My daughter loves being in the water all summer long. She also loves trails to hike on to support her constant hunt for the coolest walking stick. With these passions in mind and a beautiful day ahead, we packed up for a fun day of girl's adventures. Our goal was to scope out some ideas for tons of family fun.
The best adventures always start with a place you've never been so it was off to the Crowe Bridge Park just north of Campbellford. Rumour had it the park was home to a peaceful swimming hole, places to have a picnic and trails to hike. We were not disappointed.
The river is a perfect habitat for minnows and crawfish - make sure you bring a net to do some catch-and-release minnow fishing! Unfortunately, we were not successful with our small leftover container as a makeshift net - although my persistent girl did try very hard! After many attempts, she decided it was time for a swim, leaving us just enough time to get an ice cream cone and some super squeaky cheese curds from Empire Cheese. We may have failed on that mission! We found a perfect rocky outcrop to stand on and, as so gracefully shown in the video, if you do a little dance you can have fun looking at the bridge, the trees and the rapids all at the same time!
We arrived at the park mid-morning and it was so quiet! We were awed by the scenery and in love with the stone river base and the small waterfalls. The stones gave us plenty of areas to climb and we had fun hopping from rock to rock in an attempt to keep our feet dry.
If you're looking for other places to swim, there are plenty of places to enjoy in the area. There are also lots of other fun activities happening throughout:
- Port Hope has a lovely sand beach with a playground and washrooms. Just north of Port Hope, you can visit Laveanne Lavender Farm particularly in July when there are fields of purple.
- Rice Lake has a small parkette on the south shore at 110 Sandy Bay Road, Roseneath. The swimming area is sandy and shallow. This is a good spot for a picnic with tables and swings in place.
- Little Lake at Lake Road between Colborne and Brighton has a grassy, sloped beach with a warm, safe swimming area but bring some water shoes or flip flops if you've got them as it is a rock base. Lake Road is part of the Presqu'ile Promise signed cycling loop.
- Presqu'ile Provincial Park has a fantastic beach as well as a lighthouse and interpretive centre, great walking trails that take you through a variety of habitats and camping options. The Friends of Presqu'ile Park also host their annual "History Weekend" on the August long weekend so be sure to check that out for old-fashioned games, and a Sunday night ghost walk.
- Campbellford has the Lion's Park Beach (as well as Crowe Bridge Park as mentioned in the intro)
- Ferris Provincial Park in Campbellford offers campsites, trails to explore, birding opportunities, a boat launch for fishing and launching canoes or kayaks (you can swim, but it's not shallow), and the Ranney Gorge Suspension Bridge.
- Cobourg's gorgeous beach is also an option, and is host to the annual Sandcastle Festival that takes place every year on the Saturday of the August long weekend. Downtown Cobourg has their annual sidewalk sale and street festival with live entertainment, children's activities, a movie on the beach and - of course - the fantastic wares of downtown merchants.
by Angela Johnson
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