Bluffs rising up from the sandy beaches, sprawling willow trees, lovely mixed forest and pleasant trails – Point Farms provides the quintessential Lake Huron experience.

Our Experience

We arrived in Goderich mid-afternoon, picked up a few groceries and headed to our site in Colborne. I was pleasantly surprised by the scenic drive through the forest on the way in. I knew there would be some forested areas, but my mind wouldn’t let go of a more sparse, field-type setting. The word “farm” in the title, I guess!

We booked a site just a few weeks ago. We were lucky to get one of the last 2 left! With a good privacy and quality rating, I think someone must have just canceled. Site 147 was pretty large, with fairly even ground and a nice big maple in the middle. I’m not sure I would consider it overly private – it was completely open to the road along the front. There were trees on the other 3 sides, just not enough to provide a lot privacy.  Somewhat subjective though – I definitely prefer secluded sites, and may have my expectations fairly high for car-camping!

We set up the basics and then hit the beach! We walked down the road to the water – all downhill. It’s pretty far down from the bluffs, but I didn’t find it too bad. Driving may be a better option for those who don’t want to do a whole lot of stairs, or walk the winding road up and down.

 

After the beach was campfire time!  We were impressed with how dry the wood was – Ontario Parks has a reputation for damp firewood, and we certainly had an issue our last camping trip.

My son chopped the wood, my daughter and I built the fire, and then it was marshmallow, soup, and hotdog time! My daughter has decided it is her job to make a soup over the fire every camping trip.

The next day we had a leisurely coffee, played some card games in the tent, went for a walk, packed up and hit the beach again.

Hiking

There are 6 kms of diverse trails.

The Under The Bluff Trail is a 0.5 km linear trail through trees below the bluffs, close enough to Huron to hear the waves.

The Ravine Trail is another linear trail. It has a rating of moderate and is 1 km. Being along a ravine, I imagine this would qualify as more of a hike than the other trails!

Old Farms Trail is a 4 km loop with a rating of easy. This is the one we chose, doing the Hare and Tortoise side trails to loop back for a shorter stroll. Super easy trail with open spaces, trees, an old barn and lots of chirping creatures. It was a picture-perfect summer day, with chirping grasshoppers and cicadas serenading us.

 

 

 

 

Swimming

The sandy beaches of Lake Huron are amazing. The water was warm enough, and shallow for a long ways out. The spot we chose had a lot of little rocks, but just at the edge of the water. We all enjoy searching for interesting ones anyway!

The second day we were down the beach just a bit and had all sand.

Cycling

Lots of families were biking along the roads of the campground and apparently the trails are open to cyclists. I didn’t notice anything about which trails specifically – maybe all of them? My daughter just learned to ride a bike, so by next summer this is something that I will need to know before all our camping trips!

Winter Activities

The park is closed, but hiking and cross-country skiing is permitted. Snowmobiles may be used on the roads.

Surrounding Area

Goderich is a quaint little town with a beautiful old downtown. The downtown square has a Saturday Farmers’ Market from 8-1. Sunday there is a Flea Market in the square from 9-3.

Bayfield is about 25 minutes south of Point Farms, and is definitely worth a visit! Wonderful heritage village in the town of Bluewater. The treed main street is lined with boutiques, restaurants and little hotels. We had a fantastic dinner at the Albion Hotel, wandered around the shops, stopped at the playground/splashpad, then headed to the Blue Flag beach and pier for sunset.

Bayfield Photo Album

Planning a trip?

There are 2 campgrounds at Point Farms – Huron and Colborne. Both have playgrounds, comfort stations and a mix of electric and non-electric sites. There are about 100 sites in each campground. The main difference is that Huron is radio-free and further from the beach.

Group camping is available.

You can book a site beginning at 7 am, 5 months in advance.