Campsites, beaches, dunes, trails, were all amazing, provided you can find them. This provincial park would rate a 10-plus but the signage rates a 2. Yes, you are given a map upon entrance. But given the sheer size of the park(HUGE), signage was almost non-existent. For example: the map clearly shows where the dog beach is but the roadway system is a labyrinth. There is a small sign that says, "day beach". It would help if it said "dog beach" as well. The campsite number indicators at corners are painted in about 2 inch high lettering on two-foot yellow signs. You must come to a complete stop to read them, they are so small and many have become covered with foliage. We were looking for campsite #670. We followed the sign that indicated where it was supposed to be located but it ended up being in an area with campsites 672 and up. There are signs (on big square signs show the location of about a dozen other things) indicating the name of the particular campsites. However, it would be a lot more helpful if they had a high sign with an arrow indicating, for example, Riverside #1, Riverside #2, etc. The entrance ways are small and you can drive right past them. And then to add injury to insult, roadways are arbitrarily blocked off with big yellow roadblocks. We drove 20 minutes, only to come to a road that had been blocked off by the barricade and a procession of vehicles had to try to turn around on a narrow roadway, make our way all the way back to where we started to try to find another route. A simple 15 minute drive ended up taking twice as long. And when you enter the park after a long drive, the last thing you want is to drive around trying to find your site for another half an hour. One park official we had stopped for directions told us they had recently changed the signs and even they thought they were too small to read. We got lost 10...yes TEN times the first day we were there.
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Date of stay: June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This park is beautiful. The beach is beautiful. It had a lot of amenities and is clean! But….trying to check in is a nightmare! The lineup is hours long. If you leave, expect to be in the lineup to get back in because there is no separate entrance!
Signage… or lack of… some have tiny print you can’t see, some covered by trees and well mostly, there is none! It’s a huge park and getting around is like being in a corn maze. The map shows the lake above, but it’s actually to the west. Making it even more confusing.
You want to get water in your trailer when you arrive after waiting in that lineup… be prepared to wait again. The water and the sewer are in the same place so anyone leaving and arriving are in the same lineup.
Are people getting angry when they arrive because it’s frustrating to drive for hours then be stuck on the side of a 2 lane highway for hours trying to get in!! You bet! But there is one large sign when you check in the first booth telling you not to be rude! They managed to get that sign!
Poorly organized check ins!!!
My sister arrived the next day and over 3 hours from arrival to getting water and at her site!!!
The government knew 5 months ago the parks would be full and failed to organize itself!!
We want your money, oh snd sorry if you have to wait!
If this was a privately owned park, traffic would never be allowed to lineup on a highway!
Beware of the poison ivy! It’s everywhere.
Showers are clean. And around 10 they are not busy,
People park at the shower in the dunes section to walk to the beach. So it might only appear busy.
Enjoy the beach!
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Date of stay: July 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Location: About 10km from Grand Bend's main strip ~10min drive no traffic but when the street is backed up with the summer crowds can be upwards to 30-60min waiting time. There is only one road that goes from the Pinery into Grand Bend and it gets very busy! A bike might be a good option to rip into town.
Beach: Has a nice little beach in the campsite that you can walk to - it isn't as big and sandy as Grand Bend. A little more natural setting with lots of rocks, sticks, etc. so harder to find a clean spot. Pros: a fraction of the people!
Cleanliness: A+ for cleanliness. The campsites are clean, somewhat spacious, and the amenities are great. They kept up on the cleaning int he busy season and was never too gross to use. Rare sight to see on a campground with that capacity.
Activities: Has some nice hiking / biking trails around the campsite. Also, there is a river that goes through you will see people SUP boarding, kayaking, fishing, etc. I brought my rod, didn't even get a bite but saw some cool turtles swimming around. The wildlife is great so be respectful.
NOTE: We did get a fairly large ticket from the "officers" on site. There was a mix up at the front and they didn't book one of our cars for parking so we woke up to a government ticket on the windshield. Also, this is a family campground - they are very strict on noise and partying.
