Taylor Campbell/The Windsor Star
In Canada’s southern-most region, the wilderness stays green for a lot longer than most of the Great White North — even if that wilderness is scarcer than just about anywhere else in the country.
The warm weather is a big reason outdoor adventurers flock to Windsor and Essex County for many months of the year, says Gordon Orr, CEO of both Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island and Invest WindsorEssex.
Much of the region is either urban or actively farmed, and it has one of the lowest tree covers in Ontario. But that makes the green spaces it does have more precious to residents and visitors alike.
“It’s a way to appreciate and celebrate the environment and your surroundings, to escape into and put on a nature lens,” Orr told the Star.
“Because we’re the southernmost region in Canada, we’re afforded a longer season for tourism, and for enjoying these nature walks. It starts with birding in April and particularly in May, and then goes right through the fall.
“You can enjoy the peace and tranquility, and the sights and the sounds of the world around us.”
With a bit of sunblock and bug spray, visitors can spend days exploring beaches, woods, marshes and meadows with lower latitudes than several U.S. states.
Here are some must-visit natural areas in Windsor and Essex County:
This uninhabited 86-acre island sits where Lake St. Clair funnels into the Detroit River. It’s home to provincially significant wetlands, which attract numerous species of waterfowl.
The ruins of whisky baron Hiram Walker’s mansion — destroyed in a 1929 fire — are still visible on the island.
In warmer months, the City of Windsor, which acquired the island in 1999, offers boat rides to and from Peche Island out of Lakeview Park Marina, about 330 metres away on the mainland. It’s also possible to kayak and canoe over.
Ojibway Prairie Complex
This collection of six natural areas located in west Windsor includes rare wetlands, forest, savanna and prairie habitats for more than 4,000 species, including 160 rare plants, insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals among them. The sites — Ojibway Park, Tallgrass Prairie Heritage Park, Black Oak Heritage Park, Spring Garden Natural Area, Oakwood Natural Area, and Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve — have trails and span more than 350 hectares. Most of them are designated areas of natural and scientific interest, which is land scientifically identified as important to natural heritage, protection, scientific study, or education.
The Ojibway Complex is scheduled to become Canada’s second national urban park.
The Ojibway Nature Centre offers free exhibits, public education, and summer programs.
Point Pelee National Park
Canada’s southernmost mainland point extends sharply into Lake Erie, culminating in a sandy tip that attracts visitors from far and wide. At roughly 1,500 hectares — 420 of dry land and 1,070 of freshwater marsh — it’s one of Canada’s smallest national parks.
A birding mecca, Point Pelee provides habitat for more than 390 species of migrating birds and attracts tens of thousands of birders each spring and fall, according to Parks Canada.
In addition to birders, the park welcomes campers, kayakers, cyclists, pedestrians, swimmers at the north west beach, and even astronomers: Point Pelee is a designated dark-sky preserve.
Admission to the park is free until Sept. 2 as part of the federal government’s Canada Strong Pass program. Otherwise, admission fees vary depending on age.
Pelee Island
The largest island in Lake Erie, Pelee Island is the southernmost populated point in Canada. It’s roughly 42 square kilometres, with around 230 permanent residents and 1,500 residents in warmer months. Notably for nature lovers, it’s home to Lighthouse Point Provincial Park, Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve, and other spots teeming with migratory birds for several months of the year. The island has restaurants, campgrounds, a public beach, and offers a 30-kilometre shoreline loop — one perhaps enjoyed best on a bicycle.
Pelee Island is accessible by ferry from April until early December, with departures leaving Leamington from April to the end of July, Kingsville from August until early December, and Sandusky, Ohio, from May until the end of September. In colder months, the only way to get to and from Pelee is by plane.
Hillman Marsh
Located in Leamington, roughly 20 minutes from Point Pelee and also along Lake Erie, this conservation area has roughly five kilometres of marsh trail bordering 87 acres of shorebird habitat.
It’s a popular spot for hiking, cycling, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, and of course, bird watching; more than 100 species use the marsh as a migration stopover.
Holiday Beach
This conservation area in Amherstburg was designated an Important Bird Area under BirdLife International’s global network. It’s considered a significant area for raptor migration and, each September, hosts the Festival of Hawks. The two-day event sees experts share information about the thousands of birds of prey migrating overhead, all viewable from a three-story observation tower.
Holiday Beach, one of several sites where conservationists conduct educational field studies, boasts trails, a boardwalk, hawk observation tower, a playground, picnic areas, a long, sandy beach on the shore of Lake Erie, and seasonal campsites with showers and washrooms.
Entry cost is $12 per vehicle or $5 per pedestrian or cyclist.
Cedar Creek Conservation Area
Located along the Essex and Kingsville municipal boundaries and flowing into Lake Erie to the south, this conservation area’s basin is considered one of the most beautiful routes in the region for canoeing and kayaking. It’s home to Carolinian woodlands and is designated a provincially significant wetland.
It’s near Kingsville’s Cedar Beach, a sandy summertime destination popular with swimmers and sunbathers. A canoe trip from the west side of the conservation area to the beach takes about an hour.
Waterways
Windsor and Essex County are surrounded on three sides by water: Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, and Lake Erie. In addition to giving residents and visitors spectacular views — particularly at sunrise and sunset — the peninsula also provides opportunities for swimming, boating, and paddling.
The mainland has several public beaches (among them Seacliff, Colchester and Lakeview Park West), plus a few places to rent canoes and kayaks, including River Canard Canoe Co. on Malden Road in LaSalle and Urban Surf Co. on Pike Creek Road in Windsor.
Editor’s note: We love where we live, and through the summer the Windsor Star and Postmedia News are running a series of stories that highlight what makes our local communities unique and special within Canada. Part 1 shone a spotlight on a hometown hero; Part 2 guides out-of-town visitors to must-see local attractions in our latest “How Canada Wins” national series.