This article is the fourth in Global News’ Ontario Road Trips series, offering getaways to some fun locales across the province. Our first adventure took us to Paris, our second stop was Elora and our third was Goderich.
A drive down to Leamington, Ont., will not only take you to a town in Ontario’s warmest county with a large, sandy beach and authentic Mexican cuisine but also to a national park that boasts Canada’s southernmost mainland point.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Kingsville offers plenty of restaurants and shopping in an idyllic downtown as well as the fun-for-the-whole-family Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens.
Unparalleled biodiversity
There’s plenty to do at Point Pelee National Park, which Parks Canada describes as both Canada’s second-smallest national park and its most biologically diverse site, home to over 60 federally-listed species at risk.
The park lands include a mix of marsh, forest, fields and beaches, offering a home for a wide variety of species. It also serves as an important migration route for birds (a spokesperson said over 390 species have been recorded in the park) and is renowned as a temporary home for thousands of migrating Monarch butterflies each fall.
The point itself marks the southernmost tip of mainland Canada and while visitors can walk the beach to the very tip, dangerous currents mean swimming is completely prohibited there. A shuttle bus provides quick transport from the Visitor’s Centre to the tip, running roughly every 20 minutes.
While there’s no swimming at the tip, the park still offers other locations for swimming as well as areas for kayaking. Information about safe swimming areas and water quality can be found on Parks Canada’s website. The park also offers overnight camping.
Which way to the beach?
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Once you leave the park, a 12-minute drive northwest along Lake Erie will take you to Seacliff Beach and the adjoining Seacliff Park.
The beach features multiple beach volleyball courts, washrooms with showers, an accessible boardwalk and a mobility mat that extends roughly to the water’s edge. The local health unit tests water quality on a weekly basis.
The adjoining Sunset Amphitheatre has free concerts scheduled for the remaining Saturdays in July.
There are also two basketball courts marking the transition from the beach to Seacliff Park, which also includes a tomato-themed splash pad – in honour of the historic importance of the crop to Leamington, known as the Tomato Capital of Canada. The municipality also boasts “the largest concentration of greenhouses in North America.”
Restaurants and retail
If you’re looking for a bite to eat, Leamington is home to some of the best authentic Mexican restaurants in Ontario, according to the Culinary Tourism Alliance.
The town’s massive greenhouses and fertile fields are largely supported by migrant workers, a majority of whom come from Mexico and the Caribbean. As the alliance writes, some of those who have been able to stay over the years have set up businesses, including many authentic Mexican restaurants.
A little further west in the neighbouring town of Kingsville, a charming downtown provides a perfect backdrop for a dinner of lake perch followed by some retail therapy at specialty shops selling everything from yarn to chocolate to handmade goods from local artists.
Also in Kingsville, right at the edge of Leamington, you can find Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens.
While the name reflects its beginnings as a plant retailer, the 35-acre farm – 3.5 of which are indoors – now boasts a restaurant, mini golf, arcade, petting farm and more.
Road tripping
Leamington is a less-than-two-hours’ drive southwest from London and nearly a four hours’ drive from Toronto. You can take Highway 401 for the majority of the journey, or take Highway 403 to the 401.
After passing through Middlesex, Elgin, and Chatham-Kent counties, motorists can exit the 400 series in Essex County, turning onto Highway 77 for the rest of the journey.
Those coming from Sarnia can drive about an hour and 45 minutes to Leamington heading south on Highway 40 and then zig-zagging through county roads.
If drivers don’t mind an extra 20 minutes – and the threat of border delays – they can head through the United States by taking the Bluewater Bridge to the I-94 down to Detroit, MI., stop for some stateside shopping, and then cross through the tunnel into Windsor and take Highway 3 all the way there.