PELEE ISLAND’S EAST PARK:
A HIDEAWAY NESTLED AMONG THE SPECTACULAR
By Vanessa Taylor
EAST PARK CAMPGROUND STORE. EAST SHORE ROAD, PELEE ISLAND, ONTARIO – At the end of the quiet, shaded gravel laneway leading into Pelee Island’s municipal East Park Campground there stands a narrow building. Nestled deep into the park, sheltered by Walnut, Oak and Elm trees, this building can’t even be seen from East Shore Road. It’s nothing spectacular, really; a simply built wooden structure resting on a padded cement foundation, with tan coloured walls, white doors and small, north facing windows. In the 1960s, the Girl Guides of Canada occupied the acreage known today as the East Park. In anticipation of their arrival, places for eating and sleeping were built by island resident volunteers and this long, simple building was once used as a Brownie bunkhouse. Today, it houses a tiny store: a hideaway, of sorts.
All the things needed for a camping adventure in a relatively isolated place can be found within the gleaming white, garage-like walls of this little shop. Activities for the beach and cottage are available too. Surrounded by the cool blue waters of Lake Erie, the isolation of Pelee Island is one of the many reasons people come: Pelee represents a true escape from the hurried pace of mainland life. To visit the island is to enter a retreat of lush green surrounded by fresh blue.
Conveniently located – the sole rest stop on the east side of the island for bicyclists and hikers – and well equipped with the things one may have forgotten all the way back across the lake, it is a shop otherwise like the building in which it lives: simple and unspectacular.
To discover the spectacular, simply step beyond the white door of this tiny campground hideaway.
Whether Camping, “Cottaging”, or Visiting Pelee Island for the Day,
Activities Abound at the East Park
Whip-poor-wills, Sparrows, Thrushes and Scarlet Tanagers - travellers needing rest along their migration route and finding shelter amongst the hundreds of East Park trees - fill the air with an awakening melody. Pelee Island is an immensely popular birding destination in spring and fall, and the East Park the perfect place on the island to spend time watching and listening. Taking a rest under the shaded gazebo or at one of the numerous park picnic tables is a delight for the senses in springtime. Birds, rabbits and squirrels play while newly sprouted leaves begin to make the trees rustle. The soft spring breezes whispering through the park are made fragrant by the lilac bushes lining the laneway.
Throughout the spring, summer and fall Warblers, Orioles and Buntings sing their tunes, and busy Downy Woodpeckers knock away at trunks and the side of the store building. These rhythmic sounds are intensified by the background “hush” of beckoning Erie, calling enticingly from the park entrance. Following the call of the pulsing waves back up the tree-lined path you may be met by East Park campers, catch a glimpse of the birds you’re hearing, or happen upon a game of tag being played by young rabbits, chasing each other back and forth across the path. Even encounter the occasional wild turkey.
Located directly across from the campground is the public East Beach, a place to stroll along the pristine shoreline, or lounge in a beach chair. An entire day can easily be spent playing in the sand or floating in the lake.
The entrance to the East Park is distinguished by a large activity field, equipped with a baseball diamond and bleachers. Joining an impromptu game is always welcome, as is watching the island kids play during sunset. The beautifully maintained grass field is the perfect place to bask in the sun, have a picnic, or throw a Frisbee.
More seclusion can be found by travelling back down the lazily curving laneway, where the shade of the picnic gazebo awaits. Eat, play cards, tackle a Sudoku, crossword or word search puzzle. Take pictures, rest. It is guaranteed that all the while you will feel yourself a part of nature’s rhythm.
Don’t have with you the things needed to enjoy these activities in these spectacular places? Remember the tiny store in the narrow, tan coloured building nestled deep within the East Park? It has all these things. And while you’re inside, take a peek at the items available to remind you of your time of peace, or to give to loved ones. The little store has Pelee Gear, too: T-shirts in sizes for the entire family, ball caps, tote bags and coffee mugs.
