Lambton Shores (Grand Bend)

Lambton Shores is home to two very popular summer destinations: Grand Bend and the Pinery Provincial Parks. On the shores of Lake Huron, Grand Bend is a beach community with a bustling main street brimming with shopping, restaurants and patios. With close to 50 km of glorious Blue Flag beach and sandy lake bottoms, this is one of the best places to enjoy Lake Huron. Loads of accommodation choices available including camping but book ahead since it is a popular destination.

The Trail meanders into the neighbourhood of Port Franks along quiet roads lined with Carolinian forest. Just north of Port Franks on HWY 21 you find Grog’s a favourite eatery for locals and visitors.

Located about 10 km southwest of Grand Bend, Pinery Povincial Park is the largest protected forest in southwestern Ontario and is a host to over 757 plant, 325 bird and 60 butterfly species. Enjoy over 6000 acres of Ontario’s most beautiful scenery with opportunities for swimming, canoeing, kayaking, hydrobiking, camping, fishing and cycling. The canopy of Oak Savanna woodland breaks into undulating sand dunes and stretches of beautiful beach along Lake Huron. Tent camping and yurts available. National Geographic ranked it among the top ten places to see a sunset and a great year-round destination.

Heritage enthusiasts should check out the Lambton Shores Heritage Museum, which is right on the Trail.

Hikers should visit Lambton Shores Nature Trails for a variety of nature hikes in the area. http://www.lsntblazers.com/trails.html

Lambton Shores Gap

The Lambton Shores Waterfront Trail uses a mix of residential streets and the Grand Bend Rotary Trail, a dedicated path that connects the Pinery Provincial Park to Grand Bend. It currently has two gaps in the route where HWY 21 is the only through way. Highway 21 is a provincial roadway posted as 80km/hr with little to no shoulders and high volumes of traffic during summer months. In its current state, the HWY cannot be signed as the Waterfront Trail; we continue to work with the Ministry of Transportation to find a suitable way to close the gap.

In the meantime, we have worked with Lambton Shores to identify a route to detour around the HWY 21 gaps. The unsigned route is marked in brown on Map 30. The alternate route is 21 kms and uses gravel roads (16 km) and paved regional roads (5 km) travelling by farm fields. During some times of the year, the gravel routes may be quite soft to cycle on.