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Date of stay: July 2019
Value
Rooms
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We canceled a day-use reservation 3 days in advance and were not refunded. Their policy changed last year regarding cancellation being refunded, and now we have only a 2 hours grace (after we book) to get our money back in case of cancellation. Right after our cancellation, when we saw that we were not refunded, we tried to get our day back (since we already paid for it) but after speaking to their manager, there was no way of that. They said that we should have looked to the cancellation fee policy and that nothing could be changed. I admit that we should have looked more carefully... But the fact that we did not have, us as well, a grace period of 2 hours to reverse our cancellation decision is not fair. Also the fact that an honest mistake cannot be reversed with just a bit of flexibility from their part is absolutely not understandable. We are very bitter and frustrated from the service and the way that they treat the public, to say the least!
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Date of stay: September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Terrible and frustrating experience renting a cabin in Riverside campground. Check-in was 4 pm and we were told that we cannot access cabin before 4 pm although we arrived at 3 pm and were told that the cottage was cleaned two hour earlier. Were also told that the cabin would be unlocked at 4pm and the door code would be inside the cabin. We arrived back at the gate at 3:55 and told that the cabin was opened. It was NOT open and when we went back to the gate, it was closed at 4 pm, all staff gone home. We were stuck without access to the cabin that we paid for with no staff to contact for help. A horrible setup. The park phone rings in the gatehouse, which of course was closed. No park staff ever responded to out left messages. Very frustrating to say the least.
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Date of stay: November 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Warning! If you are travelling to this beautiful park to go to the stunning beach at this time, the stable flies are the worst I've ever experienced! We drove 21/2 hours to spend a day at the beach and lasted 5 minutes before the painful, bloody bites inflicted by the hordes of flies drove us back into the car. It was like a biblical plague! We should have wondered why the beach was virtually empty of people...no mention of this on the park's website and no warning from the staff at the entrance of the park, The person at the front kiosk said "this is an outdoor environment and a few flies should be expected" I totally get that and as a person who grew up on a farm that had cows, pigs, horses and chickens I am not afraid of a few flies; this was far more than a few flies buzzing around! Spraying ouselves with Deet did nothing but attract them. Normally this is our "go to" beach as it is so beautiful...
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Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed in Dunes 1. Nice and close to the beach. The walk to the beach through the dunes is breathtaking. The water was aquamarine and looked like the Caribbean. Sunsets were amazing. Been with my family to a lot of provincial parks and have enjoyed and would go back to most, but sadly the bugs at this park outweighed the fun and beauty of the beach. There were the flies that bite you at the beach. Super duper difficult to relax when you are getting chomped on. Also the cockroaches at the campsite were everywhere and got into our camper. I had to go through every single item and bag and taje hours to shake it all out so i didn't bring any hitchhikers in the house. I found one in a camping chair and 10 that were in crevices in the trailer. I sprayed the trailer with bug spray and will do it a second time. I am so disgusted. So much work that despite the beauty not worth going back. They have all these warnings about the gypsy moths, which yes are annoying, but dont come home with you. They should give you a heads up about the cockroaches. Honestly I'm stunned because I have heard so many good things about this campground from friends and family. I thought it was just our site maybe but ithet reviews mention them bring in burley and riverside too.
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Date of stay: July 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A visit planned with friends on Canada long weekend turned out to be bit of nightmare in the start as it took us approx 45 min to enter the provincial park. But once we were in we just sailed to the beach area. There are so many parking lots to have access to beach. It is advised to pre book your day use permit online in Ontario parks before you venture into this nature s paradise. There are clean washrooms, plenty of space to play and enjoy the blue waters of Lake Huron. Barbecue is allowed to inside the park. We had plenty of fun.
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Date of stay: July 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:Pre book your day use permit in Ontario parks
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We we’re going to this park for 2 hours for a family vacation. When we got there, the line was extremely long. Horrible service, we spent 1 hour in a line (750m), waiting for the entrance. Happy Canada day to the staff.
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Date of stay: July 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
So far my favorite camping place in Ontario. Nature is good, lots of really good fine sand, nice beaches, good clear water.. You can rent some boats or go for a hike. Sites have water, as usual. Washrooms are clean usually.
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Date of stay: July 2021
Value
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Grand Bend area.
ALSO KNOWN AS
pinery provincial park hotel grand bend
LOCATION
CanadaOntarioLambton ShoresGrand Bend
NUMBER OF ROOMS
12
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