Presqu'ile Provincial Park — Attraction in Brighton

DO NOT BOOK SITE #57 in High Bluff. It is one of the worst sites, zero privacy, people drive by so fast that your RV or tent will be full of dirt n dust, may be because there is no 20km speed limit signs nearby. You may have a lake view at Site 57 if you can see through dust created by inconsiderate campers, but it is at the mercy of parks officer as they love to block that view by parking their truck at staff access to the Lake. I may not return to Presqu'ile again, at least not anywhere close to the High Bluff campsite. Other campsites have better environments and better sites, especially Pines Campsite. Not all sites on the highbluff have lake access. There is a drop before you get to the lake. Only 4 or 5 sites there have a lake access. Park Store is mostly closed at times and any other park stores they may have. Garbage disposal is ample, always clean, and tidy. Bathrooms are good, maintained, BUT can not regulate water heat, I almost burn myself as I like Luke warm water for shower. Sites have a lot of mud or super saturated sites, so be mindful of that. In my view, site #57 SHOULD be converted into a parking lot because most guests will illegally park their vehicles right across the site to access the trail and the beach, therefore might as well do that to help people. Public boat launch is on the other side of the campsite, about 8kms round trip on water to get to campsite side, which is lake Ontario. We, however, had a small 80 lbs tin Boat with a 5hp small motor and an electric troller motor so we carried across the road to the lake and launched, as long as one can carry it and no trailer attached is fine to launch into the waterbody especially lake Ontario. A few beautiful trails this park offers were awesome. We loved the preserved islands as bird sanctuaries and thanks to staff and friends of the park who maintain that tirelessly. The park must place an officer on the check point #2. The worst experience apart from the Site#57, was the Potable Water and Dumpsite. First, the staff failed to advise if they even had potable water stations, as she said only taps to fill water into the RV. We happened to find the site, but it was full of people leaving and arriving at the same site and only two lanes. Why can't the park keep both traffic separate? It is beyond my understanding. RV haulers watch for speed bumps, and they may get you off guard. Raccoons will definitely pay your campsite a visit. They're all over the place, cute but annoying. Brighton town roads are bad, potholes, and very narrow. Overall, it was an annoying experience compared to Killbear or Algonquin parks. However, we were closer to nature, birds, Lake Ontario, habitat, and, of course, the sandbanks, so we tried to ignore other issues and enjoyed as much as we could. Remember not to book Site #57 in High Bluff campsite; believe me you...

Stayed here for 3 nights in August. The experience was decent. Bring a bike to get around, as the park is quite flat and easy to navigate by bike. The views along the beaches are spectacular and it was fun kayaking along the north shore where the waters are calm (note: you can only launch a kayak/canoe from the private residences' "government dock" or from Calf Pasture Point). I was lucky enough to snag a site at High Bluffs, amongst a stand of dead ash trees that worryingly leaned over our site. I appreciate the scale of devastation the emerald ash borer has caused to the trees in the park, but I was concerned about health and safety of visitors should there be inclement weather. Speaking of inclement weather, a significant rain event saturated the ground, and with the poor drainage of our site, remained puddled for the remaining 2 days of our trip. Additionally, the trail to the washroom never drained, forcing visitors to walk along its margins to avoid the mud. The men's washroom only had 2 stalls to be shared amongst too many campers. The women's washroom only ever had 1 soap dispenser that worked. It would also have been nice for more than 1 dish washing sink to have been installed, as line-ups would get pretty long. I also took issue with the park's map, which seemed to indicate that access to the beach was possible from the parking lot at the Owen Point Trail. Rather, the sandy beach is only available at Beach 1 and Beach 2, approximately a 40-minute walk from High Bluffs campsite. A more accurate/detailed map would have been appreciated so that I would have known not to attempt the hike to the beach with a beach umbrella and lawn chairs in hand. Including notes on where kayaks/canoes can be launched would also be appreciated, as well as indicating that parking is available at the Marsh Boardwalk (my bad, but again, I did not know there was parking here since it was not indicated on the map). Mosquitos were bad, but I don't blame the park. Notes from other guests about foul smelling gunk at the beach are accurate, at least along the southern end of Beach 2. Dead birds (due to botulism) are ever present. My final remark is that, while 2/4 encounters with the park staff were positive, I was dismayed to have been declined first aid treatment that I was requesting for a bee sting. I was informed that, although their park pamphlet indicates that park staff have training and first aid supplies, there was "nothing they could do" to fulfill my request for a cold compress to soothe the sting or any assistance to get back to my campsite, as I was a 30-minute walk away and had been stung on the bottom of my foot. The park staff I spoke to on the phone, as well as the individual who checked me in were very curt and lacked social etiquettes/were...

We were at site 502 for a group camp. The group sites are well laid out and are mostly flat with the ones from 502 to 513 being covered by grass. 501 appears to be heavily used and as such has more bare soul than grass.

There are taps in the group sites area and have movable toilets that were surprisingly cleaner than one would expect them to be.

The group site is not clearly marked and shares it's boundaries with a trail. The road to the site is one way and from the site to the office it's a very long winded route through the trails and lighthouse road. This was a pain given that the nearest comfort station was close to the individual site office. The one way must be removed as it is tedious, arduous, time consuming and quite frankly silly.

The comfort station at the Maple site near the amphitheatre is clean but has showers that are not fully functional.

The amphitheatre is the saving grace at the park as many actives are held during the day.

The nature centre is further down the road from the group site and is a must visit. Again very well maintained and the staff are knowledgeable too.

The water near the amphitheatre is clean and the shores are rocky but can be easily treaded upon.

Another attraction is the Marsh Boardwalk that walks one through the marsh safely except for a place where the boards are almost falling apart. The boardwalk leads throght planet and trees. Don't miss the horse shaped trees towards the end of the boardwalk.

There are 2 beaches closer to the entrance and far off from the campgrounds. The water at the beaches is smelly and dirty thanks to the algae, moss, feathers and all kind of dirt. The beaches is place to some rare species of birds that visit the park during this time of the year.

Given a choice I prefer the water near the amphitheatre over the water at the beach.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the distance from the entrance to the sites is really long and could have been marked better especially the campgrounds and group sites.

Thr lighthouse area is clean and there is a lot of history to know when you visit there.

We also saw many deers in the park and there is a sizeable population of them in the park.

Overall I would rate the park 8/10 for the beauty, natural richness, and places or things to see or do. The deduction in scoring will be primarily for the unwanted one way route passing around the park and the poor markings...