Beach Time Day Trip at Grand Bend – Ontario’s West Coast

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Summer peak is in Ontario at the moment and there’s no other way to spend it than soaking up the sun at a beach. If you’re not in the East Coast Canada to get the Atlantic waters or the West Coast side for the pacific waters, then like me, you’re stuck beach-ing at the lakes.

Grand Bend Beach, situated on Lake Huron, is one of the beaches in Ontario that is easily accessible for a day trip if you’re around the Kitchener-Waterloo or London area. It’s also doable for a weekend trip if you want to explore Ontario’s West Coast. It’s flocked with University of Western Ontario in London since the institution is about an hour away so expect the jocks, sororities, university and high school students on summer break and of course families enjoying the great Canadian hot weather. Work the tan before hibernation.

The Day Trip

Get here early, specially on weekends or a long weekend. The parking lot by the beach gets filled up pretty quickly which costs CAD $20.00 per day. The side parking on Main Street is CAD $2.00 per hour and you can pay using the Honk mobile app. Here are some parking tips to prepare yourself how to get there.

Nice thing about the lake beaches, in my opinion, is that it’s not salt water so I can wear my sunglasses on the water and it won’t get ruined. When I accidentally (or just) drink it, I won’t make a face of ‘ugh it’s salt water’.

I spent the whole day soaking up the sun because the pale me needs to tan. The morning water was cold but that didn’t stop me from dipping myself and walk on the shore

There are a couple of water activities at the beach. Parasailing is the most prominent one that I saw about 2 or 3 simultaneously. Cruise tours are offered for anyone who wish to see Lake Huron. Pinery Provincial Park is another popular spot for outdoor activities. An 8 minute drive from the beach, about 9 km away, good for hiking, camping, and stare at the lake shaded by the green lushed trees should you get sick of lying down on the beach. Hike up and enjoy one of the “Top 10 Best Sunsets in the World” according to National Geographic.

Beach Break

Main Street is the heart of Grand Bend where you can grab eats from fine dining restaurants to your craved local fast food menu of burgers and hotdogs. Spend monies to shop swimwear, Canadian souvenirs and sweets.

After baking in the heat, I walked on Main Street to grab ice cream to cool myself down. When I saw the Kawartha Dairy sign at Grand Bend Sweet Shoppe, it sold me. Kawartha diary products are rare find. This family owned dairy company has three shops up north but not in the GTA area.

It’s not hard to spot because you’ll see the cute kid with the ice cream, big sign of the shop, and funnel cake advertisement. Got butter pecan and bear claw (rawr) on a cup!