Port Burwell Provincial park is a hidden gem in Southwestern Ontario. Located about 45 minutes from London and within a couple hours of Toronto this provincial park offers great camping, and a pretty nice beach too. We've stayed at the park twice, and both times chose to stay in the Leander Campground. All bathrooms/shower facilities are less than a year old and are spacious and fairly easy to access. They have a great playground which a must for our two young children. The sites are spacious, and all have the typical shared hookups for electricity which are features in all Prov. parks. The area is very rustic, and features plenty of mature trees which gives it almost a Northern Ontario feel. The gatehouse sells some basic amenities, but if you forget any key items Port Burwell only has one small convenience store (Red and White Store) which can sometimes have limited hours. The closest main grocery store would be in Aylmer which is a good 30 minute drive away. The beach at the park is quite nice, although a lot of people have complained that they stopped grooming the sand. The park claims that not grooming is better for wildlife in and around the lake. We personally skipped the beach at the park as you have to hike over a huge Sand-dune which is tough for anyone with mobility issues. They need to build a walkway over the dunes similar to what is featured at the Pinery. The public beach in the town of Port Burwell is nice also as an alternative. The park has recently added extra amenities including a water station that can accommodate two RVs at once to fill up your water tank when you arrive at the park. They have also expanded their dumping station for your toilet (so again two RVS can be using the dumping station at once). We also noticed they had felled a few trees in the entrances to some sites at they were causing an obstacle to people trying back their RV into their site. These removals in no way harmed the atmosphere or dense forest around the park. We also noticed they had made efforts to add gravel into the entrance of some sites to alleviate some soggy/muddy areas which form when it rains. We've done both Spring and Fall camping at Port Burwell and found getting availability was easy. We highly recommend site 151 in Leander!
This is a great review and I agree with everything mentioned. Just to add: 1. For those with small children and pets; please note that Port Burwell Prov. park has poison ivy pretty well everywhere. Poison Ivy can be found adjacent to alot of the camp sites. Recognize poison ivy and where it is. 2. Racoons can be aggressive when they see food. Come evening they come out looking for a meal. Proper food storage and waste containment is paramount here. Racoons can be vary crafty by getting into closed garbage containers due to their front paw toes being much like our hands. 3. For navy buffs a former cold war submarine that was used by the canadian navy is permantly set up in town as a museum. 4. The park has approx. 2 kms. of beach, the east 1 km. is pet friendly, dogs are allowed on the beach, and must still be leashed. 5. Just west of the park along the beach there is 1 km. of private beach where nude sunbathing, swimming is allowed by the owner. Note: this is on private property and not in the prov. park. Happy Camping!
Funny how Frank knows about the private beach .... .. Thanks for the review ... sounds like a great park..
Just Camped this past weekend at Port Burwell Provincial Park. Lot 111 at Leander. We have a 12 foot tent trailer and loved the site. Gravel. Easy to maneuver. Really wish they allowed 2 vehicles to park on the site, (there was room) because we have a large family and very large dog, we need to take 2 vehicles. The park for the kids was great. They are 4 and 6 and next time, I will try to get a site a bit closer so they can go and I can watch from my site. We forgot to bring nighttime pull ups and when we arrived at the gate at 10pm, they indicated a store in Port Burwell called Wellington gas and store had just closed. I called and she answered, agreeing to stay open to allow me to purchase diapers. What a great feeling. I give this park a 4/5 Lots of poison ivy and mosquitos. Wished they had a bigger onsite store. Kim and Chris
Hello Everyone!! I have camped all over Ontario and I am quite knowledgeable when it comes to this area. Port Burwell is all that everyone has stated but missing a few things. For 2015, please make sure that yourself, kids and animals are sprayed with OFF Deepwoods or some other deet product for the ticks. The whole area from Port Stanley northward are bad this time of year. Lyme Disease is brutal. The other thing that should be included is the fishing. Trout season, bass season and perch are awesome in Lake Erie!! There are boat rentals and charters all over the place.
We make a point of visiting this park atleast once a year. It really is a terrific campground. Sites vary in size and privacy, and some of the best overlook a large ravine. Tree coverage is quite thick, so sometimes it will feel later than it actually is....that's not a bad thing. It's the woods, yes there will be mosquitos. The beach is not close, so hop in the car to go there, yes they stopped grooming the sand ..... hey, it's camping not the Ritz Carleton! Lake Erie, now that's another subject, and just too bad .... to me, it's disgusting! But all in all, a great Provincial Park, especially if you are in a pop-up, great sites to pick n choose
Good to see wholly positive remarks about Port Burwell. We've not been yet but plan on getting a trip in before it closes for camping in October. Any site recommendations for good privacy'? We've day-tripped to Port Burwell years ago - the maritime museum and lighthouse was interesting. I heard the submarine is expensive admission though?
2016 Update Over the course of the Winter Port Burwell Provincial Park lost over 800 Ash trees in the Leander Campground. This has always been our favourite section, and the effect of the pests/cut down trees is drastic in some areas. Anywhere in the vicinity of the bathroom/shower block in Leander has been drastically impacted. Areas which were once shady are now almost completely open and exposed to the sun. I am sure in the years to come the other plants/trees will fill in, but for now it looks like a tornado went through and ravaged the area. Of course the work was necessary for the safety of campers and the rest of the park. Thankfully the two other campgrounds within PB are not really affected.
