Grand Bend, ON
Although primarily a summer beach town, Rita, Nina and I took a Fall weekend trip to “Ontario’s West Coast” and still managed to pack in a lot of interesting activities.
Hiking On the outskirts of Grand Bend is Pinery Provincial Park with many short trails for hiking. First for us was the Wilderness Trail at the North End of the Park. The trail loop itself is only 3km, but it has access to the Park’s 10km beach on the shores of Lake Huron, so we walked partway along this and back to create a 7.5km trail. The beach is actually known as the “Dog Beach”, as dogs are allowed off-leash. Needless to say, Rita loved this freedom, and made the most of it by playing fetch, greeting other dogs, paddling and digging holes.
After this, we completed the Heritage Trail, meandering through endangered Oak Savanna and visiting the lookout over the Old Ausable River Channel. There had recently been a moth infestation in the Park and traces of large webs and leaf-free Oak trees remained. The last trail of the day was the Cedar Trail, with an optional extension to the lookout. We did follow this extension but the end point was on a stretch of beach where pets were prohibited so we turned back.
The head of the Cedar Trail is next to the visitor centre, including an exhibit with information about the Park and a gift shop. Nina and I chose this opportunity to stop for lunch in a covered seating area. We were especially grateful for this as it had begun to rain!
Sleeping Our pet-friendly AirBnb for the night was a 5 minute walk from the main street of Grand Bend. The host Jennifer was extremely responsive and gave us recommendations for restaurants. We were especially grateful for the underfloor heating and thoughtful touches like shampoo/conditioner/body wash dispensers in the shower. The small kitchen was sufficient for us to make breakfast each morning, Rita had plenty of room to run around in the back garden and in nicer weather we would have sat outside around the firepit.
Movie night Although visiting in October meant it got dark early, we found a perfect activity for our Saturday night: a drive-in movie! Starlite Drive-in Theatre is located 10 minutes’ drive from the town centre, and welcomes friendly pets. Luckily for us, the new James Bond film (No Time to Die) was showing that night. The complex includes a refreshment hut and washrooms. Rita was content snuggling up in the front seat next to me, following the action (but she fell asleep before the end).
This is me looking like an actual Canadian
Rita is hoping next time she will on the big screen
The town Grand Bend itself was pretty quiet during our stay. Restaurants were either closed for the season, or shut early. Those remaining open became busy with long wait times for the tables. On Sunday morning, Nina returned to Pinery to canoe down the river, whilst Rita and I explored the town. It was a little livelier at this time and I was able to visit a gift shop (with Rita tied outside). We headed down to Grand Bend (North) beach and dandered along the shoreline. The plus side of visiting at this time of year was that leashed dogs are allowed on the beach. In-season they are not, due to the beach’s Blue Flag status.
Eating A disadvantage of coming at this time of year was, although dogs are usually welcomed on patios, the patios tended to be shut for the season. For both our dinners we left Rita in the AirBnB. However on Sunday we had our lunch at The Lake Hound. As expected, dogs are very welcome here on the patio during the summer. It was a sunny, dry day so we were able to get takeout and sit on the patio, but outdoor table service was not provided. There were many vegan options on the menu and I went for the vegan Caesar salad with meat-free chick’n.
Get crafty Forest Glen Herb Farm, run by Cynthia Cook for almost 40 years, holds a comprehensive repository of plants, both edible and non-edible, for cooking, making tea and crafting. Visitors can explore the greenhouses and visit the shop to purchase herbs for their own creations, or buy handmade jams, soaps and decorations. Nina and I booked a private Fall wreath-making class, where we spent 2 hours creating our own wreaths to hang on our doors at home. Cynthia guided us along, introducing us to the different dried flowers she had selected for us, and teaching us how to arrange them. As the class took place outside, Rita was allowed to be tied up beside us, although she had to wait in the car for a bit while Cynthia found her two cats to take inside. We were very pleased with our creations and I also bought some tea from the shop, one of which I’m drinking as I type this (liquorice!).
