on wasaga beach.

    More Places to See

    Looking for some nice sights to see and great places to visit while you're out on your camping adventures? Here are a few of our favourite day use parks, attractions, etc.

    Batchawana Bay
    Big Bay, Ontario
    Bruce Peninsula National Park
    Doube's Trestle Bridge
    Falls Reserve Conservation Area
    Flowerpot Island
    Menesetung Bridge
    Point Pelee National Park
    Scenic Caves Nature Adventures
    Spirit Rock Conservation Area
    Temagami Fire Tower

    Waves rolling in onto a georgian bay shoreline.

    Thanks for Reading!

    If you loved this post - or have any questions about it - please leave a comment below! We'd also love it if you would consider sharing the link on social media!

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    • Looking down at the Roy Wilson Suspension Bridge from one platform.
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