Sandbanks Provincial Park - (613) 393-3319

Sandbanks Provincial Park is a provincial park located on Lake Ontario in Prince Edward County near Picton, Ontario, Canada.Recreational useIt is noted for its picturesque sand dunes and beaches. It also has the world's largest fresh water sand bar and dune system.Sandbanks is run by the government of Ontario, with areas for different types of recreation. Some parts of the beach had been bought or settled before the designation of the area as a provincial park, which makes the beaches come in short clusters along the coastline. Naturists have used the beaches for nude bathing for many years.Sandbanks Provincial Park and surrounding beaches are visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. One of sandbanks many beaches is a pet zone, where visitors can bring their dogs. The majority of the tourists come from Ottawa, Toronto, Kingston, New York State, Quebec, and other regions of Southern Ontario.County Road 12 in Prince Edward County, stretching from The Outlet, Ontario to Bloomfield, Ontario, runs through the park.HistoryThe Sandbanks area of the road was somewhat considerable pasture for cattle. By the mid-1850s, the area was changing dramatically. Farmers cut down 200+ year-old trees to clear the land. They built buildings and roads; and in an effort to free up the land to grow crops, farmers allowed their cows to graze on the dunes. The removal of the dunes' natural vegetation meant that there was no longer plants to keep the dunes/sand from shifting across the landscape, burying everything in its path. By the 1880s, considerable roadwork was necessary. In fact, the West Lake road had to be moved three times in a period of 50 years, as the sand kept on burying it. In 1911 they tried to plant White Willow to stop the sand but that did not work. Currently, the shifting sand is under control.

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