The Pinery – Park Trail

Length – 13 km (loop)

50% park path
50% roads, bike lane, crossings

Elevation – A flat and wide path, with some small hills over dunes.

Terrain – Goes along an asphalt road (share the road!), as well as a crushed-stone path with sandy spots.

Skill – Easy

Traffic – Busy on weekends.

Maps – Found at the trailhead, as well as signs along the trail.

Facilities – Find parking, washrooms, and a general store, as well as bike rentals and camping sites.

Highlights – Beaches along Lake Huron, the river, Savanna woods, and spectacular sunsets.

Trail Fee – $17.00+ for a park day pass or camp permit.

Phone – 519-243-2220

Website – Ontario Parks,  Friends of Pinery

Similar Trails – Awenda, Wildwood, Fanshawe

Local Clubs – Lambton Outdoor Club

Access – This provincial park is located at 9526 Lakeshore Rd., Grand Bend. Access the trail at many entry points. The main starting point is at the park store, or from campgrounds or parking lots at the beaches.

On the shores of Lake Huron, Pinery Provincial Park has a 13 km bicycle loop worthy of listing for its pleasant, quiet pace and its sheer popularity with campers.

The Savanna Trail is an effortless ride for most, with rolling mounds and flat road to traverse. That said, only about half is good trail riding.

The Park trail is a winding, crushed-stone path that meanders over small dunes through the open Savanna forest of pine and oak trees. Lovely indeed, but the other half of the loop shares the road with cars.

The wacky design of this section has riders go along a bike lane on the left while cars going one way use the right lane. So, picture a designated bike lane, on this paved country road, right next to a lane of cars.

I don’t want to dissuade anyone from trying this ride, there are few cars on the loop, and they move rather slowly. (I wish the Ministry would cut the whole trail through the woods. There seems to be room, so do this one day please!) Still, I must quote my young son’s remark: “This is flat and boring.”

A nice feature about this loop is that riders never need to retrace their route for a return trip, as is often required on most recreational trails.

There is a central canal (the Old Ausable Channel) you see from the trail, where you could stop to…

Read more of this review in my trail guidebook, plus 64 others. Featuring better maps, more parking locations and elevation graphs. Available as an eBook or paperback.